A History of Systematic Persecution in the Middle East: Iraq 75 Years Later
How Iraq’s Jewish community was stripped of citizenship and forced into exile.
Seventy-five years ago, the Iraqi government embarked on a systematic campaign to strip its Jewish citizens of their rights, forcing an exodus that all but erased one of the world’s most ancient Jewish communities. The passage of laws in 1950 and 1951 that revoked Jewish citizenship and confiscated their property marked one of the most overt state-led acts of antisemitism in the modern Middle East.
A Millennia-Old Jewish Community
The Jewish presence in Mesopotamia—modern-day Iraq—dates back over 2,500 years to the Babylonian captivity following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE. Over the centuries, Iraq’s Jewish population played a crucial role in commerce, scholarship, and cultural development. By the early 20th century, Jews were an essential part of Iraqi society, particularly in Baghdad, where they made up roughly one-third of the city's population.
However, rising Arab nationalism and the spread of Nazi-influenced antisemitism during the 1930s and 1940s destabilized Jewish life in Iraq. This hostility erupted in the 1941 Farhud, a violent pogrom that left at least 180 Jews dead, hundreds more injured, and Jewish businesses and homes looted. The massacre signaled a turning point, proving that the government could no longer—or would no longer—protect its Jewish citizens.
Legislated Persecution: The 1950 and 1951 Laws
Following Israel’s establishment in 1948, hostility toward Jews in Iraq escalated. The government enacted increasingly discriminatory policies, including dismissing Jews from public service and arresting those suspected of Zionist activities.
On March 9, 1950, the Iraqi Parliament passed the Supplement to Ordinance Cancelling Iraqi Nationality, allowing Jews to leave Iraq if they renounced their citizenship. Previously, fleeing the country had been punishable by imprisonment and heavy fines. Officials assumed that only a small number of Jews would emigrate, but within a year, over 105,000—facing relentless persecution—registered to leave. Their departure was facilitated by Operation Ezra and Nehemiah, an Israeli-led airlift between 1950 and 1952.
Even as the Jewish population was fleeing, the Iraqi government intensified its oppression. On March 10, 1951, it passed the Law for the Supervision and Administration of the Property of Jews who have Forfeited Iraqi Nationality, which legalized the confiscation of assets belonging to departing Jews. This law left emigrants stateless and destitute, as the state seized their homes, businesses, bank accounts, and personal belongings, which are estimated to have been worth billions today.
With these laws, an ancient and prosperous Jewish community was effectively erased from Iraq, ensuring that those who left could never return to the land their ancestors had called home for millennia.
The Aftermath and Erasure of Iraq’s Jewish History
By the mid-1950s, nearly all of Iraq’s Jews had either fled or been forced out, leaving behind a country that had once been a center of Jewish intellectual and cultural life. Those who remained faced further persecution, particularly after the Ba'ath Party took power in the 1960s. Jews were arrested on fabricated charges of espionage, publicly executed, and forbidden from traveling abroad.
Today, virtually no Jews remain in Iraq. Once home to over 150,000 Jews, the community has been reduced to just a handful of individuals, their existence barely acknowledged by the Iraqi government. Centuries-old synagogues have been abandoned or repurposed, and Jewish heritage sites have been neglected, further wiping out the historical memory of this once-thriving population.
A History That Must Not Be Forgotten
As the 75th anniversary of these events passes, it is critical to recognize what was lost—not just for the Jews of Iraq, but for Iraq itself. The country’s decision to expel its Jewish citizens was not merely a human rights violation but also a self-inflicted wound that stripped Iraq of one of its most vibrant and historically rich communities.
The story of Iraq’s Jews is a painful chapter of history that demands remembrance. Their forced exile was not an accident of history but the result of calculated government policies fueled by antisemitism and nationalist extremism. Today, as antisemitism resurges in various parts of the world, their story serves as a stark warning about the dangers of state-sponsored discrimination and the fragility of minority communities in the face of intolerance.
A Legacy of Resilience
Yet, despite the suffering and loss, the story of Iraq’s Jews is also one of resilience. Most who fled rebuilt their lives in Israel, where they preserved their unique cultural identity and traditions.
The Jewish people may have been driven from Iraq, but their history, legacy, and rightful place in the story of the Middle East remain indelible. Seventy-five years later, the world must not allow their history to be erased.