Mizrahi Jews, also known as Mizrahim (מִזְרָחִים) or Mizrachi (מִזְרָחִי) and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or Edot HaMizrach, are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained in the Land of Israel and those who existed in diaspora throughout and around the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) from biblical times into the modern era.
Zakho, also spelled Zaxo is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, at the centre of the Zakho District of the Dohuk Governorate, located a few kilometers from the Iraq–Turkey border.
The Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of Zakho is a dialect of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic originally spoken by Jews in Zakho, Iraq. Following the exodus of Jews from the Muslim lands, most speakers now live in Israel, principally Jerusalem and surrounding villages.
The Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of Urmia, a dialect of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic, was originally spoken by Jews in Urmia and surrounding areas of Iranian Azerbaijan from Salmas to Solduz and into what is now Yüksekova, Hakkâri and Başkale, Van Province in eastern Turkey. Most speakers now live in Israel.
Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic is a modern Jewish Aramaic language, often called Neo-Aramaic or Judeo-Aramaic. It was originally spoken in three villages near Aqrah in Iraqi Kurdistan. The native name of the language is Lishanid Janan, which means 'our language', and is similar to names used by other Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects .
Judaeo-Aramaic languages represent a group of Hebrew-influenced Aramaic and Neo-Aramaic languages.
Asenath Barzani, was a Kurdish Jewish female rabbinical scholar and poet who lived near Duhok, Kurdistan.
Erich Brauer was a German Jewish illustrator, ethnographer, and ethnologist. As an artist he chose to be known as Erich Chiram Brauer. He often signed his art work "Chiram".
The Barzani tribe is a Kurdish tribe and tribal confederation of various neighboring tribes inhabiting Barzan in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Barzanis are mostly Naqshbandi and one of the most influential tribes in Kurdistan.
Yona Sabar is a Kurdistani Jewish scholar, linguist and researcher. He is professor emeritus of Hebrew at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a native speaker of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic and has published more than 90 research articles about Jewish Neo-Aramaic and the folklore of the Jews of Kurdistan.
The State of Israel and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq maintain a close informal relationship, but do not have formal diplomatic missions in each other's territory. Their ties are rooted in Israel's historically strong support for the Kurdish people and their long-running desire for self-determination and national independence in Kurdistan. In 1992, shortly after Iraq lost the Gulf War, the Kurdistan Region was recognized as an autonomous entity and began governing a portion of Iraqi Kurdistan, marking a significant development in the Iraqi–Kurdish conflict. The Iraqi government and the Kurdish government have differing policies with regard to the entry of Israeli citizens into their territory: Kurdish authorities accept Israeli passports at Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, and Israelis are entitled to regular freedom of movement throughout the Kurdistan Region; but Iraqi authorities do not accept Israeli passports, and Israelis are forbidden from entering Iraq proper. Residents of the Kurdistan Region are bound by the Iraqi passport, which prohibits all travel to Israel. This is due to the fact that Iraq, which has been a party to the Arab–Israeli conflict since Israel's founding in 1948, does not recognize Israeli sovereignty.
Betanure is a village in Dohuk Governorate in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is located near the Iraq–Turkey border in the district of Amedi District and the historical region of Barwari.
Koy Sanjaq, also called Koye is a town and district in Erbil Governorate in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. In the town, there is a Chaldean Catholic church of Mar Yousif, constructed in 1923.
Sandur, also spelt Sundur, was a village located in Iraqi Kurdistan, about 70 miles north of Mosul, near Duhok, towards Amediyah. First an historically Christian village, it later became an agricultural settlement inhabited by Kurdish Jews.
Mordechai Zaken also Moti Zaken was a historian and the 2019 laureate of "the Prime Minister Prize for the research of the Jews of the Orient." He was an expert on the Kurds and Middle Eastern minorities both as academic – he was historian of the Jews, the Kurds in Kurdistan and as professional - serving as the advisor on Israeli Arabs and minorities to the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu (1997–1999), and to the Ministry of Public Security from 2001.
Kurdish Jews in Israel are immigrants and descendants of the immigrants of the Kurdish Jewish communities, who now reside within the state of Israel. They number between 150,000 and 300,000.
The Israel-Kurdistan Friendship League, possibly the first friendship association between Jews and Israelis and Muslim community in an Arab country was established in 1994 in Jerusalem, by several Israeli and Jewish activists of Kurdish origin or interest. The founder was Mordechai Zaken and the main activists who worked together were the late Moshe Zaken, a business man from Jerusalem, Meir Baruch, a retired military person, Michael Niebur who spent some time in NGOs helping the Kurds, and Mathew B. Hand an American who promoted activity of coexistence with Muslims. The response of Kurdish representatives and organizations both in Kurdistan and the diaspora was enthusiastic as can be judged from hundreds of letters, phone calls and also email received in Jerusalem within short time after the announcement of its founding in the world press and in The Voice of America in the Kurdish language, which conducted interviews with the founder, Mordechai Zaken. The League also published a newsletter called yedidut carrying the message of Israeli and Jewish friendship to Kurds worldwide.
Mahane Yehuda is a historic neighborhood in Jerusalem. Established on the north side of Jaffa Road in 1887, it was planned and managed by the consortium of Swiss-Christian banker Johannes Frutiger and his Jewish partners, Joseph Navon and Shalom Konstrum. By the end of the 19th century, it encompassed 162 homes. Originally occupied by upper middle-class residents, it became a working-class neighborhood beginning in the late 1920s. Today the neighborhood is part of Nachlaot. The Mahane Yehuda Market located across the street was named after the neighborhood.
Kurds in Israel refers to people of Kurdish origin residing in Israel. The Kurdish population in Israel is small and is mainly composed of individuals and families, who fled Iraq and Turkey during the Iraqi–Kurdish and the Kurdish–Turkish conflicts during the 20th century, as well as temporal residents arriving in Israel for medical care.
The Jewish community of Erbil, known as "the Arbili Jews," is a Jewish community from the city of Erbil in Kurdistan Region. This community was one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. According to tradition, the community members are descendants of Jews exiled from Israel and Judah by the Assyrian kings. The Jews living in Erbil primarily spoke Jewish Arabic in the local dialect, and about a third of the community also spoke Aramaic, with some also knowing Turkish due to the city's proximity to Turkey.
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