Baghdadi Jews or Iraqi Jews are historic terms for the former communities of Jewish migrants and their descendants from Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East. They settled primarily in the ports and along the trade routes around the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
The history of the Jews in Iraq is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BCE. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities.
From 1951 to 1952, Operation Ezra and Nehemiah airlifted between 120,000 and 130,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel via Iran and Cyprus. The massive emigration of Iraqi Jews was among the most climactic events of the Jewish exodus from the Muslim World.
Sassoon David Sassoon was a British Indian Iraqi businessman, banker, and philanthropist.
The Meir Taweig Synagogue, also known as the Meir Tweg Synagogue, is a large Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the historic Jewish quarter of Bataween, in Baghdad, Iraq. The complex comprises the main synagogue of Iraq, a Jewish school, library, and community center.
The Great Synagogue of Baghdad, also known as the Shaf ve’Yativ Synagogue or Shad veYativ Synagogue is a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Baghdad, Iraq. Rebuilt several times, the building now serves as a Jewish museum.
The history of the Jews in Kuwait is closely connected to the history of the Jews in Iraq.
Ezekiel's Tomb is revered by Jews as the resting place of Ezekiel, an Israelite prophet who was deported from the Kingdom of Judah during the Babylonian captivity and serves as the eponymous protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. Historically the oldest and most important Jewish site in Mesopotamia, it is now the location of the Al-Nukhailah Mosque, which was built on top of the original site and holds separate significance for Shia Muslims. The Jewish presence at Ezekiel's Tomb has greatly diminished since the Jewish exodus from Iraq in the 1950s, shortly after the beginning of the Arab–Israeli conflict. The larger complex has been extensively redeveloped since the 2003 invasion of Iraq; it is widely regarded by Muslims to be the resting place of Dhul-Kifl, an unknown Islamic prophet who is often identified with Ezekiel, and work was reportedly underway to convert the site's disused synagogue into a mosque.
Ezra's Tomb or the Tomb of Ezra is a Shi'ite Muslim and Jewish shrine, located in Al-ʻUzair in the Qal'at Saleh district, in the Maysan Governorate of Iraq, on the western shore of the Tigris river, that is popularly believed to be the burial place of the biblical figure Ezra.
Flora Sassoon was a Jewish Indian businesswoman, scholar, Hebraist and philanthropist.
Iraqi Jews in Israel, also known as the Bavlim, are immigrants and descendants of the immigrants of the Iraqi Jewish communities, who now reside within the state of Israel. They number around 450,000.
David Joseph Ezra was a leading merchant, property developer and communal leader of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Kolkata, India. He was one of the key developers behind nineteenth century Kolkata, and was responsible for many of its most celebrated Victorian buildings and synagogues.
Hakham Ezra Reuben Dangoor (1848–1930) was the Chief Rabbi of Baghdad from 1923 to 1926, and the founder of the first publishing company in Baghdad.
Menahem Saleh Daniel (1846-1940) was an Iraqi Jewish businessman, landowner, philanthropist and politician who served as a member of the Senate of Iraq and Deputy for Baghdad to the Ottoman Chamber of Deputies.
Events in the year 1932 in the Kingdom of Iraq.
The history of the Jews in Baghdad spans over a millennium, tracing back to the founding of the city in the 8th century under the Abbasid Caliphate. Positioned near the Jewish centers of Sura and Pumbedita, Baghdad attracted a significant Jewish population, supported by the caliphs' encouragement of settlement. Throughout the Abbasid era, Baghdad emerged as a center for Jewish learning and religious leadership, hosting prominent figures and scholars. However, periodic restrictions under certain caliphs impacted Jewish civil rights, with policies enforcing distinctive dress and barring public worship.
Ezekiel Judah also known as Yehezkel Yehuda, or Yahuda, or Ezekiel Judah Jacob Sliman, was a Jewish communal leader, trader of indigo, muslin, and silk, philanthropist, and Talmudist from Baghdad. He migrated to India, where he led the Baghdadi Jewish community of Kolkata and established the city's first synagogues.
Al-Habibiyah Jewish Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery in Baghdad, Iraq. It is located in Habibiya, near Sadr City. The cemetery contains more than 4,000 graves. It was built by Saddam Hussein in 1975, as an alternative to the old cemetery in Al Nahda, where a new road was built.
al–Bataween is a neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq. It is located in eastern region of Baghdad, on the riverside of the Tigris and is part of Rusafa district. Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it was the main Jewish quarter of Baghdad. Today, the neighborhood is inhabited by Muslims, Christians and remaining Jews.
