Israel has tended to portray the immigration of Jews from Arab Countries as an ascent to the Promised Land. It has not emphasised the push factors which caused the Jews to leave until recently. A new four-part documentary series by David Kahtan was aired called The Long Journey Home (catch-up link here) which explained the life Jews fled in Iraq. Ruvik publishes a glossary of terms:
Point of No Return — Bataween — January 16, 2025
Souk Daniel in Baghdad: the market was partly owned by a Jewish family
In recent weeks, the Israeli TV channel Kan presented a masterly four-part documentary series about the history of this immigration, with an emphasis on what happened in Iraq and caused the Jews to leave, most of them with only the clothes on their backs. The series is called: The Long Journey Home and can be viewed on Kan Box. The creator of the series is David Kahtan, a member of a family that emigrated from Iraq to England and was born there, and immigrated to Israel eight years ago. Ron Goldman, one of the creators of Children of the Sun, co-wrote and edited the series.
From The Long Journey Home, you can also learn about the life of Iraqi Jewry, and about key terms that accompanied the community, which is the oldest in the Jewish community, and its traces lead to the sixth century BC in Babylon. Below is a brief historical dictionary, a culinary dictionary, and the full and accurate story about the birth of the popular dish sabih.
A-Taskit. The law established by the Iraqi government in 1950 that allowed Jews to leave Iraq on the condition that they renounce their citizenship without the possibility of returning to it. A year was allocated for this.
The Near East Airlines. A company established specifically for the purpose of bringing Jews to Israel.
The Property Confiscation Law. After the enactment of A-Tashit, another law was enacted that confiscated in the dead of night all the assets and funds of Jews who announced their intention to leave.
Lajean. Palestinian refugees who arrived in Iraq, following the population exchange plan devised by Nuri Said between Jews who would immigrate to Israel and refugees who would arrive in Iraq. A few thousand arrived.
Operation Michelberg. An airlift operation at the beginning of the waves of immigration, in the summer of 1947. The operation took place in coordination with Zionist organizations in Iraq, and two sorties we're carried out in which about a hundred immigrants we're brought from Iraq.
The Office of Frozen Jewish Assets. An office established following the Confiscation Law.
Farhud. Two days of riots in June 1941, in which murders, rapes, and looting of Jews occurred in the style of Kristallnacht.
The series returns to places and sites in Iraq, the object of longing, nostalgia, and difficult memories of the interviewees.
El Kifel. The tomb of the prophet Ezekiel. Also Al-Uzair, the tomb of Ezra the scribe, the tomb of Daniel in Kirkuk and of the High Priest Joshua in Baghdad.
Bab a Sheikh. A nationalist Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, where the Farhud began.
Meir Tweg Synagogue. The main synagogue that continued to exist even after most of the Jews left.
Beit Zalka Yeshiva. The main yeshiva of the Jews of Baghdad, which existed since the 19th century.
Nadi. A club. The Jews spent a lot of time in clubs, the most popular of which was Nadi Laura Kadoorie.
Souk Daniel. A central market in Baghdad, in which Jews had a significant partial ownership.