The New Babylonian Diaspora: The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Community in Iraq, 16th-20th Centuries C.E.

Description

The New Babylonian Diaspora: Rise and Fall of Jewish Community in Iraq, 16th–20th Centuries C.E. provides a historical survey of the Iraqi Jewish community's evolution from the apex of its golden age to its disappearance, emergence, rapid growth and annihilation. Making use of Judeo-Arabic newspapers and archives in London, Paris, Washington D.C. and other sources, Zvi Yehuda proves that from 1740 to 1914, Iraq became a lodestone for tens of thousands of Jewish immigrants from Kurdistan, Persia, the Mediterranean Basin, and Eastern and Central Europe. After these Jews had settled in Baghdad and Mesopotamia, they became “Babylonians” and ‘forgot’ their lands of origin, contrary to the social habit of Jews in other communities throughout history. Contents Preface List of Figures and Maps List of Abbreviations Introduction Part 1: Five Centuries of the New Babylonian Diaspora 1 From Destruction to Revival 2 Rise and Fall of the New Babylonian Diaspora Part 2: Studies on Political Issues 3 The Jewish Blood-Libel against Christians in Basra (1791) 4 Struggle of Iraqi Jewry for Control of Prophet Ezekiel’s Tomb at Kifil (1860) 5 Events Surrounding the Burial of Rabbi Abdalla Somekh (1889) and Their Consequences 6 The Pogrom (Farhud) of 1941, Reexamination Bibliography Index