IRAQ - 135,000 Jews Displaced
In the 1950s and 1960s, some 135,000 Jewish citizens of Iraq emigrated to Israel and other places around the world. This was significant not only due to the scale of the migration, but also in that is marked the end of a storied 2,500-year Jewish history in Mesopotamia, dating back to the late Babylonian period.
The departure of the Jews of Iraq was initially part of a planned population exchange negotiated by the British, Americans and Iraqi authorities. The agreement was never finalized, but the Jews of Iraq left anyway due to rising antisemitism. The corresponding transfer of “Palestinian” Arabs to Iraq did not materialize beyond the migration of a few thousand individuals.
The turning point came in 1950–1951 when between 120,000 to 130,000 Jews emigrated in Operation Ezra and Nehemiah after the Iraqi government allowed them to leave under the condition they renounce their Iraqi citizenship. The remaining Jews faced increasing oppression under the Baath regime, culminating in public executions in 1969. By the early 1970s, nearly all Iraqi Jews had fled.
This stunning historical event is documented in the much-anticipated report on the Jews of Iraq released by Jews for Justice from Arab Countries (JJAC), an advocacy and historical preservation group. The far-ranging report—the product of six years of intricate research, and the second in a series of eleven—details the rich life and culture that flourished in Iraq for two-and-a-half millennia, beginning in the year 586 BCE. Tragically, this important historic community was forced to leave Iraq beginning in 1941 owing to violence and persecution.
-www.israeltoday.co.il, 20 Feb 2025
Arno's Commentary
The article did not mention what the Jews left behind: virtually everything. Based on the Jews’ success, there may be billions of dollars that Iraq owes the Jews.
YNETnews.com states: “The Iraqi government has rejected recent claims made by an organization demanding that the country’s Jews be compensated for property lost when they immigrated to Israel, the London-based Arabic-language al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported recently.” Of course, this is not surprising, since we know that the Arab League opposed the United Nations’ Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947. Even today, 15 of the 22 members of the Arab League do not recognize Israel, nor do they have diplomatic relations with the State.
Nevertheless, one sees some change. Seven Arab states do recognize the State of Israel.
When one analyzes the Middle East, and Israel in particular, the complications are virtually overwhelming. Thus, where do we find the answer?
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea” (Isaiah 11:11).
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
