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JOURNAL OF BABYLONIAN JEWRYPUBLISHED BY THE EXILARCH’S FOUNDATION

Now found on www.thescribe.uk.com ISSUE 73 - AUTUMN 2000 Established 1971

A Happy New Year 5761 to all our Readers and Friends

The procession of His Royal Highness The Exilarch on his weekly visit to the Grand Caliph of Baghdad,ALMUSTANJID BILLAH, accompanied by Benjamin of Tudela (12th Century) who wrote in his diary that theCaliph knows all languages, and is well-versed in the law of Israel. He reads and writes the holy language (Hebrew)and is attended by many belonging to the people of Israel. He will not partake of anything unless he has earned itby the work of his own hands. The men of Islam see him once a year.

In Baghdad there are about 40,000 Jews “dwelling in security, prosperity and honour and amongst them are greatsages, the heads of Academies engaged in the study of the Law. At the head of them all is Daniel, The Exilarch, whotraces his pedigree to King David. He has been invested with authority over all the Jews in the Abbassid Empire.

Every Thursday he goes to pay a visit to the great Caliph and horsemen, Gentiles as well as Jews, escort him andheralds proclaim in advance, ‘Make way before our Lord, the son of David, as is due unto him’. On arrival theCaliph rises and puts him on a throne, opposite him, which the prophet Mohammed had ordered to be made for him.He granted him the seal of office and instructed his followers to salute him (the Exilarch) and that anyone whoshould refuse to rise up should receive one hundred stripes.”

REFLECTIONS ON T H EHOLOCAUST

The murder of the six millionJews by Germany during World War IIwas not just an anti-semitic and racistgenocide. Hitler was under the delusionthat it was the Jews who were theenemies of Germany and who madeGermany to lose World War I. In hisattempt to re-kindle the flame of Germanaggression, he saw the Jews standing inhis way. So, in 1939, as the signs of warwere looming in the horizon, Hitler madethe clear threat that if World Jewry and inparticular American Jewry, shall embroilGermany in another World War, thenGermany would exterminate all the Jewsof Europe.

It is clear therefore thatEuropean Jewry were held hostages forthe free world and, as often happens,hostage takings end up in tragedy. This isthe significance of the Holocaust to thefree world and this is the basis on whichall people should commemorate andobserve the massacre of 6 millioninnocent Jews by Germany.

Letter sent to The Rt Hon The LordJ a n n e r, Chairman of The HolocaustEducational Trust:

Dear Greville,

When a Holocaust memorialwas created in Hyde Park, I asked myself,"Why should Britain be involved in thatcrime, since Hitler's genocide neverreached these shores?"

The explanation usually given isthat the purpose of remembering theHolocaust is to prevent it happeningagain. This explanation fails on twocounts. Firstly, there are not enough Jewsin Europe for another Holocaust, andsecondly, ethnic genocide has been takingplace throughout the world regardless.

There is in fact anothersignificance to the Holocaust which isoverlooked. In 1939 Hitler threatened tokill all the Jews of Europe, if WorldJewry would embroil Germany in anotherworld war. He was thus holding the Jewsof Europe as hostages for the free worldin an attempt to achieve worlddomination.

The Six Million, therefore, died

as martyrs for the free world and shouldbe remembered and honoured throughoutthe world as such.

Naim

His reply:

Dear Naim

Thank you for your interestingand important letter. Yes, I agree. Theprime purpose of our HolocaustMemorial Day is precisely along the linesyou suggest - together with our hope thatby remembering what happened to theJewish people, we may do something toprevent any future recurrence of thishideous tragedy.

Thank you again for writing andwith best wishes.

Greville

Naim Dangoor's reply:

Thank you for your letterregarding my suggestion that the victimsof the Holocaust should be treated ashaving died as hostages for the freeworld. In your reply you say that thisidea is interesting and important, but yougo on to say that "The prime purpose ofour Holocaust Memorial Day is preciselyalong the lines you suggest".

I should be very grateful if youwould kindly let me know how this ideais being presented by The HolocaustMemorial Day since I have never heard itmentioned that the six million were takenas hostages by Hitler at the beginning ofthe war, and that he put them to death tofulfill the threat that he made in early1939. German treatment of the Jews isfurther demonstrated by the demand in1944 for military trucks in exchange forsaving the lives of the Hungarian Jews.When the free world rightly declined togive the trucks he sent 300,000Hungarian Jews to the death camp. ♦

ADDING INSULT TO INJURY"And you who are attached to theLord your G-d are all alive today"

Jewish religious thinkers oftentry to find some explanation andjustification for all tragedies befalling theJewish people. Starting with the premise

that G-d cannot do wrong, they try to putthe blame on the victims themselves.They say for example that it was the vainhatred among Jews that caused thedestruction of the second Temple and thatthe laxity in Torah observance was thecause of the Holocaust. This is notacceptable and adds insult to injury. Italso makes Hitler an agent of G-d'spunishment on the Jews which is absurd.Our religious leaders have to think againand come out with a credible andmeaningful explanation. Did the Alliesknow?

Recent revelations have shownthat British and American intelligencewere aware in 1943 that the Germangovernment ordered the military in Rometo round up the Jews of Rome and sendthem to the concentration camps, but theAllied authorities did nothing to alert theJews and give them a chance to savethemselves.

This is not surprising becausethroughout the war the Allies were verycareful not to let Germany know but theywere able to break its code. A day beforePearl Harbour, The State Departmentbecame aware that Japan was about tolaunch a surprise attack but decided to donothing about it in order to continue tobreak Japanese secret messagesthroughout the war.

M o r e o v e r, the liquidation ofEuropean Jewry suited the wartimepolicy of the Allies in the thought that byletting Germany be busy with the Jewswould detract her war effort. That is whythe Allies refused to bomb Auschwitz andrefused to publicise what was going onthere.

The mass murder of tenthousand Jews a day was an open secretfully known to the media, diplomaticmissions and the Church. I lived inIstanbul during the war and I could seefrom time to time Jewish refugeesarriving from Europe with terriblestories.

I can go further and say that thesecond world war was engineered ormanoeuvred into being by the oil interestof the West in order to get rid of the Jewsof Europe in the mistaken belief that theywould thus save the vast oil reserves ofthe Middle East from falling into thehands of a new Zionist state populated byEast European Jews who were regardedas Communist sympathisers.

When I was a student at London

THOUGHTS & AFTERTHOUGHTSby Naim Dangoor

University in the early 30's, I wastormented by the case with which Hitlerwas allowed to re-arm and prepareGermany for a major war when he couldhave been knocked out by a feather in hisearly days.

My own teenage explanation atthat time was - either that the Allieswanted to bring a decisive end to the FirstWorld Wa r, or that the merchants ofarmament were again getting active toprofit from selling their deadly weapons,or that the whole purpose was to liquidatethe Jews of Europe under the cover ofwar. In the event, the last probability wasthe only concrete result came out of theSecond World War. ♦

THE DILEMMA OFOVADIAH YOSSEF

Baghdad born, 80 year old,Harav Ovadiah Yossef has made a greatname for himself as the highest authorityon Halacha and the sources. He hasbecome the rallying point of the Sephardimajority of Israel which gave his Shasparty no less than 17 seats in theKnesseth which may become one day thelargest party in the Israeli Parliament.

In his regular Saturday nightradio programme, he recently had toanswer the question - "Where was G-dduring the Holocaust?" By taking anarrow view of this controversy RavOvadiah had only two options: Either thatthe Holocaust was an act of G-d, or thatG-d does not take any interest in humanaffairs.

Rav Ovadiah was obliged to optfor the first option stating that theHolocaust was an act of G-d and was apunishment for the sins by these peoplein previous lives. This immediatelycaused a huge furore everywhere whichobliged the learned Rabbi to retract hisregrettable statement which still left anunpleasant impression all over. Somepeople saw in it an attack on Ashkenazimwho were the main victims of theHolocaust. Others thought it wouldpromote atheism. By claiming that theHolocaust was an act of G-d, he madeHitler and his Nazi criminals the agentsof G-d.

Chief Rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacksexpressed the view that the Holocaustmust remain a mystery. But how can theChief Rabbi follow a mysterious religionwhich he cannot explain or understand?On the other hand, when the late formerChief Rabbi Lord Jacobovitz was asked

where was G-d at the Holocaust, theanswer he gave was where was man atthe Holocaust? This may appear to be anevasive reply but what Lord Jacobovitzwas saying is that the Holocaust was notthe act of G-d but the act of man whichmay mean if you like that since G-d gaveman freewill, he takes no direct interest inthe day-to-day events of history.

This fact can only be ignored atour peril. ♦

WHERE WAS GOD?

When I shall go to theSynagogue on Yom Kippur, when thegates of Heaven are wide open, enablingus to communicate directly with theAlmighty, I shall ask G-d one questionand then leave, "Where were you duringthe Holocaust?" ♦

THE SAMSON OPTION

Let me die in Palestine

It has become customary for allofficers graduating in the Israeli DefenceForces to be taken to the fortress ofMassada and made to swear an oath therethat Massada shall not fall again.

That is a reference to the besiegeof Massada in the year 70 by the Romanarmy who were unable for two years totake that hide-out of some 200 Jewishfighters. When in the end they occupiedthe fortress they found all the peoplethere had committed suicide, rather thanbe tortured by their Roman enemies.

This has become known as theMassada option. But why should this bea model for the Israeli army? I prefer theSamson option when the hero of ancientIsrael managed to bring the PalestinianTemple down and thus kill with himselfthousands of the enemy.

To d a y, Israel is one of thestrongest military powers in the worldand should try to flex her muscle whendealing with her neighbours.

Barak or Mu-Barak? The Arabshave found Prime Minister Ehud Baraktougher than Netanyahu, knowing Israel'snuclear potential and military superiority,Mubarak has been calling for a nuclear-free Middle East hoping to achieve by alittle hot air equality with Israel. Butaccording to an Arabic proverb "Youcannot fry eggs with hot air". ♦

I thank you for telling my lifestory in "The Scribe"(No. 72, P. 38). Imust say it was beautifully presented andI am proud to have a presence in theSephardi community, which I love andadmire. ♦

London Freddie Knoller

BONANZA TO UKCHARITIES

How a Charity can receive £50 forevery £10 you give away

The Finance Act of March 212000 contains a little-noticed sensationalclause whereby a charity can receive £50for every £10 one gives away. This ishow it works:

If one holds a quoted share thathas gone up £50 in value, one sells theshare to the charity at cost price. Thecharity makes £50 and one loses £50 lesstax equals £30. In addition one receivestax relief on the £50 the charity receives,equal to £20 thus losing only £10, whilethe charity receives five times thatamount.

Donors should now make fulluse of this generous bonanza.

London Naim Dangoor

The above letter appeared in the LondonJewish News. ♦

NOTHING NEW

A long time ago, an enterprisinggrocer in Baghdad claimed that heinvented a powder that can be used to getrid of mosquitoes which used to plaguethe city during the hot, dry summermonths and was the cause of spreadingmalaria.

One Shabbath, anannouncement was made as was thecustom to inform the people about thenew powder, adding that the direction foruse would be announced as soon as asufficient number of people had boughtthe packet of powder. Three weeks laterthe announcement was made of how todeal with the powder as follows: catchthe mosquito then open its mouth and puta little of the powder in the mouth. It isguaranteed that the mosquito would diein a very short time!

Continued on following page

I remembered the aboveanecdote when I heard on the radio theother day that New York City had beeninfested with deadly mosquitoes, causingpanic in the city, so that Central Parkclosed to the public. At the same time anAmerican scientist announced his methodin dealing with the epidemic: catch themosquito and have it operated upon tochange one of its genes so that it nolonger remains a carrier of malaria andother diseases. Then release themosquito in the air in the hope that othermosquitoes will follow suit! ♦

KOSHER THIGHS

The Jews have a capacity forcreating problems for themselves, andJacob was no exception. One night,while sleeping in the open, he felt a slightcramp in his thigh. As he was in themiddle of an important dream, the realitygot mixed up with the dream, as oftenhappens, and he thought the angel hadtouched his thigh. Sure enough, he had atemporary limp when he woke up, and hecame to believe that the Angel hadtouched his thigh. Thus it became atradition that Jews remove (porge) the legsinew of animals before cooking. It wasnot a commandment but merely atradition. (Asimple cure for cramps is todrink Indian tonic water).

Since the war, however, porgingbecame unreliable and it was decided todiscard the whole hindquarter of thecarcass by selling it to non-Jews whocould thus enjoy at reduced prices thebest cuts of the meat - steak, kidney, etc.,while driving kosher meat prices higher.

So far so good. But there hasbeen a movement in Europe to banJewish methods of animal slaughteraltogether, as inhumane because it didpermit pre-stunning of the animal. Theban started in Nazi Germany; whileforbidding the Jewish Shechita, wickedGermans, at the same time, slaughteredsix million Jews. They provedthemselves to be lower than animals.

Repeated attempts in the BritishParliament to ban Jewish Shechita failedbecause it could not be proved that thismethod was not humane, but also becauseof the 2 million Moslems who could alsobe affected. So now the Anti-Shechitalobby want to try a new tactic. They wishto require Kosher and Halal meat to beara label stating its method of slaughter.This will only affect Kosher meatbecause it would make it impossible to

dispose of the hindquarters in the generalfood chain.

Jewish communal authoritiesare considering going to the Court ofEurope on the grounds of discrimination.This approach is certain to fail: the Courtcannot oblige anyone to buy the rejectedparts of Kosher meat. What are thealternatives?1. To sell the hindquarters to ourMoslem brethren who would enjoyexcellent shish-kebab at evenlower prices.2. To consider taking a rabbinicdecision that Jacob's visionconcerning the thigh sinew was just a baddream and that all parts of kosher animalcan be eaten.

If the European Court has anysympathy on us let it remove the total banon shechita that is now in force in manyEuropean countries. ♦

Please if possible send us anycopies of The Scribe you can spare. Weare in Jewish sheltered accommodation inManchester. We had two copies late lastyear and since not heard from you.

May we wish you all the verybest and go from strength to strength withyour wonderful magazine. ♦

Manchester R J Marshall

TOTAL ECLIPSE

In our offices, we have ahandyman whose job it is to replace usedelectric bulbs. He goes around, carryinga ladder, and looks up to see which lightbulb needs replacing.

At the rare total eclipse of the sun, lastAugust, as the moon slid to cover thesun's disk, a most poignant scene was thesight of our handyman outside mywindow with his ladder under his arm,looking up in the direction of thedarkened sun, as if thinking "Do I have toclimb the ladder to replace that bulb?"

Some Ladder! Some bulb!

N O T E : Until recently, electric bulbsused to go off very frequently, and thel o n g - s u ffering British public nevercomplained. Since Britain joinedEurope, specifications have beennoticeably improved. ♦

Religion goes further and deeperthan reason, but Religion must notcontradict our G-d given Reason.

Religion must adjust toscientific discoveries. ♦

50 years ago - on his long honeymoon travels with his wife Renée, Naim Dangoor wascareful to keep a detailed account book of their daily expenditure. It is noteworthythat the entries were written in Judaeo Arabic, as shown in the page above. This formof writing was used in all his communications with the family, and must now beregarded as completely obsolete. ♦

JUDAEO ARABIC

The painting shows The Earl of Balfour addressing the 7,000 people present at the opening of the Hebrew University ofJerusalem on Mount Scopus on 1st April 1925. Among the dignitaries present were the British High Commissioner Sir HerbertSamuel, Field Marshal Viscount Allenby, Chaim Weizmann, Ahad Ha'am, Chaim Bialik, as well as representatives from manygovernments, universities and academic institutions worldwide. ♦

The opening of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (painted between 1925-1927)

In March 2000 an agreement was signed between the Spanish and Portugese congregation and the Exilarch’s Foundation for theconstruction to establish within the main synagogue complex the Dangoor synagogue in memory of the late Khatoun andEliahou Hakham Ezra Dangoor.

The Dangoor synagogue, seating over 100 worshipers, is intended to be used for weekday morning and evening prayersand for children’s services on Shabbath, as well as Thursday Barmitzvah and Sunday Batmitzvah services. The DangoorSynagogue is part of a major development costing £1 million.

The above photographs show Mr Lucien Gubbay, President of the Elders with Mr Naim Dangoor, Head of theExilarch’s Foundation at the signing of the agreement at the offices of the Foundation, taken below the portrait of Hakham EzraDangoor, Chief Rabbi of Baghdad in the twenties. ♦

THE DANGOOR SYNAGOGUE

After the establishment of theJewish state in 1948, and the wave ofArab nationalism and decolonisationsweeping the Middle East, the Jews of theregion were uprooted and most madetheir way to Israel, abandoning assetsranging from modest family homes toprosperous businesses, as well ascommunal property like schools andsynagogues. Since then, a wall of warand enmity has separated them fromthose former assets. Nevertheless, thesefamilies, many reduced to working-classstatus, have always hoped that with theadvent of regional peace they would beable to claim their rightful inheritance.

Except that now incensedSephardim in Israel and abroad areclaiming that the Israeli government -with neither the legal nor the moralauthority to do so - is getting ready tobargain away those personal inheritances.In a trade-off for the Palestinians'dropping their gigantic property claimsagianst Israel, they say, is preparing towaive future Jewish claims to assets inthe Arab countries - assets worth billions,maybe tens of billions, of dollars.

Work on the register of Jewishassets in Arab lands began toward the endof the Netanyahu administration. But it isquietly continuing under Ehud Barak'sgovernment - as a way of countering, asimilar project by the Palestinians, begunseveral years ago, to list assets left behindby Palestinians in Israel in 1948. Andalthough individual would-be Sephardiheirs contacted by The Report arehorrified by the equation, and dismayedtoo at the prospect of countries like Iraq,Syria and Libya getting off the hook,several Sephardi organisations are co-operating: "We are performing a servicefor Israel," says Leon Levy, president ofthe American Sephardi Federation.

For their part, Palestinianofficials insist that they have no intentionof reducing their demands for financialcompensation from Israel because Jewslost assets in the Arab world. "There isno linkage here. Israel has to negotiatedirectly with Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt,"says Daoud Barakat, the Palestinian Co-ordinator of Refugee Negotiations. "Idon't represent those countries."

Says Bobby Brown, who dealswith Diaspora affairs in the PrimeMinister's Office, "An injustice wascommitted to the Jews from A r a bcountries, and for 50 years we've beensaying that it's not the right time to deal

with this issue. But in a month, or a year,we will be sitting with the Palestinians....... and negotiating. The issue ofrestitution will come up. T h ePalestinians are going to say, 'You owe usX-amount.' That's the moment that theJewish side must say, 'There was a war.We also have claims. And these must actas a counterbalance.' We have to find arough justice on both sides."

Sephardi activists in Israel fumethat their community is going to be short-changed by the government for a secondtime: A generation ago, their parents weresettled in remote development towns, andcondemned to second-class status, fromwhich many of them are still trying toescape. Now, they fear, the governmentis playing big brother again, seeking touse their inheritance for its own ends.

"The government will evaluatethe property of, say, the Iraqi Jews andthen use it to counterbalance thePalestinian claim."

"The property of the Jews of theMiddle East is not a matter for the Stateof Israel," says Yehouda Shenhav, anassociate professor of sociology andanthropology at Tel Aviv University,himself of Iraqi descent. "They aremanipulating me for an ulterior motive,"says Shenhav.

For Jews from the Middle Eastand North Africa who live outside Israel,the notion is even more absurd anduntenable: How dare the Israeligovernment, which cannot conceivablyassert that it represents them in any way,they ask, try to usurp their propertyclaims?

Some Israeli officials haveargued over the years that, since thegovernment spent billions absorbing theSephardi Jews here, they can hardlyconsider themselves shortchanged byIsrael. That argument, too, is rudelydismissed by Sephardim abroad. "Theycertainly didn't spend billions on me,"snorts Naim Dangoor, born in Iraq in1914, who left behind factories and ahouse when he moved to London in 1959.Naim Dangoor says, "I happened to be inLondon with my family in 1964 when allthe Jews were given three months toreturn to Iraq or lose their nationality andtheir property. Although I had extensiveinterests in Iraq, I decided not to return,mindful of the Talmudic dictum of nottaking personal risks for the sake ofmoney. Although I can now justify aclaim of $5 million, this is insignificant in

the context of hundreds of billions beingmentioned by both sides in the finalsettlement negotiations."

The human, cultural andeconomic tragedy that befell the Jewishcommunities in Arab countries wasprofound. Although circumstancesvaried from country to country, wholecommunities, some over 2,000 years old,were uprooted. Some Jews managed tosell their homes - often for far below themarket value; others managed to ferretout valuables, stuffing jewels and goldcoins into their pockets. But most lostalmost everything and, like the refugeesfrom war-ravaged Europe who hadpreceded them, arrived in Israel destitute.

In Iraq, for instance, on March10, 1951, a new law impounded theproperty of all Jews who had renouncedcitizenship and planned to go to Israel.This included many Jews who, althoughnot Zionists, fled persecution which grewwith the establishment of Israel. Toensure that the Jews could not use thebrief time-lag between passage of thelegislation and its implementation to selltheir homes and businesses, the Iraqigovernment shut down the banks forthree days. Jews' shops were sealed andtheir possessions were confiscated.Jewish merchants and jewellers had theirhomes searched.

In 1945 there were 870,000Jews living in the Middle East and NorthAfrica. By 1952, hundreds of thousandshad arrived in Israel, and tens ofthousands had reached Western Europeand North and South Africa. Estimateson the collective value of the propertythey left behind vary wildly - from a fewbillion dollars to more than $100 billion.

Moroccan-born Amram Attias,who heads the U.S. based Committee ofJews from Arab Lands - set up to helpspearhead the registration project- claimsthat the 130,000 Jews of Iraq, thewealthiest Jewish community in theMiddle East, lost nearly $100 billion,while Egypt's Jews lost more than $60billion.

The idea that Palestiniandemands for property taken over by Israelcould be countered by Jewish demandsfor abandoned property in Arab lands hasbeen bandied about for years. But fewpeople, even those directly affected, areaware that this hitherto theoretical"linkage" is becoming real - with work onthe register under way and the final statustalks imminent.

JEWISH ASSETS IN ARAB COUNTRIES Abridged from Jerusalem Report September 1999

When it does become morewidely known, the issue could exacerbateAshkenazi-Sephardi tensions. David Tal,a Knesset member from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, of Tunisian descent,warns that if the Sephardim are leftempty-handed, "the bitterness will cometo the surface, with serious publicimplications."

Adds a government off i c i a lwhose parents immigrated to Israel fromBaghdad, and who asked not to be namedin this article, "Sephardim will say thatIsrael didn't want to bring them in thefirst place, that it then put them in transitcamps, then in development towns - andthat now we're being used as a bargainingchip. This will create an explosion. Ican't say how big. But it will."

Barak's Labour Party isparticularly vulnerable to Sephardi rage.Soon after taking over the partyleadership in 1997, in an effort to ridLabour of its elitist, Ashkenazi image,Barak issued a formal apology toSephardi immigrants for what heacknowledged was the suffering and lackof respect they endured here at the handsof the Labour governments of the 1950's.He owed his election victory last May, inno small part, to the defection ofthousands of traditionally Likud-votingSephardim. A misstep on the restitutionissue could aggravate old wounds.

In the eyes of some Sephardimwho live abroad, the linkage equation isespecially alarming. Even though theychose not to make their homes in Israel,they are now facing the possibility oftheir restitution claims being cancelledout in Israel-Palestinian negotiations.Why, they ask, should they, of all people,cover the cost of Palestinian losses?

Professor Heskel Haddad, inNew York, says he had to leave Iraq"illegally" in 1950 as a young man, andthat his parents followed - "leavingbehind our house in Baghdad, my father'splumbing business."

It would be a terrible injustice tolet countries like Iraq, Syria, Egypt,Yemen and Morocco get off scot-free."They owe us a debt. They should bemade to pay it. They shouldn't be let offthe hook because Israel wants to makepeace with the Palestinians in a hurry."

Deborah Srour, a 37 year oldNew York lawyer, chuckles incredulouslyat the thought that the Israeli governmentwants to bargain away the casino hergrandfather owned in Cairo. KingFarouk used to gamble there, she says,along with other celebrities like singerUm Kalthoum. In 1950, she says, her

grandfather was arrested on suspicion ofallowing Israeli spies to operate in thecasino, and then forced to leave Egypt.After Israel and Egypt made peace in1979, she and her grandfather travelled toCairo, and found that the casino buildinghad become an office of the MoslemBrotherhood.

" We're Zionists. We'll doanything for Israel", she says. "But this islike a stab in our back. How can thegovernment of Israel bargain awaysomething it has no jurisdiction over?

But other Sephardim overseasare willing to have the lost Jewishproperty used as a bargaining chip. Takethe American Sephardi Federation'sLevy, who was more than happy to obligewhen, earlier this year, he wasapproached by Israeli governmento fficials and asked to help run theregistration drive. The Israelis, herecalls, were "alarmed by thesophisticated search that the Palestinianswere undertaking. They wanted to beable to balance those Palestinian claims."

WOJAC was set up in 1975precisely to push Sephardi claims, butwith no conspicuous results.

The Camp David frameworkagreements, signed in 1978 by AnwarSadat and Menachem Begin, did providefor a "Claim Committee for the mutualsettlementof all financial claims"between Israel and Egypt. But Israel hasnever pursued the matter with theEgyptian government; it may be thatIsrael feared undermining the delicatediplomatic relationship.

But if the details were lacking,the principle of "linkage" was alreadybeing set in place. In a 1951 address tothe Knesset, after Iraq nationalisedJewish property, foreign minister MosheSharett declared, "An account alreadyexists between us and the Arab world: theaccount of compensation that accrues tothe Arabs who left the territory of Israeland abandoned their property...The actthat has now been perpetrated by theKingdom of Iraq...forces us to link thetwo accounts...We will take into accountthe value of the Jewish property that hasbeen frozen in Iraq when calculating thecompensation that we have undertaken topay the Arabs who abandoned property inIsrael."

This policy, aimed at offsettingPalestinian refugee claims, has remainedconsistent over the years.

Diaspora affairs adviser Brownsays that the issue took on realimportance 18 months ago, when itbecame clear that the Palestinians were

hard at work compiling their ownproperty register for use in the final statustalks. "We knew," says Brown, "that thiswould be the time to put our claims on thetable."

Without going into detail,Brown adds that, if the mutual claims areultimately written off against each other,Israel will have to "find a way to providecompensation to the Sephardim."

For Shas's David Tal, that vaguecommitment represents the best hope ofpreventing an outburst of Sephardi angerover the issue. "If Israel resolves thisissues with the Arab world, that's fine.But that's not the end of the account.Israel would then have to give somecompensation to the Sephardim. I don'twant to draw comparisons, but the Jewswho fled Germany and Eastern Europegot compensation. That money helpedthem establish themselves here. T h eJews who fled Arab lands have never gotanything."

Naim Dangoor writes:

The assets I left behind in Iraqcomprise among other things thefollowing:

A match factory.A l a rge furniture factory

imported complete fromEngland.

Half share in Dry Cleaningcompany.

Shares in many industries.Half share of two freehold

blocks of flats in 1.5 acres ofprime land in Baghdad.

Half share in various houses.An office building in the

business district.Half share in a 1,000 Dunum

farmland not far from Baghdad.

At the depressed level of150,000 Dinars for all the above, thatamount would have grown now to $5million.

In Judaism we believe thatriches are a gift from G-d, so I abandonedit all back into His care, and was notdisappointed. ♦

WORRY

Why do we worry?We worry because our mind is trying tofind a solution to a problem,We should give it a chance and wait for itto come up with a solution. ♦

ASSETS LEFT BEHIND BYJEWS AND PALESTINIANS

by Naim Dangoor

As a major potential claimantfor my assets in Iraq and on behalf ofthousands of Iraqi readers of my Journal,The Scribe, I wish to make the followingstatement:

In 1951, Foreign MinisterMoshe Sharet stated in the Knesset thatwhen the time comes to settle Palestinianclaims for property they left behind,account will be taken of Jewish assets leftin Iraq.

Q.1 Since Israel admits holdingsubstantial Palestinian assets, the IsraeliGovernment should be able to pay Iraqiimmigrants something on account.Repeated approaches elicited the replythat no payment can be made to the Iraqiimmigrants since billions were spent onresettling them in Israel.

Q.2 Is Israel justified in chargingIraqi immigrants for three years ofsqualor in tents and transit camps, whilelater immigrants from other countrieswere given the red carpet treatment?

Q.3 The above position can onlyapply to Iraqi immigrants who came toIsrael. What about the thousands whowent to Europe and America, whosepotential claims are more substantial?How can their confiscated assets becancelled against the Palestinian assets?

If Israel succeeds in setting-offPalestinian assets on the strength ofJewish assets left in Iraq and other Arabcountries, the net result would be thatIsrael will have confiscated Jewishassets, and makes a present to Saddamand others of Palestinian assets in Israel.

H o w e v e r, Palestinian claimswill not go away, they amount tohundreds of billions. Israel will have topay them something in the end, but willhave lost in the process all Jewish claims.

Jewish claims must include ourshare of the mineral wealth of ourcountries of origin. These can amount toastronomical sums. At the first WOJACconference in Paris in 1975, this principlewas endorsed and adopted and must notbe overlooked. Justice demands thatindividual claims must be recognised, ifonly on paper for the time being. ♦

For fifty years while Palestinianrefugees were drumming up their right ofreturn to their homes and their right forcompensation in accordance with UNsecurity council resolution 242 and 338,claims by Jewish refugees from Arabcountries fell on deaf ears. EvenWOJAC, the world organisation of Jewsfrom Arab countries, which wasestablished with so much fanfare somethirty years ago, turned out to be no morethan a tool in the hands of the Israeligovernment in an attempt to bury therights of Jewish refugees as a way ofcancelling Palestinian claims.

But now with America gettingmore and more involved in the MiddleEast peace process, plans for establishingan international fund to paycompensation to both Jews andPalestinians are being talked about quiteseriously.

President Clinton has said in aninterview on Israeli Television that thefailed Camp David summit, at leastbrought good news for the more than580,000 Jews who immigrated to Israelfrom Arab countries. Palestiniannegotiators agreed that these Jewishrefugees should be compensated for theproperty they left behind or were forcedto give up, he said, apparently by a kindof international fund suggested inClinton's remarks.

Now the cat is out of thecellophane bag. If the compensation isforthcoming, it could help the Israeligovernment sell a peace deal package tovoters of Middle Eastern and NorthAfrican origin, who are a slight majorityamong Israelis. They are also largelyright-wing and usually suspicious ofprospective agreements with Arabs. "Itwill be very important", says Justice

Minister Yossi Beilin. "It could helppeople accept the agreement. It would besomething tangible."

Jews all over the Arab worldfaced persecution, fear and anti-Semiticattacks after the establishment of Israel in1948. Community ties that were 2,000years old packed up en-masse in thefollowing few years and moved to Israel.Some of the expulsions wereaccompanied by government seizures ofproperty, from the Iraqi regime in 1951 toMuammar Gaddafi's Libya in 1972.

It is clear, therefore, that thepromise of compensation is no more thana carrot, a bribe, dangled in front ofMizrahi Jews to enable them to swallowthe bitter pill of the peace process nowbeing negotiated, after which the Arabswill keep asking for more and more.

Where did Israel go wrong?Since the establishment of the State in1948, Israel fought several major warsnot with the Palestinians but with theneighbouring Arab countries. There canbe no lasting peace in the Middle Eastunless all these Arab countries aredragged to the conference table and madeto bear their share of a peace settlement.

Old Yemtob in Baghdad had acock who used to perch on a high walland crow loudly in the early morning.His owner used to remonstrate with himsaying "Lo beek khair unzel Jawa"meaning "if you are brave come downand shout". Mubarak and Assad, Fahadand Saddam, Gaddafi and Lebanon are allprompting Arafat not to soften hisdemands. They should all be made totake part in the sacrifices that have to bemade in achieving a just and lastingpeace. ♦

From Time Magazine

Above - Prime Minister Ehud Barak greeting Mr Naim Dangoor who had forciblystated the strong case of territorial and financial Jewish claims on Iraq. ♦

COMPENSATION FOR JEWS OF ARAB COUNTRIES

Letter to Mr Abraham D Sofaer inCalifornia

Dear Mr Sofaer,

You may remember that we meta few years ago at 25 Albert HallMansions, when we discussed the claimsof Jews from Arab countries. At that timeyou did not want to move against Israel'spolicy of setting off Jewish claimsagainst Palestinian claims. Now thingshave changed, and it appears that evenArafat admits that Jews from Arab landshave as much right to compensation as doPalestinians. President Clinton himselfhas said "That's another piece of the goodnews that I think I can reveal that cameout of the summit.......The Palestiniansthought those people should be eligiblefor compensation as well."

Assuming, therefore, that bothPalestinians as well as Jews whoimmigrated to Israel from Arab countrieswill get some kind of compensation, thisstill leaves Jewish refugees from Arabcountries who did not settle in Israel, andthis needs perhaps a special attention toadvance their claim for compensation.

These people are perhaps thewealthier section of the community andthe total amount of their claims can bevery substantial. I for one can easilysubstantiate a claim for $5 million of lostassets to which one may add the generalbenefits we were deprived of in ourcountry in which we lived for tens ofcenturies. The climate for pursuing suchclaims has never been more favourableand I wonder if you would now re-consider whether you are willing to takeup this matter at an early stage so that ourvoice can be heard together with theothers in this regard.

With warm regards.

Yours sincerely

Naim Dangoor

20 August 2000

Dear Mr Dangoor,

I remember very well the lovelyevening I had with you and your familyand friends in London. The situation hasindeed changed, and the time may be ripefor action on the claims issue.

I talked last week with BenPorat in Israel about your letter, and heand his colleagues also agree that

something should be done.The problems are numerous, but

the biggest is getting some person andteam committed to the project.Recoveries from the Swiss banks, and theGerman companies and government,were made possible because lawyerswere given authority to represent groupsof Jews, and they brought cases andworked with the US government to bringabout the pressures necessary forsettlements to occur. I am prepared toround up a team, but you and thecommunity would have to commit to thatteam or they would not be willing towork on a contingent basis to bring abouta recovery.

Let me know what you think.Meanwhile, I will let you know the nexttime I am in London.

Hoover Institution on War-Revolutionand Peace Abraham D SofaerStanford UniversityGeorge P Shultz Senior Fellow

Further letter to Mr Sofaer:

Dear Abraham,

Thank you for your interestingletter of 20 August and I am glad to noteit may now be possible to take actionregarding compensation. My commentsare as follows:

1. Mordechai Ben Porat's area of claimwould be for Jews who settled in Israel.Mine concerns Jews who never went toIsrael but who now live in Europe orAmerica.

2. How do you plan to go about it? Willit be through the peace process, throughthe Israeli government, the USgovernment, the United Nations orperhaps even to sue the Iraqi government.

3. What are our chances of success?

4.What amounts are we talking about? Ifthe claims would be for houses andbusinesses, etc that would not amount tovery much. The ideal would be to claima share of Iraq which was left behind byour community which was veryprosperous and very active in Iraq'seconomy. That would more than matchthe billions claimed by thePalestinians.

5.Will this exercise end up in a set-off of

one claim against another?

6.What sort of initial commitment areyou looking for, for the bulk benefit to thelawyers will have to be by a percentageof the amount achieved. This principle of"no win, no pay" is quite common inAmerica.

I look forward to meeting youagain on your next visit to London.

Naim Dangoor

Historical note: US Judge AbrahamSofaer served for five years as LegalAdviser to Secretary of State, James ABaker and George P Shultz, up to June1990. He participated in all militaryactions taken by the United States againstterrorism, the settlement of the Ta b adispute between Israel and Egypt. Hevisited Baghdad in connection with theclaim against Iraq for attacking the U.S.S.Stark. ♦

PALESTINIAN REFUGEES

Last November, Prime MinisterEhud Barak came to London on ano fficial visit. Some 15 communityleaders were invited to his hotel to an'around the table' briefing by Mr Barakand his numerous advisors.

Mr Barak touched on thequestion of Palestinian refugees bystating categorically the official view ofhis government that there was 50 yearsago an exchange of refugees - the nearmillion Palestinian Arabs who left Israelmainly at the instigation of the Arabgovernments and the near million Jewishrefugees who were driven out from Arabcountries by persecution and harassment.This is a fact of life that cannot beassailed. There is no question that Jewscan safely return en masse to their ancienthomes, and, likewise, there is no case torequire that Israel should allowPalestinian Arabs to return to Israel andupset the precarious demographicbalance of the country.

H o w e v e r, for some unknownreason, the government of Israel refusesto state this publicly, thus encouragingthe Palestinians to make a strong publicrelations issue of their demands as well asof wanting to use Jerusalem as theCapital of Palestine which should neverbe entertained even if it means notcoming to a final agreement with thePalestinians or with Syria. ♦

CLAIMS OF JEWS FROM ARAB COUNTRIES

UNVEILING CEREMONY AT OR-YEHUDA

Hundreds of Or- Ye h u d acitizens, as well as many other guests,participated in the unveiling ceremony ofMordechai Ben-Porat Ave and Moreshet(Heritage) Square that took place lastNovember at the Babylonian JewryCenter square. Also participated in theceremony the Mayor of Or- Yehuda -Lawyer Itzhak Buchovza and the "Or-Yehuda Youth Choir" that opened withthe song "It's not a dream".

The Mayor said: " It is notcustomary to commemorate a livingperson but it is written in the Holy books'After reaching Jubilee it's allowed totouch'. therefore, I decided that it's onlyappropriate, especially today, to expressthe appreciation we have for the historythat Mordechai Ben-Porat generated inO r- Yehuda when he established aremarkable town out of a muddy soil andthe tents site of Chiriya & Zakkia refugeecamps, until what has become of the cityof Or-Yehuda today.

Mr Ben-Porat was the firstcouncil leader during the years 1955-1969 an he built it all out of nothingness".Mr Buchovza added and said:"Mordechai Ben-Porat contributedenormously to the shaping and theestablishing of the Jewish people heritage

and was the centre pillar and the mainwheeler of "Operation Ezra & Nehemia",an operation that happens once in 2000years.

The honouree of the event, MrMordechai Ben-Porat said: "I pinchmyself to make sure that I am alivebecause I am used to participate inceremonies honouring the dead and hereI am, standing in front of you". He addedand said: "We, the people who lived thenin Or-Yehuda, were the first to arrangerides for youth so that they can attendhigh schools in Petach Tikva and RamatGan."

Mordechai Ben-Porat also said:"The Babylonian Jewry Center and theMuseum are the diamond of the cultureand the symbol of Or-Yehuda - facing allthe restaurants in the city. So far, over260,000 Israelis visited the center, ofwhich 110,000 are youth. This is anaccomplishment that enables us all to beproud of, thanks to over 2600 years ofheritage, history that connects Israel toBabel for many generations".

As it is publicly known, MrBen-Porat had many public functions inIsrael, such as a Knesset Member and aMinister in Menachem Begin'sgovernment, alongside Mr MosheDayan. ♦Eran Yoels The Babylonian Jewry CenterPR Dept

THE BABYLONIAN JEWRYHERITAGE CENTER

Beit Hatefutzot in Ramat Aviv isno longer the only museum in Israeldedicated to the Jewish Diaspora. Since1988, it has been joined by the attractive,well organized and highly informativeBabylonian Jewry Museum. T h i sfascinating institution should become aregular stop on visits to Israel.

In the early 1970's, former MKMordechai Ben-Porat, who had played amajor role in bringing the Iraqi Jewishcommunity to Israel after theestablishment of the State, proposed theidea of a Babylonian Jewish HeritageCenter to the Or Yehuda Council (a townlocated ten minutes north of Ben-GurionAirport). The Iraqi-born Ben-Porat wasserving at the time as the head of theCouncil, and his proposal was confirmed.The idea was to establish a museum anda research center devoted to the study anddissemination of information about thefirst and for many years most influentialDisaporan Jewish community. T h ecornerstone was laid in 1973, theacademic council began its research in1977 and the museum was opened to thepublic in 1988.

The Babylonian Jewry Museumprovides a fascinating overview of the2,500 years of Jewish history and culturein Babylon (modern-day Iraq). ♦

OPERATION EZRA & NEHEMIAH

From 1950-52, Operation Ezraand Nehemiah brought almost all theIraqi Jews to Israel, first by way ofCyprus, then directly to Israel. More than110,000 people made aliyah. By 1967only 3,000 Jews remained in Iraq. Todayless than 60 Jews remain, all of whomlive in Baghdad. ♦

We love receiving the Scribeand thank you very much for a wonderfultribute to our Baghdadi community. Ilearn something new each time and lookforward to the next issue.

Do you know if the Baghdadicommunity has published a book aboutdream interpretations? I would love toget a copy; if not maybe we can startcompiling one! ♦

New York Samira Galler (née Balass)

MORDECHAI BEN-PORAT AVE

TIES BETWEEN THE JEWSOF ALEPPO AND OF IRAQIN THE 18th CENTURYAbridged from Nehardea (Autumn1999)

In Iraq in the 14th-17thcenturies there was a spiritual as well as ademographic and economic decline. Thiswas caused by the Mongol conquests,starting from the 13th century, but chieflyin the 14th and 15th, leading to theabandonment of the region by itsinhabitants.

By contrast, the Jewishcommunity of Aleppo in that periodunderwent no degeneration but theopposite. The exile from Spain broughtnew forces to Aleppo, which burgeonedand became fortified in spirit,organization, and economy.

From the start of the 18thcentury the Jewish community of Iraqunderwent very significant developmentsin demography, as more and more Jewsentered the region of the Iraqi delta,Basra, and Baghdad. The Ottomanconquest of Iraq in 1638 brought aboutstability to the region and encouragedJews to settle there.

The region from Baghdadsouthwards, namely the Iraqi delta andthe Persian Gulf, had been closed tocommerce for centuries. The trade routefrom the Far East to the Persian Gulf andthence to Basra and Aleppo was sealed bythe Portuguese who ruled the area. Theystationed warships and cannon at theentry to the Persian Gulf with the aim ofcontrolling the trade route between theIndies and Europe. The Portuguese werefollowed by the Dutch and the French,and only during the 18th century did theBritish gain mastery of the shipping inthe Indian Ocean. It was they whoreopened the trade route from India viaBasra, the Euphrates river or the WesternDesert to Aleppo, and thence to theMediterranean, Palestine, Egypt, andEurope.

These factors led to theeconomic growth of Iraq, and Basra andBaghdad became increasingly populated.

There are data from the 18thcentury attesting to a strong connectionwith Aleppo. Both local and foreignsources that I found in the archives of thepowers that ruled the region then, namelyBritain and France, provide proof thatJews from Aleppo reached Iraq, mainlyBasra and Baghdad, and assumed veryimportant functions in the community. Atthis time Rabbi Sadka Bekhor Hussin of

Aleppo was invited to Baghdad by theJews there. Asked why they turned to arabbi from Aleppo when they could haveapproached Istanbul, the Jews ofBaghdad turned to Aleppo and not toIstanbul because of the stronger ties withAleppo.

Scribe: The reasons why the Jews ofBaghdad turned to Aleppo rather than toConstantinople were:

1. that Aleppo was so much nearerto Baghdad2. that the Jews of Baghdad andAleppo were Arabic speaking, as alsowere the immigrants from Spain, whereasthe community in Constantinople spokeTurkish

In time, the movement betweenAleppo and Baghdad became a two-waytraffic, with Baghdad gradually becomingthe dominant partner. So much so that inthe Far East the term "Baghdadi Jews"came to refer not only to Jews from Iraqbut also to Jews from India, Persia, Syriaand even the Yemen. Communities inmost of these areas turned to BaghdadiRabbis for answers to various religiousenquiries.

The reason why the Portugueseclosed the route through the Persian Gulf,was to promote the sea route round theCape which had been discovered by thePortuguese Vasco de Gama and wasentirely under their control. ♦

JEWS AND ARABS UNITEDBY GENEStaken from The Times 9 May 2000

Jews and Arabs are extremely closelyrelated, a new genetic survey has shown.

Wherever in the world they nowlive, Jewish men carry the same Ychromosome as Palestinians, Syrians andLebanese.

"Jews and Arabs are all reallychildren of Abraham and all havepreserved their Middle Eastern geneticroots over 4,000 years," said one of thescientists involved. Harry Ostrer,director of the Human GeneticsProgramme at New York UniversitySchool of Medicine. The team analysedregions of the Y chromosome in 1,371men from 29 populations worldwide.The Y chromosome passes larg e l yunchanged down the male line.

The results, published inProceedings of the National Academy ofS c i e n c e s, show that the diff e r e n c e

between Jewish and Arab populations isextremely small, considerably smallerthan that between North and SouthAfrican populations, for example. Thestudy confirms that both Arabs and Jewsowe their genes to a common ancestorpopulation that predated the Jewishreligion.

A second conclusion is that theJews have maintained their geneticheritage to a remarkable degree, given theJewish diaspora and the long isolation ofsmall Jewish populations in many places.

"Because Jewish religiousa ffiliation is assigned maternally, ourstudy afforded the opportunity to assessthe contribution of non-Jewish men topresent-day Jewish genetic diversity, "said Michael Hammer, the study leader."It was surprising to see how significantthe Middle Eastern genetic signal was inJewish men from different communitiesin the diaspora," he said.

The latest human chromosometo be deciphered in full suggests thathuman beings may have many fewergenes than previously supposed.Chromosome 21 contains only 225 activegenes. The finding suggests that theentire complement of human genes maytotal nearer 40,000 rather than theprevious estimates of between 70,000and 140,000.

Huge areas consist of apparentlyworthless DNA. In one stretch of sevenmillion base pairs (the letters of thegenetic alphabet), a stretch longer thanthe entire genome of E.coli, there is onlya single gene. The full sequence ofChromosome 21 is published onlinetoday by Nature.

Scribe: It is now clear that the Arab is ourbrother, and we have no other. ♦

℘℘℘℘℘℘

Actions speak louder than wordsIt is what we do that really matters, notjust what we say.

℘℘℘℘℘℘

A bad workman always blames histoolsGood workmanship depends no more onthe quality of the tools than it does on theway in which they are used, so to blamethe tools for bad workmanship is toattempt to excuse one’s own lack of skill.

℘℘℘℘℘℘

MY VISIT TO INDIAby: Mordechai Ben-PoratAbridged from "Nehardea" No. 12

The trip began on February1999 on an El-Al flight to Bombay, nowMombai.

We met the President of theBaghdad Jewish Community, MrSolomon Sopher, who had remained inBombay and who also serves as theTrustee of the David Sassoon Fund. Heis a pleasant, kindly man who has a greatdeal of energy and who devotes much ofhis time to the service of the community.He is also the Cantor for the MagenDavid Synagogue in Mombai.

The Israeli Consul in Mombai,Mr Walid Mansur, is a Druse who hasserved many years in the Israeli DefenceForces and was retired as a BrigadierGeneral. He is well loved by the JewishCommunity and has a greatunderstanding of them. On the Sabbath,I visited the Eliahu Synagogue with MrMansur. There were about three minyansand a similar number of women. Amongthe men were representatives of theAmerican Joint who had come for thededication of a new building for theJewish Community. In Mombai there areabout fifty people of Baghdadi originwho were born in India. In all of Indiathere are some 5,000 "Bnei Yisrael". Inthis Synagogue, in the 1950's there wereabout 700 worshippers. In those days theBnei Yisrael were not a part of theBaghdadi community but today theBaghdadi Jews are very much helped bythe Jews of "Bnei Yisrael" in many ways.

We visited the library named forDavid Sassoon, the Sassoon family hasabout 17 trust funds. At the entrance tothe library is a statue of David Sassoonand many things written about him. Then

we visited the Magen David Synagogue.We visited Miss Sophy Kelly

who used to be the wealthiest personamong the Jews of Bombay but is todayin painfully straightened circumstances.

In Poona we went to the OhelDavid Synagogue, an impressivestructure, within and without. In Poonathere are three Baghdadi families. It isheartbreaking to see how badly theSynagogue was burned, together with theTorah Scrolls, by Iranian ruffians whobroke in through a window one night andset fire to the building. This was duringthe Gulf War when missiles were beingfired on Israel.

In Calcutta we visited the oldand beautiful Magen David Synagoguewith the President of the Community MrDavid Nahoum. From there weproceeded to the Beit El Synagogue.This synagogue has a ritual bath, an ovenfor baking matzot and a winery forpreparing raisin wine. Outside thesynagogue is an area for erecting atabernacle (succah). Inside there aresome twenty Torah Scrolls. Mr Nahoumtold me in great distress that in order tosave what is left of the Community'sproperty there is a plan to turn it all overto the care of the government: it will thenbe designated as a protected site.

There are still about 60 Jews inCalcutta and all are over 65 years of age.Each week on Erev Shabbat, prayerservices are held, alternating between theSynagogues.

On our return to Mombai, wewere invited by Mr Sopher for Fridaynight kiddush and dinner. He invited 12guests, and there were 15 varieties offood well-loved by those from Iraq.

Scribe: Mr Ben-Porat's visit to HongKong, Singapore and Australia in March

1998 and his visit to India in February1999 can be regarded as a sequel to thehistoric visit of the well-known 12thcentury Jewish traveller, Benjamin ofTudela, who over 14 years journeyedthrough Europe and the Middle East torecord the life and activities of Jewishcommunities there.

In the case of Mr Ben-Porat histravel had a happy ending in that hemarried his secretary soon afterwards(see photograph Scribe No. 72, page30). ♦

PALESTINIAN POPULATIONGROWS AT U N R I VA L L E DRATEfrom New York TimesSent in by Salim Khabbaza - Great Neck,NY

The population explosion in thePalestinian-governed Gaza Strip appearsto be unrivalled in the world. Itspopulation of 1.1 million - half under 15- is expected to double by 2014, whichwould pose almost unimaginable strainson what is already a highly congestedarea with few jobs, severely inadequatehousing and almost no natural resources.(The current population of just over 3million in the West Bank and Gazacombined is expected to rise to 5.5million by then).

Gaza's extremely high fertilityrate of seven children per woman iscomparable to Somalia's or Uganda's.But unlike those countries, almost all thebabies survive and adults live a relativelylong life, fuelling a boom that is nowforcing difficult choices on Palestiniansand their leaders.

Family planning is a centralissue in Gaza - central, at least, to manyyoung Palestinians who say they do notwant their children to suffer as they did inoversized poor families. But, for theyoung Palestinian government, with itsconservative, male-dominated Islamics o c i e t y, family planning is culturallysensitive and politically complex. Largefamilies are not only traditional but apoint of nationalist pride.

For the five year old PalestinianAuthority, the population issue has been achallenge, although one that has not beenpublicly acknowledged. Off i c i a l l y,Palestinian leaders have long advocatedpopulation growth as a way to outnumberthe Israelis on the land the two groupsshare. ♦

The exterior of the Iraqi Synagogue called Babylonian Jewish Centre - in Great NeckN.Y. fully described on page 15 No. 72. ♦

MIDRASH BEN ISH HAI

I enclose as promised, the reportof the commemoration by Midrash BenIsh Hai in New York of the 90thAnniversary of Hakham Josef Hayyim.with three photographs taken on theoccasion.

London Rachel Manasseh

The Yom Hillula of MorenuRabbenu Hakham Yosef Hayyim 'a"hwas commemorated at a special eventheld by Midrash Ben Ish Hai on 13 Elul5759, the 24th August 1999 in New York.Members of the Hakham's family cameespecially from Geneva and Montreal,with guests and friends from England,Canada and the United States. A crowdedaudience, including a number of Rabbis,gathered to pay tribute.

Mr Naim Levy from Montrealand Mr Jouri Lawi from Geneva, greatgrandsons of the Ben Ish Hai - asHakham Yosef Hayyim is known, afterhis most famous work - both addressedthe gathering with deep emotion. Whilesome of the elder members of the familywere unable to come and were missed,some of the younger generation werepresent, and all were together in spirit.Mr Salman Abraham, also a greatgrandson, and family were also present.The brothers Jack David and JosephHayyim David in London, known as"Beit el Hakham", great grandsons fromthe male line, though unable to come,appeared on video addressing theaudience each with a special messagefrom the life of Hakham Yosef Hayyim,'a"h.

Dr Samuel E Moshe presentedthe packed programme, and relatedseveral stories from the life of the Ben IshHai. The Midrash Ben Ish Hai choirdirected by Rabbi Ya'aqob Menashe -ages ranging from 7 to 70! - presented alively selection of some of the manyshbahoth (pizmonim) written by HakhamYosef Hayyim, with a specially preparedmusic accompaniment, and wasenthusiastically applauded. One guest inthe audience even telephoned her fatherin Brazil during the performance so thathe could hear the shbahoth being sung!

Videos were shown, courtesy ofMr Jouri Lawi, of his participation in aHillula a few years ago in Jerusalem -reciting Qaddish at the memorial grave atthe Mount of Olives and the blessing of

Reciting the Hashkabah prayer for Hakham Yosef HayyimStanding in front row from left to right: Jouri Lawi; Salim Abraham; Naim Levy;(great grandsons of Hakham Yosef Hayyim) and Hakham Ya'aqob Menashe ♦

Left to right:Abdallah and Francine Simon; Naim Levy; Jouri Lawi, his son Roget Lawi; HakhamYa'aqob with Rabbanith Ruth Menashe ♦

The Midrash Ben Ish Hai Men and Boys' Choir under the direction of Hakham Ya'aqobMenashe, performing Shbahoth and pismonim penned by Hakham Yosef Hayyim, theBen Ish Hai ♦


the Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu atHekhal Shelomo. Hazzan Hayim Salmanwho had come from Israel for theoccasion rendered a song he hadespecially composed in the Iraqi traditionin honour of Hakham Yosef Hayyim, theBen Ish Hai. A video presentation ofRabbi Sinai Halberstam, supporter andguide of Midrash Ben Ish Hai since itsinception, stressed the universal regardfor Hakham Yoseh Hayyim 'a"h not onlyin Babylonian and Sephardi communitiesbut also in Western and Hassidic Jewry.

Rabbi Ya'aqob Menashe spokequietly and feelingly of the long regardfor the Ben Ish Hai he had imbibed fromhis father, and the special choice of thename when founding his Midrash overten years ago. Then followed the lightingof candles and Qaddish recited by thethree grandsons present, Mr Naim Levyand Mr Joory Lawi, and Mr SalmanAbraham, and the Hashkaba by RabbiYa'aqob Menashe. The warmth and deepreverence was felt by all the standingaudience.

The wonderful atmosphere ofthe evening was enhanced by the songsand music of the times, the muchappreciated Baghdadian catering of MrAodi Zilkha and a display of the life andworks of Hakham Yosef Hayyimespecially prepared by Mr HayimHabousha. The Hillula reflected theorganisational expertise of the Hillulacommittee and the care and devotion ofRabbi Ya'aqob Menashe and RabbanithRuth Menashe. As our guests remarked,"It was beyond all expectations" - a finetribute to the living heritage of ourg reat spiritual leader and sage,Hakham Yosef Hayyim 'a"h, the BenIsh Hai. ♦

To: Friends and Supporters of theInternational Sephardic Educational and Cultural Center (SEC), a Center forall Jews

From: Jose A Nessim, M.D.Founder and President

This report is to update you onwhat is happening at the SEC inJerusalem, as well as the branches in theDiaspora. The success is unequal incontemporary Sephardic history. For 21continuous years we are becoming larger,better and stronger.

In February 1999 afternegotiating for years with a great deal of

d i ff i c u l t y, we purchased the threehistorical buildings we had been leasingfor twenty years from the Government ofIsrael for $7.5 million payable over threeyears. We have been paying on timeexcept for one of the payments that wasdue last April for $1.1 million.Unfortunately, we were only able to raise$350,000 by the due date. We are doingeverything in our power to awaken andenergise the 1.5 million Sephardim livingin the Diaspora so that we can completethe payments and avoid risking the lossof this campus to the many other Jewishorganisations who are clamouring for theopportunity to bid on this phenomenalpiece of real estate in the heart ofJerusalem.

The SEC needs you andeveryone you know to make this buildingcampaign smooth and successful. Thearchitectural plans call for a completerenovation of the campus that will makeit a world class centre attracting peoplefrom around the world, whether on one ofour programs or simply touringJerusalem. The SEC will soon be thebeautiful gateway to the Jewish Quarterand the Western Wall.

Aside from the physicalpremises, the SEC is now a world Jewishmovement that is tolerant, notjudgmental, and has enriched the lives oftens of thousands of young people aroundthe world. To get better acquainted,please go to the internet and look upw w w. s e c w o r l d w i d e . o rg. Specialisedprogrammes for all sizes of groups canbe arranged with the SEC's experienced

staff of educators. The Centre is openyear around and is ready to meet theneeds of your community - whether it bein Jerusalem or in your own city.

Celebrating a Bar Mitzvah at theKotel, which is just steps away from theCentre, is an experience that isunforgettable and can be arranged by theSEC staff. In September we begin anaccredited One Year Programme inconjunction with the Hebrew Universityof Jerusalem.

In Diaspora the branchescontinue to flourish and we have lectures,shabbatons and yearly conventions inNorth and South America. Over 600married couples have met at our activitiesover the years, and now form youngmarried groups in their communities.

Opportunities are now availablefor you to have your name inscribed inthese buildings in Jerusalem for as littleas $1,000.00. We invite and expecteveryone to participate in this specialproject that will keep alive the legacy ofour parents in a place they alwaysdreamed of and mentioned in their dailymeditations.

Remember that our only goal isto unite and organise the 1.5 millionSephardim living in the Diaspora in orderto create the necessary org a n i s a t i o n a lstructure that will ensure the Jewishsurvival of our children and theirdescendants. All Jews are invited to jointhis noble and sacred cause. For moreinformation, please e-mail us [email protected] or visit us on theweb at www.secworldwide.org. ♦

24 November 1958 - Picture taken in Baghdad at a birthday party for Abe Yousef Dali.One is reminded of the school song, "Forty years on when far and asunder parted arethose who are singing today". ♦

YEHUDI MENUHIN ANDTHE NAZIS

Perhaps the reason why, unlikeJascha Heifety, Yehudi Menuhin was notaverse to appearing in Germany andplaying under a Nazi conductor, and thatMenuhin was not a Rabbanite but aKaraite Jew.

During the war the Nazis did notharass the Karaites, and gave themcomplete freedom to practice theirreligion and carry on with their lives.They apparently had a certificate fromCathryn the Great that they were notethnic Jews and were tolerated in Russia,while the other Jews underwent recurrentpogroms. (See Scribe No. 63).

The Karaite movement began inBaghdad in the 8th Century by Anan BenDavid and was the Spiritual successor tothe Sadducees, whose party wereparadoxically in power in Judah at thetime of Jesus. ♦

MOHAMMED GOT IT RIGHTContinuation of Thoughts & Afterthoughts

Much has been written about theGolden Rule, namely, "Love thyneighbour as thyself". But this is a tallorder, as no-one can love a neighbour,less so a stranger, as oneself. Moreover,this is not what the Bible says. Thewords are - VE AHAVTA LE REAKHAKAMOKHA, and not ETHREAKHA. Inother words, the true meaning of theGolden Rule is to wish for yourneighbour or even for a stranger as youwish for yourself.

It appears that the true meaninggot lost in the translation from Hebrew toGreek and from Greek to otherlanguages. But the Koran got it spot-on;it says, (a Moslem has to desire for his brother ashe desires for himself).

It is interesting to note that thisArabic dictum is one of the versions ofthe Golden Rule inscribed on the walls inthe Religion Section of the MillenniumDome.

On the occasion of the death ofPresident Hafez al Asad, we publish theabove picture which shows the Syriandictator shaking hands and welcomingthe Chief of the Syrian JewishCommunity Council, Yousef Kh. Jajati,who gave us this photograph on a visit toLondon a few years ago. ♦

MILLENNIUM DOME,FAITH ZONE

Quotations from the Faith in the Futuresection

Baha'i"Blessed is he who preferreth his brotherbefore himself." - Baha'u'llah, Tablets ofBaha'ullah, 71

Buddhist"Do not hurt others that which hurtsyourself." - The Buddha

Christian"Do unto others as you would have themdo unto you." - Matthew 7.v12

Hindu"This is the sum of duty: do nothing toothers which would cause you pain ifdone to you." - Mahabharata, XIII:114

Jain"In happiness and suffering, in joy andgrief, we should regard all creatures aswe regard our own self." - Mahavira

Jewish"What is hateful to you, do not to yourfellow man. That is the law: all the rest iscommentary." - Talmud, Shabbat 31a

Muslim"No-one of you is a (true) believer untilhe desires for his brother that which hedesires for himself." - ProphetMuhammad

Sikh"Don't create enmity with anyone as G-dis within all." - Guru Granth Sahib p. 258

Zoroastrian"That nature only is good when it shallnot do unto another whatever is not goodfor its own self." - Dadistan-i-Dinik, 94.5♦

The Arabic paper F ree Iraqpublished in London, has re-printed in itsOctober issue 1999 an Arabic translationof the last letter which the late SassonDallal wrote to his brother David thenight before his execution.

That moving letter appeared onpage 25 of The Scribe No. 71. It reflectedthe strong character of the writer and hisdevotion to freedom, democracy andpeace. ♦

REVIVING THE DEAD

In our thrice daily prescribedprayers, and on all other occasions, webless our Creator for various mercies,adding, "Blessed art thou O Lord whorevives the dead". Where is theevidence? Most people take this blessingwith a grain of salt, perhaps as a laterinsertion to promote the Religion and as asop for people's sensitivity. Thus, it isnoteworthy that people never bow at thisblessing, as they do for all otherblessings.

Thus, when Rabbi Ezra Basri,Chief Justice of Jerusalem, offered towrite an article for The Scribe, I readilyasked him to write an article on therevival of the dead as appears in ourliturgy. What he wrote was taken frommythology and as he would readilyappreciate, could not be accepted as anevidence in a Court of Justice.

H o w e v e r, thinking again andagain about the subject myself, I came towhat may be a proper answer and asatisfactory explanation.

The answer is in the question or,perhaps, in the bones of the dead. TheBible tells us how our ancestors werevery careful to preserve the bones of theirdead and to carry them with them whenthey journeyed to other destinations, suchas when the children of Israel carriedwith them the bones of Joseph when theyleft Egypt. They knew that the remainswere merely bones and yet they attachedgreat importance to them.

The Prophet Ezekiel whenvisiting a mound of bones in Babylonasked himself, "can these bones reallycome to life again?"

It appears that the Persians andBabylonians, at that time used thismethod of burial in the open so thatvultures would pick off the flesh andleave only the bones as the valuableremains of the deceased, and therebyavoiding polluting Mother Earth and theenvironment. Likewise, Jewish religiondoes not allow cremation so as not todestroy the personal identity of thedeceased.

Science has now demonstratedthat each individual has a specificnumber consisting of millions of digits.A milestone has recently been achieved,considered to be the most important of alltime in discovering and tabulating thecomplete human genom. From this itfollows that eventually a dead personmay be recreated from the DNA takenfrom his bones. Isn't that fulfilment ofG-d's promise of the future revival of thedead? ♦

My father once told me when Iwas very very young, that his grandfatherwho lived in Baghdad was the HakhamAbraham Sofaer and that my mother'sgrandfather was the Hakham HaronAghasi of Iraq and the surrounding areas.And that Hakham Aghasi was so well-known and respected that when he died, al a rge part of the Middle Eastneighbouring Iraq went into mourning.

I am 83 years of age and beforeI leave this earthly domain, I shall bemost grateful if you could enlighten meas to who were these two greatgentlemen.

For your information, the actorAbraham Sofaer, who died not so longago in the USA was my cousin. Hisfather and my father were brothers. Also,the ex-Judge Abraham Sofaer who ruledon Ariel Sharon's case against the "Time"publishers, is my nephew, my elderbrother David's son.

I thank you for all the issues ofThe Scribe you have been sending mewhich as a source of information andcomfort I could now never do without.

Shoresh, Israel Sassoon MeyerSofaer

Scribe: For full information please referto the book entitled "Yehude Babel" byDr Abraham Ben Yaacob. We have alsosent you some information on HakhamShimon Haron Aghassi Ben Aba Ben Abataken from Yehudé Babel by Dr BenAbraham Yaacob and from QuezHayamim - history of Babylonian RabbisAncient and Modern. ♦

I enclose an article whichappeared in the American Jewish paper"Yated NE'EMAN about my grandfather(my mother's father) HARAB SHIMONAGASSI Z.L., as well as a photograph atthe unveiling of a street in Jerusalemnamed after my grandfather.

New York Violet Gabbay (néeShashou)

HAKHAM SHIMON AGASSIzt'l

The year was 5600 (1840).Thousands of pure Jewish children werefaithfully learning Toras Hashem in thevarious branches of Beit Midrash TalmudTorah that were established by RabbenuAbdulla Somech zt'l, considered one ofthe greatest Iraqi rabbonim of recenttimes. Baghdad's children, who hadpreviously learned at home were nowstreamlined into a Torah school system.

And then, like a thunderstormon a clear day, the agents of AllianceIsraelite Universelle (Kol Yi s r a e lChaveirim) stormed in to trap the puresouls of the young children. "We onlywant to promote Torah with d e re c heretz,"they claimed. Rav Yosef Chaimspoke against it. Baghdad, a large cityresiding in glory in the middle of Babelwas a Torah center for hundreds of years.Even after the Talmud was sealed in thetime of the Rabbonon Saborai , itcontinued carrying the flag of Torah infull strength. For five hundred years thegeonim of Babel lit up the Jewish worldwith their Torah, and the light of their

written Torah continues to shine today.For many years they glorified

the eastern side of the Torah world withgedolim and chachomim, great poskim,Kabbalists and paytanim whose songs arestill sung today in Iraqi communities.

"There was a man in Baghdad,HaRav Shimon Agassi, whose light ofTorah spread through the hearts of thatentire generation and the those after it.Gadol bakol mikol kol," HaRav YaakovHillel, rosh yeshiva of Ahavas Shalomwrote about him, "in the revealed andhidden Torah, in his vast knowledge anddepth of understanding. A great posekand d a r s h a n, a great p a y t a n a n dphilosopher, a great leader in chassidusand perishus, great in his tzedaka andkindness, great community activist andgreat in understanding and vision, greatin accepting affliction with love,overcoming nisyonos, and above all andin spite of everything, he was a greatmasmid",

In 5615 (1855), the sun began toshine with the birth of a son to RebAharon Agassi zt'l, whose parents cameto Iraq from Persia. The Agassi familyhad a paint business, which was anancient Turkish profession, and wantedthe thirteen year old lad, who had justfinished talmud To r a h, to join thebusiness.

The struggle, as the reader canwell understand, was difficult. T h eyoung Shimon was up against the richfamily and their tremendous pressure toutilise his talents, as well as the fact thatall his frineds decided to continue theirstudies in the new secular school ofBaghdad. In spite of everything, Shimonpursued his one and only goal - Torah!

His parents, who encouragedhim the entire times, supported hisdecision. The decision enriched KlalYisroel with one of the foremost geonimof the generation. In the end, hebenefited materialistically too. When hisparents observed in wonder how theiryoung boy was growing into a mightygiant, they decided a few years later togive him their house as a sign ofappreciation for his greataccomplishments.

He began to realise his bravedecision in Beit Zilkha: the city ofBaghdad's huge beit midrash establishedby HaRav Abdulla Somech zt'l, whichbecame a place where hundreds oftalmidei chachomim studied To r a hdiligently, twenty-four hours a day.

Rabbenu was twenty-six yearsold when he started writing his peirushon the Torah, an explanation that began a

Above : At the unveiling of the plaque of Hakham Shimon Agassi Street inJerusalem. On the left is Aharon Shashou, a grandson. ♦

long chain of outstanding seforim: ZahavShevo, Imrei Shimon, Bnei Aharon andShem MiShimon which encompass allparts of the Torah in breadth and depth.As the years went by, Rabbenu becameone of the important ones.

Rabbenu did not have pleasurefrom Olam Hazeh, and he described theterrible tragedies that befell him in a seaof tears and blood. He witnessed thetragic death of his three sons, one afterthe other. Rabbenu refused to becomforted. His students related thatRabbenu did not accept comfort for hisoldest son until his last son Ezra Tziongrew up and married his brother'sintended wife. Only then, on the day ofhis wedding, did Rabbenu remove theblack turban from his head and rejoicehappily.

His son's death gave Rabbenuthe impetus to toil in the Torah of gilgul,creating for later generations theoutstanding sefer Bnei A h a ro n w h i c htook him nine years to write.

In 5659 (1899), Rabbenu turnedhis house, which he inherited from hisfather, into a beit knesses. Six years later,he gave it to a gemilus chesedorganisaztion to establish a school fororphans and poor children. Many ofBaghdad's poor who were in danger ofshmad were saved by this outstandingschool and eventually developedbeautifully.

With chasidei Hashem , aphilanthropist was found in the city whoagreed to Rabbenu's request to dedicate al a rge portion of his riches to buildeducational Torah institutions for theyoung. In a number of places in hisseforim, Rav Shimon mentioned the gvirMeir Eliyahu "who poured money out ofhis pocket to raise the flag of Torah andreturn the crown to its former glory."This mesiras nefesh saved the generationfrom the clutches of those who sought touproot religion from the youth.

Rabbenu succeeded in hidinghimself so well that when he went up toeulogise Rabbenu Yosef Chaim zt'l in1909, some of his neighbours weresurprised to see a man whom theyconsidered a simple merchant among thechachomim eulogizing. Hakham Shimondied peacefully in 1914. ♦

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Better late than neverIt is better to do a thing after muchprocrastination than not to do it at all. ♦

Firstly may I say a big thank youfor the latest edition of The Scribe whichI'm enjoying reading over the web - it'sgreat - well done to the Team!

I believe it was the last edition where wefound arabic proverbs and sayings.

I enclose some anagrams which I enjoyand thought I might share them with youand your Editorial Team.

I especially enjoyed the article on stampsin this edition - if ever you need anyinformation on stamps from around theworld please don't hesitate to ask myfather Joseph Murad as he collectsstamps of the world from when they firstappeared to today.

Dormitory - Dirty RoomDesperation - A Rope Ends It

The Morse Code - Here Come DotsSlot Machines - Cash Lost in 'em

Mother-in-law - Woman HitlerSnooze Alarms - Alas! No More Z's

Alex Guinness - Genuine ClassThe Public Art Galleries - Large Picture

Halls, I BetA Decimal Point - I'm a Dot in Place

Princess Diana - Ascend in Paris

London Joy Dangoor

For some reason, I have notbeen receiving The Scribe , for whatseems to be a long time. The Scribe hasbeen one of the magazines that I enjoyi m m e n s e l y, and in fact, among thenumerous publications that I receive, TheScribe is the only one that I read from thefirst letter in the first page to the last letterin the last page. It is indeed a shining staramongst the Iraqi Jews publications. Ifpossible, please resume sending it to me.My best wishes for your continuedsuccess. Your service to the Iraqi Jews ispriceless. ♦

Greenlawn, NY Joseph M Koreen, MD

I receive regularly The Scribewhich I find extremely interesting - Ihave no connection whatsoever withBabylonian Jewry, my family (on bothsides) being typical Italian Jews for atleast 600 years, possibly more.

The articles in The Scribe arevery interesting and the book reviewsbetter than in many leading papers.

Please keep me on your mailinglist. ♦

London John S Montefiore

The above picture shows Iranian President Mohammed Khatemi (Centre) receivingChief Rabbi Yousef Hamdani Cohen of Iran and Jewish member of ParliamentMaurice Mutamed. They were among a delegation of Jewish leaders visiting the Headof State.

Khatemi declared that Judaism is an officially recognised religion in Iran and that the30,000 Jews living in the country represent the highest number in any Moslem State.He claimed that religion played no part in sentencing 10 Jews to various prisonsentences as spies for Israel. These sentences are being appealed. ♦

To: Dr Zvi ShtauberForeign Policy Advisor to the PrimeMinister's OfficeJerusalem

It was a pleasure meeting you atthe meeting with the Prime Minister, andI enclose herewith a copy of my JournalThe Scribe , which you may find ofinterest.

I am glad you took on board theremarks I made at that meeting about theclaims of Jews from Arab countries. Notonly the personal assets of those whowere forced to leave, but the completerights of our community, whichconstituted nearly a third of Baghdad'spopulation and was predominant in theeconomy and finance of Iraq. While thePalestinians clamour to return to theirhomes in Israel, we cannot now go backto Iraq, but there is no reason why our fullrights are not taken into account in thecontext of a comprehensive settlement inthe Middle East. ♦

Naim Dangoor

George Bush Junior is running as the Republican candidate for President of the United States. The above picture, taken recentlyat The Dorchester in London shows George Bush senior and Mrs Bush, after a meeting with Renée and Naim Dangoor, the dayMr Bush received a knighthood from the Queen. ♦

Shanghai Public School for Girls ReunionLondon, 27 November 1965

FRONT ROW, L to R: Mrs F M Gavan (J M's Mother), Mrs D Moffatt, Miss M CMunday, Mrs Aitchison, Miss M Rudge, Mrs A S M Hawkins (Alex), Mrs D Parrott,Miss Margaret MacGregor, Miss D Fredericks, Joan MacKenzie, Renée DangoorMIDDLE ROW: Frances Bomko, Delia Colombo, Mireille Middleton, Fre n n yKaranjia, Peggy Clements, Mabel Chard, Connie Hayward, Betty Parsons, Adriana& Jaooba van Herwijnen, Sarah Ahmed, Madeleine Hardoon, Iris KrassBACK ROW: Mr Hawkins, Margaret Heath, Margaret Davies, Lorraine Henderson,Anne Archer, Beryl Davies, Jean Aitchison, Johanna van H, Edith Quayle (obscured),Shirin Petigura, Mr Ernest Parrott ♦

In September 1998, theGovernment of Venezuela issued 10commemorative stamps, as shown, tocelebrate the 50th Anniversary of theState of Israel. All designs carrybackground Israeli flag motif. ♦

Sent by Freddie Khalastchy

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Ninety percent of inspiration isperspirationInspiration is useless without an aptitudefor hard work; hence the perspiration! ♦

Last February, the wedding took place in London of Robert, younger son ofDavid and Eileen Khalastchy to Fiona, daughter of Desmond and Anne Rule.

The above picture shows the couple with Robert's parents and uncles.Left to right: Naim and Renée Dangoor; David and Eileen Khalastchy; Robert andFiona; Abdullah and Claire Dangoor; Sasson and Stella Dangoor.

As evidence of the rapid growth of the Iraqi Jewish community in London, the picturebelow shows all of Robert's cousins with spouses.

Left to right: Standing;Daniel Dangoor; Robert Dangoor; Anna Dangoor; Leif Engdahl; Bibbi Engdahl-Dangoor; Judy Dangoor; Audrey Dangoor; Michael Dangoor; Elie Dangoor; DavidDangoor; the couple Robert and Fiona; bridesmaid Gaby Khalastchy; FreddieKhalastchy; Frank Khalastchi; Eric Dangoor; Reuben Dangoor; David Dangoor;Robin Engdahl; Eddie Dangoor; Robert Dangoor; Gary Fox.Sitting:Daniella Dangoor; Joy Dangoor; Sandra Dangoor; Eileen Khalastchy; LindaKhalastchi; Astrid Fox; Rosie Khalastchy; Hilary Dangoor; Natalie Engdahl.Sitting on the floor:Lauren Dangoor; Jacqueline Engdahl; Alexandra Dangoor; Stephanie Dangoor;Sarah Dangoor. ♦

VIZNITZ TALMUD TORAH'SFIND SHABBOS AT CARMELTaken from the Jewish Tribune 21.1.00

Shabbos Parshas Bo will beetched for a long time in the memories ofthe close to 100 children and staff of theViznitzer Talmud Torah in London, whospent this memorable Shabbos in CarmelCollege near Oxford. The idea, fosteredby the Menahel and nurtured by adedicated team of Mechanchim andassistants, came to successful fruitionafter many weeks of preparation both bythe children and the organisers.

Participation by the children was onlypossible by collecting tokens over aperiod of 10-12 weeks. These wereawarded for a variety ofaccomplishments (according to age andability), such as successfully being testedby heart on Perokim of Mishnayos,achieving a certain level of marks in theweekly tests of their Limudim learningwhole Sedorim without interruption,behaviour in class, during Davening andmeal times and Derech Eretz.

At 4:00 pm on Friday all boys wereassembled in the spacious BeisHamedrash to say Shir Hashirim andhave a learning session to welcomeShabbos Hamalko. After Mincha theywere treated to an inspiring Drosho byRav Shmuel Stern. Mashgiach of theViznitzer Yeshiva Ketana.

A thoroughly uplifting SeudasShabbos was experienced by all,interlaced with Zemiros and DivreiTorah. Reb Chaim Moshe Feldmandemonstrated his enthusiasm andappreciation to both the children andMechanchim by honouring the event withhis presence and delivering Divrei Torahduring the Seuda.

During the Seuda, Divrei Chizuk wereheard from Rabbi Dovid Chaim Katx,Maggid Shiur in Viznitz Yeshiva Ketanaand, similarly during Sholosh Seudos,from Reb Yisroel Zieg. Rebbe of the topclass. Following Sholosh Seudos, thehighlight and keynote speech was givenby Rabbi Shimon Hirschler.

Motzoei Shabbos was honoured by aMelava Malka and Siyum for theMishnayos (in excess of 1000 Perokim)learnt by the boys.

After a full day's programme onSunday, the boys returned in the earlyevening, tired but happy and spirituallyfulfilled, attesting without exception thatthis was a most enjoyable Shabbos in allrespects. Reb Herzi Stern and Mrs Stern workedselflessly and tirelessly to achieve theresounding success of the event. ♦

RELIGIOUSDISCRIMINATIONby Rev. Dr. Leslie Griffiths

In a debate in the House ofLords two nights ago, Labour peer LordAhmed called for a new law outlawingreligious discrimination. He's rightlypointed to a number of anomalies in theway religions are treated. OnlyChristianity is protected by blasphemylaws, for example; Jews are defined as arace rather than a religion (even thoughthis race includes, as Lord Ahmed put iton this programme the other day, blackFalashas, white Russian and brownLebanese Jews). In Northern Irelandthere's already a law against religiousdiscrimination. But not on the mainland.He wants to put an end to thesedifferences; he wants all religious groupsprotected by the law.

Begging his Lordship's pardon,but I think he's barking up the wrong tree.Anomalies do exist and they definitelyneed dealing with. But I'd go in exactlythe opposite direction from the proposalshe's making. It's my view that religionsshouldn't seek any special privileges orprotections. People should be free tocriticise us, misunderstand us, and evenmake fun of us. Sometimes, no doubt,we'd deserve it whilst at others wewouldn't. We should earn any respectaccorded to us and work hard to make ourcontribution to the good of societyunderstood and welcomed. We shouldalways be invoking the Gamalielprinciple: if what we're all about is ofmerely human origin then it'll enjoy itsmoment in the sun before fading away.If, on the other hand, G-d has somethingto do with it, then it's going to be part ofthe scene whether people like it or not.Or, put in a somewhat different way, andas I heard a ninety four year old Cardinalsuggesting the other day, The ChristianChurch is facing its second Constantinianmoment. In the fourth century, with theconversion of the Roman Emperor,Christianity began a long flirtation withsecular power which, many would argue,has had a disastrous effect on our actionsand led to the accommodation of hugeprivileges across the centuries and aroundthe world. But now, the church is fastreaching the point when seculargovernment, post-Christian realities andpluralistic societies make it highlyunlikely that such privileges willcontinue. Good. Let believers in anyreligion seek their proper protectionunder the Civil Law. Let alldiscrimination on grounds of race,gender, orientation or class be anathema.

Let religion take its full place within civilsociety, a voice and a presence to bereckoned with in the search for justiceand the common good. It doesn't need tobe cushioned or treated in a specialcategory or given special protection. Andwhen religion loses those swaddlingbands of special status, that's when it canstand up on its own feet and offer itsunique attractions to a generation which,I'm as convinced as can be, needs themnow more than ever. ♦

From BBC - "Thought for the Day"

Hafiz al Asad with Jewish Leader

On the occasion of the death of PresidentHafez al Asad, we publish the abovepicture which shows the Syrian dictatorshaking hands and welcoming the Chiefof the Syrian Jewish CommunityCouncil, Yousef Kh. Jajati, who gave usthis photograph on a visit to London afew years ago. ♦

The last number of The Scribe which wehave received is no. 72 of September1999.

In order not to discontinue such aninteresting magazine which is constantlyused by our Rabbis and Professors, wewould appreciate it very much if youcould send us the missing issues at yourearliest convenience.

Thank you very much for your co-operation. ♦

Rita SaccalHead LibrarianSeminario Rabinico Latinoamericano "Marshall T Meyer"Jose Hernandez 1750-4o. Piso1426 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaPhone Nos. 54 11 4783-2009/54 114783-6175Fax No. 54 11 4781-4056e-mail: [email protected]@uole.com

AFRICAN HEBREWS

I am a Canadian citizen as wellas being an African born on the island ofJamaica, West Indies. As the last bit ofinformation indicates, my ancestorsarrived in the Western hemisphere via theslave trade. What you may not know,either by choice or ignorance, is thatmany of the people groups/tribes/clansthat were the victims of the african slavetrade were from tribes that the localAfrican tribes viewed as recent historicalarrivals. Thus the intense animosity thatwas present among them. Some of theseforeign/alien black tribes were known inthe African dialects as Hebrews, Jews,etc. It is also a suppressed fact that manyof the Africans who were enslaved,besides speaking A f r i c a nlanguages/dialects, also spoke Arabic aswell as Hebrew. Many of their traditionsand attitudes were also very "Semitic"(?),but were suppressed by their Europeanand Jewish oppressors and enslavers,mostly by very brutal means.

Therefore when I read about theLemba people's struggles to beacknowledged by their fellow Hebrews Iinstinctly (sic) understand, because weare living in a very white-souled world,and most of the white Jews from theDiaspora have been greatly affected bytheir long stay among the Europeans. Wealso know that birds of a feather flocktogether - but so too do people of likesouls. We also know that what is a Jew isone thing, but what is a Hebrew is quitea n o t h e r. If the right standard ofmeasurements were used, namely fromthe Torah, rather than recently developedand anti-Hebrew/Torah standards, thenthe Hebrews from the Sudan to the veryextremes of Africa, including the AfricanDiaspora, would be welcomed home.

Maybe it's not our time to berevealed to the world due tosocio/economical/ political implicationsbut we know that as long as the ONE whoby prophecy scattered us thousands ofyears ago, know who we are, and wherewe, the sons of Abraham are, then at leastour children or their children will befinally welcomed home by his propheticpre-determinations. ♦

Canada Derrick McEwan

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All that glitters is not goldDo not judge a thing by its attractiveappearance. ♦

THE URGENT SEARCH FORJEWISH UNITYExtracts from an address by ProfessorMoshe KavehPresident of Bar-Ilan UniversityAs delivered in Cleveland, Ohio lastJanuary

My speciality as a physicist isthe study of stable and unstable systems.And I am constantly asking myself: IsIsrael a stable state? Are the Jewishpeople a stable system? Will Judaismand Jewish identity be preserved overgenerations?

To answer those questions, firstwe need to acknowledge the dangerousgaps between Jews, because reducingthese gaps is the way to unity. I think thisis the need of the hour, this urgent searchfor unity.

More and more Israelicolumnists, politicians and ordinarypeople on the street denounce all theOrthodox as medieval or uncultured, totreat everyone who wears a kippa assome kind of dark and evil force.

Lately the behaviour of theSupreme Court of Israel is troubling tomany religious Jews, who feel itshouldn't be ruling on religious issueslike conversion and matters of Jewishidentity. I myself believe that our activistSupreme Court is moving into cornerswhere it shouldn't go. How do we closethe dangerous, growing gaps thatseparate Jews from Jews, especiallyreligious Jews and the non-religious?And how do we build a state that is bothJewish and democratic? We needconcrete ideas and concrete action.

Right now, in Israel, there is abattle between the extremists of both thereligious and secular camps. T h emajority of people - who are moderates -unfortunately are getting swept into thefray.

One source of the problem isthat there are too many rabbis whobelieve that halacha is everything in life,that halacha is all encompassing. If so,there is a problem with the notion of ademocratic state.

On the other hand, the judges inour Supreme Court and many of ourpoliticians and intellectual leadersbelieve that civic law and democraticnorms are everything that you need in acountry.

In physics, we know that youcannot have two bodies occupying thesame space simultaneously. And that isthe nature of this conflict. We have two

systems of law and authority in Israel andeach imperialistically believes that itslaws and norms must supercede allothers.

According to Isaac Luria, the16th century Kabbalist, when G-dcreated the universe he had to withdraw,make tzimtzum, from some parts.

We Israelis - and other Jews also- could use a little tzimtzum right now. Ifeveryone reduced and contracted theirambitions a bit, if everyone withdrew astep or two, if each side stopped trying toimpose its view of the world on ourcomplex society, then we might be able toavoid the explosion of raw hatred thatthreatens us now.

This means that the rabbisshould stop using the halacha as the basisfor statements about political issues.They should restrict themselves to thehalachic point of view on Shabbat, onprayer, on what the Torah and Talmud sayabout contemporary life, but not politics.That's tzimtzum.

In the same way, the IsraeliSupreme Court doesn't need toaggressively and defiantly apply civil lawto every aspect of life. In a democracythe decisions of the Supreme Court mustbe obeyed, and for this reason it mustabstain from ruling on spiritual matters,that too is tzimtzum.

Our religious schoolsincreasingly are afraid to confront or dealwith secular culture, which is perceivedas inherently corrupt and opposed to aJewish way of life. As a result, youngpeople in those schools are sheltered andcut off from mainstream Israeli life.

Likewise, most of our secularshelter and cut off their students from anycontact with Jewish tradition and Jewishwisdom. The idea that the Torah and theTalmud have profound wisdom to offerall Jews, whether or not they believe inG-d, seems to have escaped many ofIsrael's educational leaders.

We now have in Israel a smallbut growing number of wonderfuldialogue programs. Secular and religiousstudents are meeting each other. They aretalking, studying together, developingtolerance, discovering that they havemuch in common, and Bar- I l a nUniversity professors are activelyinvolved in many of them. We teach thatJudaism and democracy arecomplimentary values.

Even in the haredi world, thereis a growing understanding that the toolsof the modern world - like math, likesocial work, like computers - will helpContinued on following page

young Jews without depriving them oftheir Jewishness.

We need to develop a stablesociety whose basic values are shared bythose who keep kosher and those whodon't, by the young people in the cafes ofTel Aviv and the yeshivah scholars.

An important rule of Jewish lifeshould be the primacy of Klal Yisrael, thecommunity of Israel.

In Jewish tradition, we place agreat emphasis on the sanctity of life.The sanctity of life supercedes the Torah,we are taught Jewish wisdom and Jewishlaw indicate that Klal Yisrael supercedeJewish life. We go to war and risk ourlife to protect our loved ones and friendsand neighbours and Jews we don't know.But since Jewish life is secondary to KlalYisrael, then Klal Yisrael supercedes theTorah.

It's unfortunate that somesectors in the Jewish world believe theyand they alone are Klal Yisrael, that theyand they alone are the Jewish community.In fact, in Israel, Klal Yisrael includes theheredim, the dattim or national-religious,and the secular sectors, each and everyJew. In the United States, Klal Yisraelincludes the Orthodox, Conservative,Reform, Reconstructionist and theunaffiliated. Imagine what our life wouldbe like if our Israeli rabbis understoodthat Conservative and the Reform Jewsare also Klal Yi s r a e l. Imagine howimaginative their rulings would be if theybelieved that, when dealing with theconversion of Reform Jews, Klal Yisraelis the supreme value. Imagine how muchmore welcoming they would be toOrthodox women who want a bigger rolein Jewish rituals.

Right now, in Israel, we teachour children to die for Klal Yisrael but notto live for it. We do not teach them howto devote themselves to making sure KlalYisrael is preserved in times of peace, aswell as in times of war.

Scribe: The virtue of lying.It is noteworthy that the Ten

Commandments do not contain aprohibition on lying. But some Rabbisbelieve that a commandment "Thou shaltnot lie" is equivalent to all theprohibitions of the Ten Commandments.

In his speech at Cleveland,Ohio, Bar-Ilan President, Dr MosheKaveh, came out with another advice,namely that when you have aconfrontation between peace and thetruth, peace is more important than truth.

As an example he goes on to citethe case of a woman who became

pregnant and had an abortion and thenshe became religious and married an ultraOrthodox, then gave birth to a "first born"son. There is a special redeemingceremony (Pediom) which we conductfor first-born sons. Except that thewoman knew that this child was not the"first-born fruit of the womb", she hadnever told her husband of her previouslife, pregnancy and abortion. Should shenow? She asked Rabbi Obadia Yosef, theleading Sephardi halachic decisor of ourgeneration: "Should I tell my husband? Itwill cause tremendous pain and conflict."Rabbi Yosef's wise response:"Whenever you have a conflict betweenpeace and truth, peace prevails. Don't tellyour husband".

Dr Kaveh's general advice toresort to lies for the sake of harmony andpeace is hard to swallow.

Moreover, Dr Kaveh who is anOrthodox Jew was speaking to anAmerican audience composed mostly ofReformed Jews and his whole lectureshows that he was playing to thegallery. ♦

HISTORY OFTHE UNIVERSEfrom a booklet by Professor MosheKavehPresident of Bar Ilan University

When a child enters primaryschool, and finally begins to learn Rashi,he encounters Rashi's commentary on theverse "And G-d said: Let there beluminaries in the heavens"(Genesis 1:14).The Talmud (Hullin 60b) quotes RabbiShimon ben Pazi: "It is first written ' thetwo great luminaries', and then it iswritten 'the great luminary.' How is thisexplained? The Moon said to theAlmighty: 'Master of the World, is itpossible for two kings to rule under onecrown?' The Almighty replied: 'Go anddiminish yourself'."

Although this parable has animportant moral lesson for allgenerations, it is also interesting to askwhether there is any relation between theGenesis text and science, or at least thescience of the ancient world. The ideathat the Earth was destined to revolvearound the "two luminaries" generatesgreat curiosity. Is such a thing possible?

Before providing answers forlegions of kindergarten teachers and theirpupils to the questions listed above, it isuseful to survey briefly the history of the

universe and the scientific theory of theformation of the Sun and the Moon.

The universe originated about15 billion years ago in a violentexplosion, popularly known as the "bigbang". Immediately after the big bang,the entire universe was filled withradiation. Part of the radiant energy wasimmediately and spontaneouslytransformed into the elementary particlesof matter, and after only one second (!),protons and neutrons were formed.

Three minutes after the "bigbang", the first atomic nuclei wereformed, primarily helium. At that time,the temperature of the universe was onebillion degrees! Great drama! T h ephysics of electromagnetic waves,elementary particles, and nuclear physics,which constitute about 75% of thephysics curriculum for the B.Sc degree inevery university, all originated withinthree minutes!

The rate of the subsequentdevelopment of the universe was greatlyslowed. About 300,000 uneventful yearswere to pass after the "big bang" as theuniverse gradually cooled down.H o w e v e r, when the universe finallyreached a temperature of about 6000degrees, dramatic events again began tohappen. The first signs appeared of thethe present-day structure of the universe,which consists of different materials.

These scientific findingsaroused great excitement seven yearsago, when the results of the COBEsatellite reached the Earth. This satellite,launched into space in 1989 with themost sophisticated equipment on board,succeeded in measuring the radiation thatreaches our planet from a distance of over500 million light years. (One light year isthe distance travelled by light in one year,nearly 10 trillion kilometres). T h ephotographs taken by COBE showed thedevelopment of the universe startingfrom 300,000 years after its origin. Howmuch time had to pass until the formationof atoms, the study of which constitutesthe remaining 25% of the universityphysics curriculum? The first atomswere formed about 10 million years afterthe "big bang".

When were the Earth, Sun, andMoon formed? Physicists have learnedthat the solar system came into beingabout 10 billion years after the "bigbang", that is, about five billion yearsago. The Sun and planets appeared first,but the Moon was not formed until about50 million years after the planetEarth. ♦

From: Professor Moshe KavehPresident of Bar-Ilan UniversityRamat-Gan, Israel

When I look back on the pastyear in Israel, a year of many newbeginnings. Last year we launched ourmajor project for the next fifty years - our$500 million campus extension in RamatGan - with advanced construction on thefirst four buildings.

Four historic lead gifts, all fromfriends of the university in the UnitedStates have jump-started construction onthe Gonda (Goldschmied) BrainResearch Center, the Ann and MarcusRosenberg Music Building, the Anna &Max Webb & Family PsychologyBuilding, and we shall finish the Jack andGitta Nagel Family Jewish HeritageHouse this year.

We have also made significantprogress in advancing essential academicgoals in a number of key disciplines. TheCenter for the Study of Dead Sea Scrollsand Jewish Epigraphy was established inpartnership with David and JemimaJeselsohn of Switzerland and a newchemistry library and research wing isbeing established by dear friends of theUniversity from Australia. I am proud tonote that our campaign to establishdoctoral fellowships is gainingimpressive momentum.

We also made a major decisionto open a new School of Hi-Te c hEngineering, and we launched our VirtualJewish University on the Internet

(http://bar-ilan.edu).I can only be grateful for G-d's

blessings and the friendship of oursupporters around the world. We haveachieved so much.

At this time of the year mythoughts also turn from the university tothe broader, the Jewish world beyond -and I find cause for concern indeed.

We seek to bridge between Jewsand Israelis of all persuasions by teachingJewish tradition and ethics in an open,critical manner. Bar-Ilan University'smore than 45,000 graduates are testamentto our success in this regard. ♦

I WOULD CHOOSEDEATH OVER ETERNAL

LIFEfrom The London Daily Telegraph

"Death may no longer beinevitable," writes Dr John Harris,Professor of Bioethics at ManchesterU n i v e r s i t y, and a member of theGovernment's Genetic Commission. Inever expected to read such wordswritten by a serious scientist in mylifetime.

Of course, no one is suggestingthe imminent demise of the Grim Reaper,Male life expectancy since 1900 hasincreased by about 25 years. Announcingthe results of the Human Genome Projectthis week, Bill Clinton gave young LeoBlair an extra 25 years on the spot.Others are already talking about 150

years, the more exuberant 1,000. Theabolition of mortality is now semi-o fficially envisaged on some distanthorizon. It will be achieved by meddlingaround with genes, which will improvethe quality of life as well as its quantity.

Many will greet this putativevictory over death as a potential triumph.I believe that it would be a tragedy. Fordeath has a purpose, and without it, ourlives on earth would be meaningless anddevoid of value.

This is not the popular view ofdeath. The decline of religious belief inwestern Europe has contributed touncertainty of what becomes of us afterit. We fear the unknown, and death itselfmay hurt. Mortality militates against thedesire to control our own destinies. Apredictable death, as in terminal illness,seems no more palatable than the surprisedemise of a heart attack. Life is fun and,even when foul, preferable to thealternative. There were relatively fewsuicides in the extermination camps. Theneo-Darwinists see us as robots whosedefining genes are simply selfish survivalmechanisms. We are programmed toavoid death. No wonder we recoil fromit.

But do we? Should we? Willwe? If death is no longer inevitable, willit acquire some attraction? Perhaps ourdistaste for it is coloured, if not caused,by its supposed inevitability. Imagine ifdeath were a choice. Would it lead to abreakdown or to a strengthening of thebrotherhood of man? I suggest theformer. The earth's resources are finiteand would concentrate in the hands of thesuper-vital, super-aged, to the chagrin oftheir great, great, great grand-children.Who can doubt that, even today, childrenare often ambivalent about their agedparents' continued existence?Governments, and the dictators we seemto have forgotten about so swiftly, wouldsoon be busy organising "forcedretirement". Life would quickly becomenasty, brutish and long.

Crammed together like sardines,and competing with our own progeny forlimited space and material resources, wewould be alive, but dead from déjà vu.Everything of value would have diedexcept for us... fun, excitement, love,hope, sex, pleasure. It seems certain thatour desire for life would not long outlastthe knowledge that our wish forimmortality would soon be eternallygratified.

Mistrust and fear of deathdepend on another assumption that may

Last March was thewedding in London of DrAmira Naseem Sopher andFrankie Sweiry.

Frankie who is anaccountant is the son of Isaacand Rahma Sweiry who camef rom Bahrain but wereoriginally from Iraq. DrAmira is now a partner GP ina London suburb (see alsopicture gallery in The Scribe70, page 6).

The picture left shows thecouple with the bridesmaidGaby Khalastchy. ♦


not be true. Is life really good?Optimists, answering yes, would point to(say) beauty, love, the joy of children, orthe kindness and moral goodness of man.Research into happiness is narrowly onthe side of those who say that, onbalance, they are contented. In ourcultural climate, to admit that life isunpleasant is construed as a sign that wehave failed in it. But the last century sawhorrors unlike any the world has known.

But if life is, on balance, bad,and eternal life as unattractive as it isinsupportable, what then of death, thegreat deliverance? When no longernatural and inevitable, might it at last beconsidered good? For believers in G-dand Heaven, how can it not be awonderful thing to die?

In truth, death defines our life asa full stop does a sentence. Death alone,by providing an ending, makes sense ofour birth and the drama of life inbetween. We have a limited time to planour legacy, to play to the best of ourability the cards we have been dealt.Death gives value to our times. Thosewho have brushed with it, and survived,talk of its pleasantness, and yet returnfrom the brink born again, determinednot to waste now precious years. Theysee purpose and meaning in those thingsthey had taken for granted and aredetermined to leave their mark ofgoodness on the microcosmic moment offorever that is human existence. A surfeitof life will sicken our appetite for it.Rationing it naturally sharpens our desireto leave our echo in eternity. Wi l lsomebody tell the scientists that death isnot our enemy? It is our friend. ♦

THE DEMISE OF G-DContinuation of Thoughts & Afterthoughts

Eternal life is equivalent to aperpetual life imprisonment - a fate worsethan death. Should G-d, then, be deniedthe luxury of dying?

In recent years much has beenwritten and said about the death of G-d,apparently because nothing has beenheard of Him or from Him for some time.The G-d referred to is obviously the G-dof the Bible, our G-d.

The idea of G-d took manymillennia to develop - first G-d theCreator, then the One True G-d, then G-dthe Sustainer, who keeps the Universeticking.

The fact that the Universe was

the result of an act of creation did not seem obvious to everyone. It was arrivedat by our ancestors but was rejectedelsewhere. As recently as 330 BCE whenAlexander the Great visited Israel, hewrote to his mentor, the philosopherAristotle, asking him what he thought ofthe Jewish idea of Creation. His replywas, "What creation? The world hasalways been there!" It was for this thatthe prophet said:"Darkness shall cover the earth, and deepdarkness the nations but on thee G-dshines and his glory will be seen uponthee."

Modern science has confirmedthe inspired knowledge of our ancestorsregarding the origin of the Universe andits creation out of nothing which startedwith the Big Bang. Encouraged by thisinformation, even serious Bible scholarsare trying to find scientific proof in everyword of the Bible which is overdoing it.

The idea of the One True G-dcame about by reasoning that if therewere more than one G-d, soon they wouldcompete with one another and in the endone of them would have emerg e dvictorious and thus became the One TrueG-d.

The idea of G-d the Sustainer,One who does not sleep or slumber butkeeps the Universe going, the Living G-d, was arrived at in Babylon by Abrahamwho was an astronomer and whose ideasare the foundations of all threemonotheistic Faiths. According toJosephus, the first century Jewishmilitary commander and historian,Abraham noticed that some stars werenot fixed in the sky, but continued tomove from one place to another and cameto the conclusion that it must be G-d

Himself who, like a croupier, keepsmoving these stars around.

We know now, of course, thatthe Universe is self-sustaining and doesnot need anyone to direct its movements.In fact, any outside interference would bedisastrous. There is no need, therefore,for G-d to take any part in the running ofhis Creation. Thus, if G-d created theUniverse but is no longer there, when didHe pass away? Surely, G-d who createdtime could not have disappeared at amoment in time. G-d could only havedisappeared with the Big Bang. It wasthe simultaneous moment of G-d'sdemise and the Creation of the Universe.In other words, the Universe is G-d'swonderful memorial.

What about all the instances thatG-d spoke to Moses, the experience atMount Sinai, the parting of the Red Sea,the miracles? How did all these eventscome about if G-d was no longer there?The answer is that all these events werepre-recorded, pre-destined.

More and more, scientists andphilosophers are coming to theconclusion that every event, past presentand future, since the Big Bang and untilthe end of Time was programmed at thetime of Creation. It is also the experienceof old people that what happens has tohappen because it is the destiny that itshould happen.

Where do we go from here? Webelieve that man was created in the imageof G-d and I therefore believe that manunless he will destroy himself bycommitting an error, is eventuallydestined to become G-d himself which isnot impossible in a world of infinity andeternity.

I am writing all the above in theJewish tradition of investigating andenquiring without any intention ofirreverence. ♦

THE LESSON OF T H EHOLOCAUST

The extermination during thewar in cold blood and with impunity, bythe beasts of Germany and its allies, ofsix million Jews, is a crime unequalledsince the dawn of civilisation. It is an eyeopener for those with intelligence.

As he witnessed the dailyconsignment of ten thousand men,women and children to the gas chambers,one Rabbi remarked “If G-d does notintervene in this massacre, then take itfrom me that, as far as we are concerned,there is no G-d!” ♦

NEW EVIDENCE OF THEGREAT FLOODfrom The Sunday Times - 27.9.99

Compelling evidence that therewas a Great Flood, as told in the OldTestament story of Noah's Ark, has beenfound far below the waters of the BlackSea by an American expedition.

Underwater surveyors, led byRobert Ballard, the renownedoceanographer who found the Titanic andother sunken ships of the 20th century,have discovered an ancient coastline at adepth of 450 ft.

"I am not sure whether it isNoah's flood or not Noah's flood, but I dobuy that there was a flood," said DavidMindell, one of the surveyors.

The Ballard team was workingfrom a theory about the biblical flood ofantiquity propounded by two marinegeologists from Columbia University inNew York, William Ryan and Wa l t e rPittman, in their new book, Noah's Flood,reviewed in Scribe No. 71, page 3.

As Dr Ballard explained;"During the last great Ice Age glaciersadvanced across the surface of the world.That lowered the sea level 400ft. Then,12,000 years ago at the end of the IceAge, the glaciers began to retreat".

With its lower sea level, theeastern Mediterranean was cut off fromthe Black Sea so that when the oceansstarted to rise, the Black Sea did not.

Dr Ballard continued: "Around7,600 years ago, guess what happens?The Mediterranean breaks through anatural dam at the Bosphorus andcatastrophically floods the land surface.People living there are 400ft below sealevel and in trouble. They are facing aflood equal to 10,000 Niagara Falls."

This flood was on a far greaterscale than the one described in Genesis,which is said to have lasted for 40 daysand 40 nights, covering every living thingon Earth beneath 24ft of water other thanNoah, his family and his pairs of animalscarried to safety on the ark.

In the new theory, it is believedthat each day for two years ten cubicmiles of ocean water cut through thewidening Bosphorus channel as it flowedinto what was then a fresh water lake,raising the level by six inches a day.

The incoming salt water, moredense than the fresh water it displaced,plunged to the bottom of the lake bed,transforming it into a sea where thedepths support no life.

This area of inert darkness isknown as an abyss that is anoxic,meaning that the trapped water could notcirculate and has lost its oxygen, "Suchconditions exist nowhere else in theworld," Dr Ballard said.

The theory supposes that in thisdead zone wooden ships will bepreserved intact, possibly still with theirBronze Age sails, and just waiting for DrBallard and his team. The explorers areconvinced that there may be many shipson the bottom because the Black Seaserved as an important commercialwaterway.

Dr Ballard has participated in120 deep-sea expeditions. He found twoPhoenician vessels more than 3,000 yearsold.

Scribe: In response to our enquiry, theBritish Admiralty have confirmed thatwater flows from the Mediterraneanthrough the straits of the Dardanelle andthe Bosphorus into the Black Sea. Thisclearly indicates that the Mediterraneanreceives much more river water than doesthe Black Sea which supports theassumption that when the Dardanelle wasclosed in ancient times, the water level ofthe Mediterranean became much higherthan that of the Black Sea.♦

THE HAZON PETAYAREHABILITATION CENTRE by: Mrs Simcha Petaya-Ovadiya, Director of the Hazon Petaya Centre

For over 25 years, the HazonPetaya Rehabilitation Center inJerusalem has been providingrehabilitation through work for men andwomen who cannot hold jobs any placeelse, because of physical problems oremotional disturbances. Since itsfounding by my late father, Shaul Petaya,the Center has taught a trade and helpedrehabilitate over 2,000 psychiatricpatients.

At Hazon Petaya, eachindividual does real work in packaging,sewing and print production finishing.The work is supervised by a professionals t a ff, with counsel provided bypsychologists and social workers.

Patients receive salaries whichare most often not covered by the actualwork done. At Hazon Petaya, the work isnever an end in itself, but a therapyleading to healing and recovery. In fact,

most of the patients at Hazon Petayaremain dependent for the rest of theirlives, but a number do go on to find jobsoutside, get married, begin studying andeven start their own businesses.

In recent years, however,government support for Hazon Petayahas been cut and increased competitionhas made it more difficult to obtain workfor the patients. As a result, the HazonPetaya Center has built up a huge debtand can only accept a fraction of allpotential patients.

By sending your contribution toHazon Petaya today, you will help us tocontinue to provide "rehabilitationthrough work" - the best medicine forthose who need to feel self-esteem, self-worth and pride in theiraccomplishments.

Scribe: How Rommell was halted.On her visit to our offices, Mrs

Petaya related that in 1942 Rommell andhis German army were advancing rapidlyalong the Egyptian coast towardsPalestine. The Jews there became afraidof the consequences of falling into thehand of the Nazis, and many thought ofd i fferent ways of committing suicide.Shaoul Petaya went to the BritishCommanding Officer and asked him tolet him use an aeroplane to save thesituation by prayers and supplications.As the situation was desperate the officeragreed, and Shaoul Petaya took 12 whitechickens and flew around the countrykilling the chickens one by one assacrificial offering for the safety ofPalestine and throwing them out of thewindow on the ground below. It appearsthat soon thereafter Rommell's advancewas halted and the tide began to turnagainst him. The Jews of Palestine drewa deep sigh of relief, while the Arabsbecame greatly disappointed. They hadbeen chanting everywhere, "Hasten yoursteps Rommell".

A similar incident was recentlyreported by the BBC during the longwinter drought in Israel. Ten OrthodoxRabbis took an aeroplane with livechickens and performed a similar ritual.Two days later, reported the BBC, therain began to fall and the drought came toan end.

Nevertheless, the Arabs, whowere on the side of Hitler, received all thebenefit of the Second World War, whilethe Jews who were on the side of theAllies are still struggling for a coastalstrip of rocky territory. ♦

Dear Dr Soros

My wife and I and our son werevery fortunate to attend the dinner at ParkLane Hotel, London on May 4th given bythe Board of Deputies in your honour,and to listen to the most interestinganswers to the various questions whichwere put to you. Allow me to put to youmy own question, kindly requesting youropinion on this important issue.

In view of the recent finaldemise of the gold standard, the gradualphasing out of gold reserves by centralbanks, and of the gradual transition topaper money, firstly by the issuing ofgold certificates, then by promissorymoney (I promise to pay the bearer TENPOUNDS)....... do you think thatthe time has come for mankind to achievethe biblical dream of Moses and work outan interest-free monitory system? Thiscan simply be done by accepting theprinciple that promissory paper moneyneeds to be issued - not in the name of themoney lender nor of the central bank, butby the consumer, or in the name of theconsumer.

In moving from commoditymoney to promissory money, economistsdid not take the right step. Mosesidentified the problem of the need for aninterest-free medium of exchange, but nosolution was possible at that time.

Moses left only a pious wishagainst usury, taken up by the Christiansin the Middle Ages and also by theMoslems. Ironically Jews became themoney lenders to the Gentiles with greatriches and persecution. Present Islamicbanking is only cosmetic.

My Foundation is able andwilling to devote the necessary funds forthe promotion of this idea.

Yours sincerely Naim Dangoor

Dear Mr DangoorThank you for your letter of

May 9th. I am afraid I am not in aposition to answer your question about aninterest free monetary system.

With best wishes.George SorosSoros Fund Management LLCOpen Society InstituteNew York

Scribe: Dr Soros is known to give anabrupt comment on matters in which he isnot an expert. ♦

It was a great pleasure to readTHE SCRIBE, issue 72. I see from thisissue that interest-free lending is a matterclose to Mr Naim Dangoor's heart.

I have been working on thismatter for many years and I believe thatinterest-free linkage to the average wageor income is a practical way of lending,and is in the spirit of the Miswah: "If thoulend money to My people, even to thepoor with thee, thou shalt not be to him asa creditor; neither shall ye lay upon himinterest" [Exodus 22-24].

Interest-free loans linked to thepublished average wage would give anaverage yearly return of about 1.5%above the price index to the lender.Erosion of the lender's money isprevented, but there are risks.

I look forward to hearing fromyou.

Israel Raphael B Yehezkel

Scribe:Thank you for your information

on interest-free loans. Your solution,however, is cosmetic. You just try to getaround the biblical ban on usury byvarious means. This is like Islamicbanking. When a person deposits moneywith an Islamic bank, instead of receivinginterest, he receives a share of the bank'sprofit. This is like curing the symptomsinstead of curing the illness. My solutionis more genuine, more radical. It goes tothe root of money. Money must be issuedin the name of the consumer, instead of inthe name of the money lender.

If promissory money is issuedby or in the name of the consumer,interest suddenly disappears. This is thereal money, not commodity money.Where mankind went wrong was to treatpaper money as commodity money.Promissory money was not possible atthe time of Moses, so the To r a hmentioned the problem but could notprovide a solution at that time. Now wecan have the solution.

You still talk about a lender anda creditor which is directly contraveningthe Miswah you quote.

I believe that the greatest dangerin the world is not the atom bomb, notglobal warming, but compound interest.

For a full explanation of Mr Yehezkael'sideas please refer to his home page:http://shekel.jct.ac.il/~rafi ♦

Letter sent to:The Rt Reverend Dr Richard HarriesBishop of Oxford

Dear Bishop

Why are the poor, poor?

I was interested in your"Thought for the Day", this morning,especially as that question has been onmy mind for 70 years. Since the latetwenties I have been thinking over theproblem of poverty and its possiblesolutions.

Communism succeeds inmaking everyone poor, and this cannot bethe answer. Capitalism fails to makeeveryone rich, and it too cannot be theanswer. Helping the poor, while a virtuein itself, the need for it is a loudcondemnation of our economic system.

Sooner or later mankind, afterdecades free of major warfare, will cometo realise:1. The need to restrict the ability to storewealth. The Bible deals with that point,limiting the ownership of landed propertyto 50 years.2. Money is a form of credit, andpromissory money must be issued in thename of the consumer and not by themoney lender. The amount of interestpaid by the community for the use ofpromissory money is staggering andcrippling. The Bible condemnedusury but unfortunately does not offer asolution. The solution is that moneyshould be issued by the consumer basedon ability to repay.

Jubilee Dot Com may yet be thegreatest spinner of them all!

Naim Dangoor

Reply letter from the Bishop of Oxford:

Dear Mr Dangoor

Thank you for your letter. It wasgood to receive your thoughts on thisimportant subject.

With all good wishes.The Rt Reverend Richard Harries

S c r i b e : Bishop Harries re c e n t l yinformed his congregants that anyChristian who cannot believe in thedivinity of Jesus should not revert toUnitarian Christianity but should take upJudaism - a religion which has beensuccessfully tested and has survived for4,000 years. ♦

INTEREST FREE MONITARY SYSTEM

MOSHE KATZAV - ISRAEL'S8TH PRESIDENTby Percy Gourgey MBE

The election in August 2000 ofMoshe Katzav as Israel's 8th President,defeating the famous Shimon Peres in aKnesseth vote, 63-57, surprisede v e r y b o d y. The vote coincided withdissatisfaction over Prime MinisterBarak's handling of the failed Peace talksat Camp David earlier in the month.Barak had backed Peres.

Katzav was born in Iran in 1945and came to Israel in 1951 where hisfamily had settled in the religious town ofKiriat Malachi. Katzav's rise toeminence may be compared to theAmerican process of log cabin to WhiteHouse!

He graduated from the BenShemen Agricultural School and, aftermilitary service, obtained a degree ineconomics and history from the HebrewUniversity in Jerusalem. At the age of 24he became (Likud) Mayor of KiriatMalachi, the youngest mayor inministerial posts in Likud governmentsculminating as Minister for Tourism andTrade in Netanyahu's government from1996-1999.

I met him in Tbilisi, Georgia inSeptember 1998 when he led a largedelegation of Georgian businessmenfrom Israel which contracted billions ofdollars business between Israel andGeorgia. I was a member of the WorldSephardi Federation delegation.

The President of Georg i a ,Eduard Shevardnaze. the penultimateSoviet Foreign Minister under PresidentGorbachev had decided to celebrate theforthcoming millennium in a unique way.As members of the Georgian OrthodoxChristian Church, they decided to honourtheir 2,500 year old Jewish community,which had never suffered anti-Semitism,through four days of state celebrations. Itwas a wonderful experience with manynotable events organised by theGovernment. It concluded with a StateBanquet. ♦

GOURGEY FELDMAN WEDDING

The wedding took place recentlyat the London Savoy Hotel of GabrielleG o u rg e y, (daughter of my brotherReggie) with Andrew Feldman. The toastwas proposed by Mr James Wolferson,President of the World Bank inWashington, a personal friend of Reggie.

London Percy Gourgey

ONE GENERATION GOES AWAY AND A NEW GENERATIONARRIVES

On 15 June a son was born to David and Ide Dangoor of New York, a brother to histhree sisters. He was named Selim Eliahou Edward, being the grandson of SelimEliahou Dangoor who passed away two years ago and of Eliahou Edward Weitzen.

Above: picture of the new born

Below : the Torah Crown which was donated by the family to the Great Synagogue ofStockholm in memory of Selim Dangoor.

At the presentation of the Torah Crown, the Chief Rabbi emeritus, MortonNarrowe made a moving sermon in the presence of Ruth, children andgrandchildren. ♦

Eliyahu Hillel ZL

I have written a small article inmemory of my Brother, Eliyahu ZL. Ihad it translated to English, which youmay wish to print in The Scribe. I believeEliyahu deserves it. Moreover, I believehis story is the story of a wholegeneration, your generation, that isworthwhile to tell.

Jerusalem Shlomo Hillel

On the 2nd of Shevat (January 8,2000), Eliyahu Hillel passed away at theage of 84.

Those passing by his grave inthe Yarkon Cemetery might not knowthat there lies a precious man, a man ofgreat deeds, a man who loved his fellowman and who was loved in return. Theycouldn't have known that there lies afascinating life story - the story of apioneer whose life symbolises thebeginnings of the redemption of theancient Babylonian Jewry, itsimmigration to the Land of Israel, andbecoming involved in building it.

Eliyahu ZL was one of thefounders of the Ahiever Movement inBaghdad and a key activist in it at the endof the 20's and the beginning of the 30's.Together with friends, most of themyouths at the Jewish school "Shamash"he established a dynamic Zionistmovement which dedicated itself toteaching Hebrew, speaking Hebrew, and

promoting a strong connection with theJewish community in the Land of Israel.During those years, while the Britishmandate was still in effect in Iraq, onecould engage in Zionist activity more orless legally (though under theintimidating, hostile surveillance of thelocal Muslim population and thegovernment institutions). When Iraqbecame independent in 1932, it becameclear that the Zionist movement could nolonger operate, due to the extremenationalistic attitudes of the rulers of Iraq.And the movement did indeed break up,with some of the members immigratingto Israel, while others who remained inplace becoming submerged in theproblems of day to day existence.

Eliyahu, the son of a well-to-dobusinessman, decided that he wanted toimmigrate to the Land of Israel and torealize the ideal he had believed in andexhorted others to realize. This was atrue revolution in the Hillel family. Hisfive older brothers had already left Iraq,but not for the land of Israel but rather forcountries all around the world, wherethey conducted extensive business. Thiswas the role designated for Eliyahu whenhe finished school - to take his place inthe family business. But he stood hisground: neither business, nor commerce,instead - the Land of Israel and thestudyng of agriculture - of all things - atthe Mikveh Israel Agricultural School, aspreparation for realizing the dream ofbeing pioneering farmer in the Land ofIsrael. He was 18 years old when he lefthis parents' warm, comfortable home tocope with a new and unfamiliar reality ofdormitory life in an agriculture school inthe Land of Israel.

Eliyahu's aliyah symbolised aturning point in the life of the entirefamily and perhaps even contributed to it.Except for those who had already struckroots in the various foreign countriesaround the world where they were living,the entire family immigrated to Israel,one after another, became deeplyinvolved in the life of the country, andbecame an address for many of the IraquiJews who later came to Israel and soughtout good advice and guidance inbecoming successfully absorbed in thecountry.

Eliyahu's marriage to Renee ofthe Twena family and the outbreak of theSecond World War which severely hurtthe citrus export industry (one of themajor agricultural crops at that time), putan end to Eliyahu's dream of agricultural

life.He built his house in North Tel

Aviv, a house that many remember as anopen house known for its hospitality.

Another chapter in my brotherEliyahu's life began when I was recruitedinto the Mossad for Aliyah Bet and senton missions to Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanonand Egypt. It was clear that Eliyahu wasthe only one in the family to whom Iconfided the secret of my leaving onconfidential missions, and his infinitelove and concern always accompaniedme on those missions for many years.One of the veteran members of the AliyahBet group said to me on the day ofEliyahu's funeral: "You thought it wasonly you who were recruited into theMossad for Aliyah Bet, but no less thanyou - Eliyahu was also recruited. Hishome and his office in Wesco (oppositethe old central bus station in Tel Aviv)served us at the Mossad for Aliyah Bet asa second office that was always at ourdisposal, day and night". And that wasso, not just his office but also the home ofEliyahu and Renee became the home ofthe people of the Aliyah Bet group.Many emissaries, when they came toIsrael, were hosted for days at their homeon Ben Yehuda 121. At that time, it wasnot customary for emissaries who cameto Israel to stay at hotels and they wereglad to sleep on the rugs in Eliyahu'shouse and to be hosted at his generoustable, abundant with the good foodprepared by his wife Renee. Manyimmigrants who came to Israel also knewtheir address, found their way to it, andwere given help. Testimony of that maybe found by the many people whoattended his funeral or who came tocomfort the family during the shivaperiod.

Eliyahu left a wife and threeloving sons, two of them living in Canada, but the youngest son, Mickey, lives inIsrael and is raising his family here. Thethree children of Mickey and his wifeOrli, Eliyahu's grandchildren, were asource of joy and delight to Eliyahu in hislast years. With the good feeling that hischildren, grandchildren, relatives andfriends loved him, he left this world. Forus, his family, his wife, his children, hisbrother and sisters it is hard to saygoodbye. The pain is deep, the loss isgreat.

May his memory be blessed. ♦

OBITUARIES

Niazi Sion Dangoor

THE BEAUTY AND THE BEASTSby Abdulla S Dangoor

Niazi Sion Dangoor who diedrecently in Tel Aviv at the age of 90, wasborn in Baghdad in 1910 when Iraq was aprovince of the Ottoman Empire and wasnamed after Niazi Pasha the leader of theyoung Turks who staged a revolt againstthe Sultan. Niazi showed his skill inlanguages and at an early age masteredfour languages: Arabic, Hebrew, Englishand French and latterly German. He wasa brilliant entrepreneur and with the helpof his brother-in-law, Jacob Mashaal, aracing man and a member of the RacingBoard, he secured a concession for abetting office in town. A year later, at theage of 21, he realised that there was atrade opening with Germany and with theencouragement of Dr Grobba, theGerman minister in Baghdad, travelled tofar away city of Leipzig and established abranch office to one of the biggestcompanies in Iraq, Meyer Toeg andJoseph Moshi to trade through the newlyestablished Havara Mark which enabledGerman exports to be very competitive.Within a year he became fluent inGerman and achieved a great success inhis business enterprise.

In 1931, Germany was in a stateof tranquillity and Jews flourishing in thearts, music and business. The Lorélei, thepoem written by the Jewish poet,Heinrich Heine, was the most popularsong at the time: "I know not why I am sosad; I cannot get out of my head afairytale of Olden Times". But with theadvent of the Nazis things changed

overnight but they retained the songwithout mentioning the author. Almostevery foreigner had to sport a badge ofhis country and even members of thediplomatic corps with dark complexionswere molested. But Niazi was bold towalk the streets without fear. With hisangelic good looks, wave hair and blueeyes, he became like an icon in a drabcity. Dressed in a Savile Row suit byHenry Poole and driving in a smartMercedes Benz coupé, he was courted bythe intelligentsia as the first man from faraway Iraq in their midst. Among themwas Professor Landsberger thearchaeologist and the greatestAssyriologist of the century who was tocompose the Assyrian-English dictionary.

It was during my school holidayin Leipzig that my brother took me withhis girlfriend and a couple of Germanacquaintances to the races. Soon afterour arrival, the military band struck, theNazi anthem was sung by the crowdswho raised their hands in the Hitler salutewith shouts of Heil Hitler and Sieg Heil.It was a daring do of Niazi and I at hisside, giving the old fashioned militarysalute. The racegoers looked somewhatsurprised at our bold and defiant attitude.

A few days after this episode,Niazi was summoned to the GestapoChief Obersturmerbannfuhrer. Facingthe man with his intimidating physicalpresence, he deployed the strategy thatthe first part of defence is attack. Heupraided him for keeping him waiting ona primitive and uncomfortable bench.The blond beast, pompous, arrogant andbombastic became docile. Eventually thewolf turned into a little twerp. The Chiefasked him silly questions. Is Meyer thesenior partner of your company a Jew?Yes he is. Does he worship in asynagogue? I have no idea. Do youknow him well? "No. I have never methim." How is that? Because he lives inBasra and I am from Baghdad. Ach so!Where is Basra? It is the main port ofIraq. He never asked Niazi whether hewas a Jew for fear that he might tell himto mind his own business. When alertedby an aide that he may be dealing with aJew, he rebuked him by telling him: It isI who decide who is a Jew. A f t e rgruelling on petty and irrelevant subjects,Niazi could not contain his irritation, losthis patience and threatened to complainto the Wilhelm Strasse (The ForeignOffice) that the Chief overstepped hismark by his intrusive interview. TheChief has realised that he cannot drawswords with a man of intelligence,learning and charisma. He was now so

polite and promised that Niazi would notbe bothered again. This promise waskept for many years to come. He took theunprecedented step by standing up, shookhis hand, greeting Grosse Got and GuttenTag, and not raising his hand in the Nazisalute.

It was at the racecourse that IngeHansen Niazi's then girlfriend and one ofthe most beautiful women in Germany,was brought to the attention of Dr Ley,the Labour Minister and one of the mostrepulsive types of German corpulents.He asked to see the woman and aftermeeting her he fell madly in love withher, divorced his wife and married her.His strength through joy cruise shipsswarmed up to Westminster pier justbefore the war and in 1940 he promisedhis workers trips to the beauty spots ofconquered Britain. However, withReichs defeat he was indicted as warcriminal in Nuremberg and hangedhimself in his cell.

In 1938, after the Munichconference, Niazi was on a business tripto London. When he phoned his office inLeipzig, he was told by his secretary thathe cannot speak freely as the premiseswere occupied by the Gestapo and allcommunications were cut off with theoutside world. Niazi's first reaction wasnot to go back and was so advised by hisfriends and relatives. However, the nextday and on the spur of the moment, hetook the plane and went straight to theGestapo headquarters. He barged inunannounced and demanded to see thesenior chief who became his friend. Hestood before him, indomitable, unbentand courageous and berated him for theiraggressive raid. The man wasdumbfounded and after consulting hiscolleagues, he apologised profusely thatthe action was undertaken bysubordinates without his knowledge.

Why were the ruthless Gestapocosying to a man who cocked a snook atthem with a brash manner? Niazi had thepatronage of Dr Grobba and was a friendof the Emir Zaid the Iraqi envoy. Alsothey did not want to upset the notoriousKing Ghazi who was anti-British andbroadcasting pro-German propagandafrom his palace.

At this juncture Niazi came tothe conclusion that it was time to go. Herealised that war was imminent as hewatched from his office in NicolaiStrasse the queues of the contingent ofworkers, and was told that these can betransformed within hours into a fightingforce. He thought how naive and


ignorant the Western leaders were. TheFrench Prime Minister boasted that Hitlertreated him as an equal and Chamberlainproclaiming that he can trust the Fuhrerand that he is a man of his word and hecan do business with him.

He said goodbye to his tearfulGerman staff who regarded him as aforeign protector and his being inGermany was reassuring of continuedpeace. In fact some of them wrote to himafter the war seeking his help. Althoughmost of them were Nazi sympathisers,they felt very vulnerable and looked athim as a father figure and foreignprotector.

One final noble act was toobtain a visa and work permit in Francefor his Polish Jewish employee by thename of Fischleiber, mindful of theancient Rabbinic teaching that he whosaves a single life, saves the world. ♦

Edmond Safra

SUICIDE OUT OF FEAR

I knew an elderly gentleman, letus call him Jim, who had a morbid fear ofhanging himself if left alone in the house,and insisted on having someone stay withhim at all times. Being an intelligentperson, he reasoned with himself as to thecause of his anxiety. He came to theconclusion that he felt he would bevulnerable, if left alone, to anyoneforcing himself into the house or openingthe door by some means. As a result hedecided to put the chain on the door andhis problem came to an end.

In the case of Edmond Safra,there is no doubt that he was in a terrifiedstate, hiding in the bathroom. His fearwas if he opens the door he might fall intothe hands of his imagined enemy with theresult that he might be tortured and beforced to pay out millions. He came tothe conclusion that his best escape routewould be to die in one piece and leave hismoney intact.

In the event, there was no enemywaiting at the door and the honestEdmond Safra was only the victim of hisown imagination.

His successful life story wasadequately covered in the last issue ofSeptember 1999.

It is a case when money, whichis supposed to be a good servant, becamea bad master. ♦

OBITUARYby Stella Shamoon

NIAZI SHAMOON

Niazi (Abraham) HayimShamoon, beloved husband of Te ff e h(née Iny), father of Olivia, Stella andHilda, and grandfather of GuyGreenberg, Dahlia and Benjamin Danaand Samuel Setton (Smouha) passedaway on 2 September at the age of 86years.

Rabbi Levy and Rabbi Gubbayled the prayers at the burial.

The immediate family wasjoined by relatives from Paris and fromGeneva, along with life-long friends fromour community based in London.

Rabbi Levy said Niazi was apatriarch and dynamic man who althoughnot strictly speaking religious, had a deepsense of tradition and family values. Hegave fulsome praise to Teffeh for herunswerving devotion and love.

Niazi used to tell how he met hiswife Teffeh. "I met Teffeh at a weddingparty. The minute I arrived, two beautifuleyes fixed on me, they stunned me, Icouldn't believe them, I looked at her andshe smiled". It was love at first sight forboth of them. They married in 1942. In1948 the family moved to London.

This is what Niazi's daughterStella writes about her father:

My father was of a generation ofgreat, tough and courageous men wholived a turbulent but rich life thatstraddled East and West, Old and New.His death marks the passing of an era.Family and friends were indeed his mostprecious values.

Although a talented and

imaginative businessman, it was not thedesire for success that drove daddy. Itwas an inborn boundless energy and ahunger for challenge. He met eachchallenge and often conquered.

Niazi was born in Baghdad in1914 to a family of seven children. Hewas four when he lost his father.

His grieving mother turned toher father, a man of high moral rectitudeand sense of duty whom Niazi greatlyadmired and respected, and who fromthat day was to become provider,protector and head of the young bereavedfamily during the rest of his days.

Niazi's great grandfatherShamoon was a brother of the famousDavid Sassoon the First. But when theSassoons offered to assume responsibilityof the young widow and her children, hismaternal grandfather was too proud andsaid he did not want any outside help.

My father had a remarkablememory and was a wonderful storyteller.

He was a proud man, tall anddignified but utterly unpretentious,possessed of infectious friendliness and apowerful urge to communicate withothers. He approached everyone withrespect and an open mind.

Whether to charm, to persuadeor to argue his corner, my father was aneloquent advocate who delighted inwords, had a keen sense of humour andquick wit. He was as awesome inargument as he was persuasive in praise.

With his partner, the late GhaliShamash, my father built up a chain ofLondon-based hotels and servicedapartments, The Embassy Group, whichwas sold in 1976.

He was an old man but to theend retained a young person's hunger forlife and a keen sense of fun.

My father was unusually open-minded and tolerant towards peoplewhose cultures and principles weredifferent to his own. He was born in thesometimes sympathetic and tolerant andsometimes persecuting regimes of Islam.We were all deeply touched by the factthat so many of his friends came to paytheir respects to my father and each toldus "He was my best friend". ♦

℘℘℘℘℘℘

Absence makes the heart grow fonderWe feel more affection for our relativesand friends when we are parted fromthem. ♦

NATHAN SAATCHI

Nathan David Saatchi passed

away on May 31 after a short illness.Born in 1908 to a well-known Baghdadifamily, he established himself as a textilemerchant, importing mainly fromManchester. In 1945 he saw that therewas no future for the Jews in Iraq, andmoved to England before the Iraqigovernment instituted stringent anti-semitic laws. He settled in London andpurchased wool and textile factories. In1947 he sent for his family. The Saatchisintegrated quickly into English society.

Despite the corporate success ofSaatchi and his sons, the family patriarchfound immigrant life to be lonely andlonged for his Sephardic roots. Severalyears after settling in London, Nathanbecame involved in the city's Spanish andPortuguese Jewish community. For yearshe was considered to be among the eldersof the community. He was often calledupon to read the Haftara. Two years agohis sons established a synagogue inhonour of their parents. "While thefamily has Sephardic roots, thesynagogue follows the A s h k e n a z i

tradition. We are something like anUpper East side synagogue for singles"its Rabbi Pini Dunner said. He added,"Nathan Saatchi was most personable,bright, sharp, cheerful, until the last weekof his life."

He is survived by his wife Daisyand four sons. ♦

Abridged from Forward of New York

From David Elias, BEM, MWS, FSWO

The following is a tribute to theLate Aaron Aaron. Some of theinformation was collected by Mr NissimJudah who has done a great deal ofresearch on Mr Aaron.

AARON AARON was a greatleader, doing a great deal of work for theJewish Community all over the world. Ifit were not for his determination andperseverance the Sephardi community inSydney would not have existed as it istoday.

He arrived in Sydney in 1950and wasted no time in organising theSephardi community because of his vastexperience in community matters inCalcutta, India. He was the chiefarchitect in the formation of the HebrewAssociation and New South Wa l e sAssoociation of Sephardim. As a bushlawyer he drafted the first Constitution ofthe association where it was laid downthat the Association would affiliate withthe New South Wales Board of Deputies,the New South Wales ZionistO rganisation and the World SephardiFederation.

With his drive and foresight herallied men and women to the cause ofbuilding the first Sephardi Centre andPrayer Hall in Sydney, Australia. AaronAaron was a great communal worker

because of his continued activities withinthe Jewish Community in Australia. Hewas elected the first Chairman of theassociation, a position he held for anumber of years. In 1960 he was asked tohelp the association once again and wasPresident until 1964. Aaron A a r o nserved as an executive member of theZionist Organisation of Sydney. He wasalso Treasurer of the Federation ofOrthodox Synagogue and a member ofthe Kashrut Commission of New SouthWales and was elected Vice President in1975.

He represented the associationof the Zionist Federation of Australia fora number of years and was a delegate ofthe New South Wales Jewish Board ofDeputies. He has been a trustee of theSephardi Community Centre and PrayerHall and the Sephardi War Memorial.Aaron Aaron worked towards theformation of the Sephardi Federation inAustralia and was the first Chairman andalso a trustee of the Sepher Torah TrustFund. During his term of office asPresident, he had the foresight topurchase the property on which nowstands the synagogue and the next doorproperty on which stands the SephardiWar Memorial.

He came, he saw and heconquered. He knocked on many doorsand finally the office of the late PrimeMinister of Australia, the Rt Hon HaroldHolt.

It can be said of him that hisforesight and vision opened the way forthe entry to Australia of Sephardim fromall over the world. Gone but notforgotten. He was born 15 January 1914and died 30 July 2000. His wife, whowas a great help to him in his communalwork, died two years ago. There werethree children, a daughter who pre-deceased him and two surviving sonswho live in Australia. ♦

November 1974 at the Gardenia Iraqi Club in LondonHarab Obadia Yosef; Nathan Saatchi; Haham Dr Solomon Gaon; Dayan Dr Pinchas Toledano ♦

From Mr Shlomo HillelFormer Speaker of the Knesset

Thank you for encouraging meto write about my brother Frank z"l. Wewere very close to each other. Since mychildhood he was very kind to me but,certainly during the period that I servedas a member of our Knesset Mission tothe UN in New York we became reallyclose to each other. I learned toappreciate his special personality.

Dear Naim: I know you alsoappreciated him and loved him and thiswas reciprocal.

By writing this small article thatI am enclosing, I am paying a debt to hism e m o r y, a debt of appreciation, ofgratitude and of love.

Frank (Ephraim) Hillel z"l

We can say that Ephraim Hillelwas a man of the 20th century. He wasborn at the start of the century, in 1906, inBaghdad, and died in Boston, UnitedStates at the beginning of the 21st century(January 2000).

He knew how to adjust to all thedramatic changes that occurred during hislifetime with his own strength, by makingdemands of himself and with an ironinner discipline. He refused to go easy onhimself, and he was just as demanding ofother people, particularly those who wereclose to him, his wife Violet, and the foursons who were born to them in NewYork. Three of these grew up to besuccessful doctors, and the fourth becamean economist.

Ephraim was the son of a family

of well-to-do traders in Baghdad. As wasthe custom there, after finishing hisstudies at the high school, he followed inthe footsteps of his older brothers,travelling around for the purpose of trade.In this way he reached India, China andJapan, where he settled for a number ofyears.

Like many young Iraqi bornJews, he believed that he could onlymarry one of the girls from thecommunity in Baghdad. In the mid1930's, when he decided that the time hadcome to set up his own family, hereturned to Baghdad and married Violet,a member of the Dellal family, anattractive and educated woman who wasprepared to follow wherever he led.

Meanwhile, his parents andother members of his family had movedto the Land of Israel, and he too wasinclined to settle there. In the Zionistarchives there is a record of hiscorrespondence with the Jewish Agencyconcerning the possibilities of makingAliyah and settling in the country. Hereached the country with his young wifeat the height of the bloody events of1936-1939.

It was impossible to think ofdoing business in the Land of Israel inthose days, so he turned his steps towardsNew York. This large and bustling citywas good for business, but not good as aplace to live in his opinion. It was a placeto make a living, but not for living in.

He bought a house far from thebusy town, facing a large, open and greenfield, with a little piece of land to growvegetables and flowers, something heremembered from his parents' home inBaghdad in which they cared with loveand fostered every plant or flower thatgrew there, and that he had dreamt aboutwhen he thought of the Land of Israel.Every morning, in the sweltering summeror the freezing, snowy winter, he roseearly in order to reach the local railwaystation in good time, and from theretravelled to Central Station in New Yorkand to his place of work. He believed thee ffort was worthwhile, because atweekends he could work in his garden.

In the second half of 1949, afterthe establishment of the State of Israeland the end of the battles of the War ofIndependence, he visited in Israel, with arenewed hope of settling there. But theconditions in Israel at the end of theforties, a tiny and newly born countrywith problems of shortages and economicrestrictions, were incomprehensible andunacceptable to someone from the UnitedStates. The distance between the dream

and the reality was too great.He returned to New York and

buried the dream of immigrating to Israel,but his link to Israel and what washappening there remained always in histhoughts.

Eventually, in the 1960's, when Ioften used to meet him in New York,when I was there in the capacity of mywork in the Israeli Foreign Service or inmy many visits afterwards, I wassurprised each time anew by his detailedknowledge of what was happening inIsrael, and by his strong opinions on eachand every issue.

Ephraim was not at all religious,and did not give his children anyreligious education, but he was a Jew tohis fingertips, and his ties to the Jewishpeople and the State of Israel were strongand solid.

He suffered a great deal becauseof his eyes, apparently as a result ofdefective treatment he received duringhis youth in Baghdad in the early days ofthe 20th century, and there were periodswhen he suffered from completeblindness. But with his strong selfdiscipline, he would get up early eachmorning, sit upright at his table and listento all the news broadcasts on the radio,particularly anything concerning eventsin Israel, and for many hours would listento recordings of books on topics ofJudaism and Jewish history.

Whenever I visited him hewould shower me with questions, notonly about what was happening in Israel,but also about chapters of the history ofthe Jewish people, and would show signsof anger and disappointment if myanswers did not seem sufficient, or if Ishowed my ignorance of some parts ofour long history.

Ephraim was a fighter. Nothingcame easily to him, but only after effort,perseverance and stubbornness. Even inhis last struggle with illness he did notgive up. The last years of his life wered i fficult years of continual struggle,which caused him great physical andmental suffering. But as usual he refusedto give in or surrender, and fought hisillness with all his strength, with his lastounce of strength.

By now he could not walk orsee, and Parkinson's Disease had badlyaffected him, but I remember him frommy visits, even in this condition, sittingfrom early morning in his wheelchairnext to the table, listening to the radio ora tape recorder with additional chaptersfrom the history of the Jewish people,that he so loved to hear.

Finally he surrendered to theangel of death, knowing that he wassurrounded by a family that loved andadmired him, in spite of his strictness,and perhaps because of his strictness,which they knew how to appreciate. Hiswife, his four sons and his grandchildrenknew that underneath this strictness was ahusband, father and grandfather with aloving and sensitive heart, who was readyto do anything for his family and hispeople.

May his memory be for ablessing.

Naim Dangoor writes: I was closelyassociated with Frank for many years. In1936, on my return from London I waswith him frequently in Tel Aviv where heonce rushed to my help when I was ind i fficulties while swimming in theMediterranean. During the war, we didan extensive trade between Turkey andthe United States and in 1948 during ourstay in New York on our longhoneymoon, Reneé and I were verygrateful for the help and attention thatViolet and Frank gave us. ♦

NAJI ELIAS

Obituary by Meer Basri

Reuben Naji Elias was born in1910. His father Sasson Elias was alandowner in Bagubah, a township east ofBaghdad on the road to the Iranianborder.

He studied in Baghdad and wentinto business with his late brotherYehuda. With an Arab partner they builtthe first cinema house in Bagubah.

He continued his commercial

enterprise for many years in Baghdad.He became interested in the Jewishcommunal affairs and was elected amember, and then Vice-Chairman of theJewish Council. When Meer Basri leftBaghdad in October 1974, he becamePresident of the Jewish community andcontinues to hold this office until hefinally left Iraq in 1997. He went to livein Amsterdam with his family, but hevisited London often.

He died in Amsterdam on 27thAugust 2000. ♦

Tribute to David M SchayekMC, MA (Cantab) - died 1October 1999by: Percy Gourgey MBE

Brought by his parents as ayoung child from Baghdad where he wasborn on 29 December 1919, DavidSchayek went to Harrow Public Schooland later studied law at St Catherine'sCollege in Cambridge University from1937-40. After the war he became asuccessful solicitor. He had celebratedhis barmitzvah in the house of therenowned Mrs Flora Sassoon, in BrutonStreet, Mayfair, London.

He had a distinguished warcareer, winning the Military Cross whileserving as a junior officer in the RoyalInniskillen Fusiliers. He singlehandedlycaptured a German machine gunemplacement in Italy. The award citationread: "Lieutenant Schayek led his platoonwith distinction onto the first objective -a low ridge known as Hill 40 - which hewas the first to reach. Single-handed heattacked one of the enemy machine-gunposts and with his tommy-gun killed thecrew. Although wounded twice himself,he continued to command and lead hisplatoon until the objective had beenfinally cleared. Lieutenant Schayek hadpreviously shown himself as acourageous and inspiring leader, both inthe North African and Siciliancampaigns."

He married in 1949 and with hiswife, Lillian, celebrated their goldenwedding in June 1999. He was a popularand well-liked among the Iraqi Jewishcommunity in London and wasknowledgeable about its history andcustoms. He was devoted to his familyand is survived by his wife, daughtersValerie and Deborah and grandchildren.After his retirement he remained activeand worked voluntarily for the T h i r dWorld charity, "War on Want". ♦

VICTORIA BASHI

I am enclosing a picture of mysister Victoria who passed away in NewYork recently at age 93.

She was pre-deceased by herhusband, Sassoon Aboody Bashi, whowas a senior financial officer at theRafidain Bank in Baghdad until forcedout during the purge of Jewish employeesby the Iraqi government.

After moving to the States,Victoria continued her academic studiesand received a scholarship from the USgovernment. She also took up artisticpainting as an avocation.

She is survived by her threechildren, Betty (Angele) Shear of the UK,and Abbood and Menashi of the US andher grandchildren. ♦

Montreal Naim S Mahlab

Tribute to Maurice Nathan whodied in London on 28 October1999by: Percy Gourgey MBE

Maurice Nathan was born inBasra in 1920 but as a child attended theCathedral Boys High School in Bombay.In 1946 he worked in London beforegoing to Israel in 1949 where he marriedRebecca who was born in Baghdad. Heserved in the Israel Army. Later he andhis wife and children eventually settled inStanmore, London. He was muchrespected by his colleagues in hisbusiness life, and ex-students fromBombay who had settled in England,Israel, Australia and the United States. Awell-known Talmudic dictumsummarised his character: "Say little, domuch and receive all with a cheerfulcountenance".

He will be sorely missed by hisdevoted family and a wide circle offriends. ♦

Lord Robert Runcie

Lord Runcie, formerArchbishop of Canterbury, died of cancerat the age of 78. He was likeable andpragmatic and led the Church of Englandthrough a difficult time.

When I had dinner (strictlykosher) at Lambeth Palace some elevenyears ago I was received at the door by DrRobert Runcie, (later Lord Runcie) andwhen I told him that "I am greatly

honoured to meet you" his reply was "Itoo am greatly honoured to meet you".Then we spent some time chatting and Itold him that I was writing an article onfree will and wanted his opinion on thesubject. His reply was "As a Christian,"he said, "I believe in free will; as aphilosopher, I don't. It is a dilemma."

At the dinner was the late RabbiHugo Gryn as well as the Chief Rabbiand the atmosphere was very friendly andjovial. ♦

SALMAN SHINAFrom ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF ISLAMNew EditionSent in by Prof. Shmuel Moreh

SALMAN SHINA(1898-1978), wasIraqi Jewish journalist, lawyer and amember of the Parliament. Born in theJewish quarter of Baghdad, he received aconventional religious Jewish educationin a Heder (Stadh) and then continued hisprimary and secondary studies at thesecular Jewish school of the AllianceFrançaise Israëlite in Baghdad, andexcelled in languages. Later, he joinedthe Ottoman Secondary School inBaghdad and was recruited to theOttoman Army as a reserve officer duringthe First World War, as an adjutant andinterpreter to the German General vonBecker at the Turkish Headquarters.

After the defeat of the Ottomanarmy in Iraq he was taken prisoner, butrefused to join the British forces on thegrounds that the Ottomans had alwayshelped the Jews, especially after theirexpulsion from Spain in 1492. Hebecame a prisoner of war in India, butwas re-patriated to Iraq in February 1919.

In 1920 he joined the LawCollege in Baghdad . On 10 April 1924his weekly magazine al-Misbah was firstissued, subtitled in Hebrew letters Ha-Menorah ("The Candelabrum"), with itsJewish emblem. This was the first Jewishliterary and cultural weekly magazinepublished in literary Arabic in Arab scriptin Iraq. Shina edited his magazine,writing its main articles and translatedmany news items and articles fromEuropean and American magazinesconcerning Jewish and Zionist activitiesand achievements, in the Holy Land andabroad. The young poet and writer,Anwar Shaul joined him in editing theliterary part of the weekly, and manyother young Jewish poets and writersbecame contributors. Their works wereamong the first romantic poems and shortstories published in Iraq, beinginfluenced both by European literatureand by the Arabic Mahdjar school in theUSA. Shina and Anwar Shaul alsoencouraged theatrical activities amongthe Jewish community in Iraq, andamong the plays performed was anArabic translation of Corneille's Le Cid(1925). He also established, with otherZionist activists, The Hebrew LiteraryAssociation as a club and library, whereJewish journals in Hebrew, English andFrench were received.

In 1925 Shina started practisingas a lawyer, serving the Jewish

Above : The late Lord Runcie chatting with Naim Dangoor at Lambeth PalaceBelow : The late Dr Robert Runcie on a guided tour of Lambeth Palace.

community and defending its interestsafter the rise of the Nazi and Palestiniannational activities in Iraq, where therewere many Palestinians headed by theMufti Amin al-Husayni who were later,in October 1939, joined by their leader.Their activities culminated in the coupd'etat of Rashid Ali al-Gailani, defeatedin May 1941 by the British A r m y,followed by the Pogrom against the Jewsof Baghdad on 1-2 June 1941.

In 1947 Shina was elected amember of the Iraqi Parliament andserved until 1951, the most critical yearsin the history of the Jews of Iraq, whichended with their mass immigration toIsrael. Shina himself resigned from theParliament and emigrated to Israel, wherehe worked as a lawyer, serving hiscommunity and protesting against whathe termed "discrimination against theJews of Iraq, whose properties werefrozen in Iraq and who were withoutcommunity leaders in the new Israelisociety. In 1956 he unsuccessfully stoodas a candidate for the Knesset. Hecontinued as a lawyer and activist untilhis death at Ramat Gan in 1978. ♦

The Grave of Ezra Horesh

As you are publishing the"Horesh" family tree I thought yourreaders might be interested in how wefound the grave of my paternalgrandfather, Ezra Horesh, who was bornin Baghdad in 1850.

A devout and orthodox Jew heemigrated from London about 1930 forPalestine as it was his wish to be buriedthere. He was buried on the Mount ofOlives 29th Adar 1938, aged 90.

We were worried that the gravehad been desecrated by the Jordaniansduring their occupation. So about 1992we started making enquiries andeventually made a search. The problemwas enormous because originally we didnot know the exact date of death.Furthermore, the burial registers do notshow the location of the graves, there areno row numbers and graves are not dug inchronological order.

We were told it was animpossible task as there were some10,000 graves in just the most likelysection of the Mount of Olives.

We persevered with ourenquiries and in October 1997 I wasaccompanied by my son, Michael,Shlomo Bendahan (with pistol as the area

was dangerous) and a Mr Zevulun Erezwho had a considerable knowledge of thecemetery, and we proceeded to the Mountof Olives. Mr Erez said "We will starthere" and within ten minutes he hadfound the grave, which was in perfectorder. Unfortunately we could not gathera minyan but a Hashcabah was said.

The grave was in an area whichhad not been desecrated, but from aboutthree metres to the left the whole area hadbeen destroyed. Had my grandfatherbeen buried about two years later then hisgrave would have been destroyed.

The following is the textengraved on the tombstone:

London Joshua Stanley Horesh

A VISIT TO RHODES ISLAND

Going on a holiday in this Islanddoes not sound much of a historicdestination let alone, of a Jewishconnection. It is the largest of theDodecanese Islands. Its history goesback to four thousand years when,according to their mythology, a fortuneteller told the King of Crete that he willbe murdered by his son. The son, wholoved his father very much, was horrified,fled with his family and friendsnorthwards, and settled in Rhodes. Hesurrounded his area by magic silver bullsthat bellowed whenever the island was indanger of attack.

His father, growing old andhearing that his son was living in Rhodescame to look for him. It was dark whenthe bulls started bellowing and the princemistook his dad for a pirate and loppedoff his head. So sadly, the prophesy cametrue.

The Colossus of Rhodes was asplendid bronze state of Helios, their SunG-d. It stood 100 feet high at theentrance of the harbour, one foot on eachside. Its building took twelve years circa280 BCE. It was recognised as one of theSeven Wonders of the World, and wasdestroyed by an earthquake in 227 BCE.Alas, it cannot be retrieved from thebottom of the sea as thieves had stolen itspieces and sold them as scrap.

Being a small island in animportant trading seaway, it wasoccupied by all the powers thatdominated the area. Including Alexanderthe Great, The Byzantines, Haroun alRashid, the Crusaders, and the Italians ofGenoa who sold it to the Knights of StJohn in 1306 after the defeat of theCrusaders. In 1522 it became part of TheOttoman Empire. The Italians took itback in 1912 until World War Two. Wesaw the house built for Mussolini at thetop of a mountain, where he spent severalholidays. In 1943 the Germans roundedup all the Jews, about 2000, and sentthem to Auschwitz. There are now 40Jews in the city and one synagogue thatwe saw, being looked after by an oldJewish lady who speaks Ladino.

One of the highest mountains inthe Island is called Prophet Elias. I don'tknow of any other prophet with that namebut ours.

Rhodes is infested by poisonoussnakes. In old times the farmers broughtdeers into the island to kill the snakes. Itseems that the deer, being afraid of thesnake, kicks it until it kills it! Thereforedeers are sacred and no-one is allowed tokill them.

The largest tourist group whooccupy the best hotels are, believe it ornot, Israelis! Many signs in the shops andhotels are in Hebrew. ♦

London Elias Dangoor

I am a Senior Writer with theAmerican newspaper, The Wall StreetJournal. I write feature stories. I have aninterest in Judaism, because I was raisedJewish. Harry Korine who is a professorat the London Business School, and is ofIraqi descent, told me about your Scribenewsletter. I am writing to ask if youmight send me a few copies. I am curiousabout the Iraqi Jewish community for itshistorical roots in Jewish history. ♦

London Gregg Pascal Zachary

EZRA HADDAD - AUTHOR,HISTORIAN ANDEDUCATORby Avner Meiri (Fouad Saigh),Canada

Dr Ezra Haddad 1900-1972

The first time I met EzraHaddad was in 1947. I had just graduatedfrom the Jewish High School Al-I'idadya,and was recommended by the lateprincipal, Meir Zakaria, to teach in one ofthe Jewish Community's PrimarySchools.

One day I was called by MrHaddad, the principal of A l - Wa t a n y aSchool, to meet with him in his office.When we got together, his first questionwas, how old I am? I responded, 17 yearsold. He said that I shall be teaching manystudents who are two years younger thanme and that I was lucky to be tall. Hesuggested that I do not tell the studentsmy age, and also to be firm, but agentleman with the students, as it was myjob to educate them and thus increasingtheir knowledge. At that time I wasimpressed with Ezra Haddad'spersonality, knowledge in many aspectsof life and his sense of humour.

During the three months of thesummer holidays, most of the teacherswould come to the Al-Watanya Schoolalmost every day for a few hours, notmaking preparations for the next schoolyear, but rather to listen to Ezra Haddadtell stories and anecdotes aboutBabylonian Jewry, his visits to Europeand Palestine.

In fact, Ezra Haddad was a greateducator, a leader, an historian and aresearcher. In addition to the Arabic

language, Haddad was in full commandof English, Hebrew, French, German,Turkish and Farsi.

Haddad's knowledge about thehistory and culture of the Iraqi Jewishpeople during the last two centuries wasvast. He was born in Baghdad in the year1900, from a traditional family with lowincome. His parents sent him to studyTorah and the Talmud with the greatestRabbis in Baghdad. In 1917, he joinedthe Teacher's Seminar in the city. A yearlater he was appointed as a teacher at theTalmud Torah School. A few years later,a new school was founded in the quarterof Abbas Afandi, which was called Al-Watanya, and Ezra Haddad wasappointed to be its headmaster. It isinteresting to note that amongst theteachers of this school were A n w a rShaool, Murad Michael, Baruch Mizrahiand Eliahou Samra.

During the 1920's, Haddadwrote many articles and studies in theearly Iraqi magazines AL-MISBAH andAL-HASSED, which were both ownedand edited by Iraqi Jews. He translated toArabic many articles and books dealingwith social, political and historicalsubjects.

In 1945, he translated fromHebrew to Arabic, the famous book, "TheJourney of Benjamin of Tudella", thegreat Jewish traveller from Spain. Theintroduction to this book was written bythe well-known Iraqi historian, Abbas Al-Azzawi. The book was translated in thegenre of Arab travellers' tales from theMiddle Ages. The book was welcomedby Arab scholars all over the Arab world.

In 1947, Ezra Haddad publishedthe book, "Chapters From the Bible" tobe taught at the Jewish schools in Iraq.He wrote many books, amongst them,"The History of Jews in Iraq and TheirFolklore". He also translated to Hebrewpart of the book "Ruba-eyat Umar Al-Khayam." It is known that at Haddad'shome in Baghdad, he had an extensiveand famous private library consisting ofArabic, Hebrew, English, French andTurkish language books.

In 1951, Ezra Haddadimmigrated to Israel. Soon, he was activein the political and social life of thecountry. He was elected to the executivecommittee of the labour union, theHistadrut, and also to the Congress of theZionist Movement.

In addition to his publicactivities, Haddad devoted a lot of histime to his favourite literary pre-occupations. He published a book ofshort stories from the Iraqi Jewish

folklore, and Arabic-Hebrew dictionary,and he also translated to Arabic manyarticles from Hebrew literature. In 1971,he published his last book in Hebrew,"Milestones, The History of the Jews inBabylon-Iraq", which covered the historyfrom the Babylonian captivity in 597BCE to the mass exodus to the State ofIsrael, in 1951 CE.

Ezra Haddad passed away in1972, leaving us with great memories asan individual, who devoted most of hislife to promote education, culture, andZionism to three generations ofBabylonian Jewry. ♦

THE SOCIAL H I S TO RY O FTHE JEWS OF HONG KONGA Resource Guide

The above book by Dr CarolineB Pluss is being published by the JewishHistorical Society of Hong Kong.

Early Hong Kong Jewish historycentred predominantly around the sameBaghdadi families who were to be foundthroughout the Far East and who came toHong Kong mainly from Bombay. TheSassoons were the mainstays of Jewishlife for many years, donating the firstsynagogue and the land upon which itstill stands. They and other Jews fromBaghdad, mostly in their employ, formedthe core of religious life not only in HongKong but also in Shanghai, Burma,Singapore and other far-flung tradingposts in the region.

In its over 150 years' existence,the Jewish community of Hong Kong hasevolved from a small, distant outpost ofthe Diaspora into the hub of Jewish life inEast and Southeast Asia.

The book on the history of theJews in Hong Kong has been verythoroughly researched by Dr CarolinePluss, starting from a very slim base ofdocumentary evidence in the archives inHong Kong. Unfortunately, mostdocumentation did not survive theJapanese occupation of Hong Kongduring the Second World War.

We will, of course, send youmore about the book when it has beenpublished and is available for purchase.

Judith LGreenDirector

Jewish Historical Society of Hong KongOne Robinson Place70 Robinson RoadHong Kong, S.A.R.China

ROSH HASHANA SERVICESAT O H E L R A C H E LSYNAGOGUE-SHANGHAI

From Points East , a publication of theSino-Judaic Institute, California

J e ffrey Bernstein is GeneralManager of EverReach Logistics i nShanghai, China. He informed us thattwo Rosh Hashana services were heldthis year at the Ohel Rachel Synagogue,one in the morning and one in theevening. Lubavitch rabbis off i c i a t e d .Men, women and children attended. Ameal followed Friday services. T h eShanghai community torah was kept inthe ark throughout Rosh HashanaShabbat. It is important to point out thatthe Ohel Rachel Synagogue was openedonly for Rosh Hashana. After that it wasclosed to the public. Other services andYom Kippur prayers took place in a hotel.Mr Bernstein described the ShanghaiRosh Hashana celebration in an e-mail tohis parents who live in California. Theykindly agreed to share its contents withour readers.

"Happy New Year to you fromthe other side of the world. We wish youall a happy and healthy New Year, filledwith many momentous 'firsts'."

We started with a first inShanghai. The Ohel Rachel Synagogue(one of Shanghai's 7 original synagogues)was opened to the Jewish community forRosh Hashona services. This is the firsttime since 1949 that Shanghai Jews couldcelebrate the High Holidays in their ownhouse of worship.

As we walked past the ivycovered walls of the building that had notbeen used a Synagogue for the past 50years, the strong symbolism of themoment struck us. Although the outsidewalls were darkened by layers of soot, theinside was bright and clean, displaying itsold grandeur for the holy days. We aregrateful that the Shanghai City's Bureauof Education, who occupied the building,had respected its original architecture andcarefully preserved the original state ofits interior.

It was exciting to be part of thisimportant day. We felt we wereexperiencing history in the making." ♦

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East or West, home is bestWherever it is, and however far you maytravel from it, THERE’S NO PLACELIKE HOME. ♦

D I S C O V E RY O F O L D E S TSYNAGOGUE IN T H EAMERICA'S

One of the most unusualarchaeological projects ever undertakenin Brazil is under way: the excavationand reconstruction in Recife of the firstsynagogue built in the New World.

The synagogue, Kahal ZurIsrael, or Rock of Israel, flourished in themid-1600's when the Dutch brieflycontrolled this part of north-easternBrazil and the sugar and tobaccoplantations that made it rich.

Evacuation began in September1999 but because the Inquisition haddone everything possible to obliterate allsigns of the Jewish presence, the digbegan with some doubts.

"We were certain we were in theright place when we came across amikvah," the ritual bath used byobservant Jews.

With the support of the Braziliangovernment and several foundations, thesmall Jewish community here plans toturn the site into a museum and CulturalCenter of the Jewish Presence in Brazil.Reconstruction of the building's interioris to be completed this year.

Brazil's Jewish populationtoday, around 170,000, is barely one-tenth of 1 per cent of the country's 170million people. "There is no doubt thatJews contributed greatly to theconstruction of Brazil", especially in thecrucial early years of Portuguese colonialrule.

The first Portuguese expeditionto land in Brazil, 500 years ago includeda Polish-born Jew as its chief interpreter,as well as astronomers and mapmakerswho are believed to have been of Jewishorigin. Early settlers included many so-called marranos, Jews from the IberianPeninsula who had converted toChristianity under duress but were eagerto escape the clutches of the Inquisitionto resume openly practising their faith.

By 1590, however, theInquisition had installed itself in Braziland begun persecuting these "newChristians". So when the Dutch seizedthe colony of Pernambuco in 1630 andannounced a policy of religioustolerance, those who moved to Recifeincluded not only a Rabbi and cantorfrom Amsterdam but many Jewishfamilies from territory under Portuguesecontrol.

"At the height of the Dutchperiod, Recife may have had a larger

Jewish presence than Amsterdam itself"."The most reliable calculations indicateabout 1,400 Jews, nearly half itspopulation of free white civilians".

But in 1654 the Portuguesedrove out the Dutch, and fear of reprisalsled to the dispersion of the Jews here. Agroup of 23 returning to Amsterdam werelanded at a fledgling Dutch colony calledNieuw Amsterdam. They were the firstJews ever to enter North America.

Their difficulties did not endwhen they reached what is today NewYork City. Peter Stuyvesant, governor ofthe settlement, sent a letter to the DutchWest Indies Company recommending"most seriously that such hateful enemiesand blasphemers of the name of Christ,be not allowed further to infest andtrouble this new colony."

The response he receivedordered that the newcomers be permitted"to live, trade and travel" freely and begiven a burial ground of their own, whichwas established near what is todayChatham Square. It came to be known asthe Brazilian Cemetery. But it was onlyafter the English displaced the Dutch thatthe Jews from Recife were permitted tobuild a synagogue. The congregation,Shearith Israel, still exists, with itssynagogue now at 70th Street and CentralPark West, the Spanish & PortugueseSynagogue. There are still some peoplein Brazil's interior who believe they areJewish because they have a menorah orprayer book handed down to theirgrandparents by their grandparents beforethem, or following family customs that fitsquarely within the Sephardic tradition."

The ability of elements of faithto persist for so long in such isolation istruly an amazing thing. ♦

From New York Times

I have just discovered you. Ihave one of the largest Sephardicgenealogy websites on the net which youare welcome to visit. I will be adding alink to your website under my section forIraq.

Please consider reciprocatingand let me know if you decide to do so. ♦

Jeff Malka

"Resources for Sephardic Genealogy"website: h t t p : / / w w w. o r t h o h e l p . c o m / g e n e a l / s e f a r d im.htm(Jewish Agency for Israel TOP TEN;Britannica 2 STARS)

Correction :

The caption of the picture at the bottomof page 21 was incomplete of the lastissue (No. 72).

The people appearing in thephotograph are Moroccan Jewish leaderswith King Mohammed V (father of thelate King Hassan II) in the circa 1950's:

Left to right: Rabbi Barouch AbrahamToledano (father of Dayan PinchasToledano); lay leader, Rabbi RaphaelBarouch Toledano; Sidi Mohammed V;Rabbi Joseph Messas, lay leader.

Note that the King was standingon a step, to make him appear as thebiblical King Saul, first King of Israel,"head and shoulders above the rest".

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Busiest men find the most timePeople who do a lot are the people whohave most energy. However busy theyare, they can usually manage to dosomething more. ♦

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REUNION OF THE FRANK INY SCHOOLSTUDENTS OF THE CLASS THAT GRADUATED IN 1962

A reunion was held in London last May of the Frank Iny students of the class that eventually graduated in 1962.The group stayed overnight at Danesfield House, Marlow-on-Thames and then attended a Barbeque lunch at David Gabbay'shouse in Marlow.

Shown above left to right: Standing:

Ann Shamash; Lisa Hoory; David Gabbay; David Shamash; Sylvia Koreen (née Ibrahim); Desirée Dellal (Shina); Rita Tricot;Sami Tricot; Olivia Shashou (Sheena); Gilda Aslan; Edna Shamash; Laurette Kashi (Nourallah); Ibtisam Shaul (Heskel); EmmaGhazal; Layla Shalom (Rahamim); Jack Shemtob; Faiza Vasely (Jacob); Suad Yohanan (Ibrahim); Joyce Gabbay; Ketty Cohen(Shohet); Emile Cohen; Ingrid Samra (Bekhor); Marsha Yamen (Sassoon); Lydia Jiji (Dabby); Isabelle Bar-Moshe (Twaig);Michael Cowan; Jack Atraghji; Olivia Cowan (Timan); Karim Timan; Ruth Timan; David Shamash; Gilda Shamash; EstelleShohet; Shoua Jiji; Tommy Vasely; Sami Balass; Aslan Aslan; Yamen F Yamen; Samir Ghazal; Sabah Shamash; Charles Timan;Saïd Hoory; Ferial Balass (Mussaffi); Sasson Yamen; Samir Samra; Samir Shohet; Jimmy Shamash; David Dellal. ♦

At the request of the King, Dayan Toledano blessed him in Hebrew and inArabic. The King spoke about Israel and he promised he would carry on the work ofhis father, namely that a solution should be found between Israel and the Palestinians.Afterwards, the delegation was taken to the Mausoleum where the kings of Moroccoare buried. Dayan Toledano recited Hashcaba, Memorial Prayer, for the King'sgrandfather, Mohammed V and his father, Moulai Hassan II. Dayan Toledano worespecial robes which the Dayanim of Morocco have been wearing since timeimmemorial.

Dayan Toledano was also taken to visit the cousin of the King who is notwell, as well as to visit the Jewish leaders in Rabat. ♦

Dayan Toledano with the King of Morocco - July 2000

R E I N C A R N ATION IS A NALIEN BELIEF, A R G U E SRABBI DR JEFFREY COHEN

The former Sephardi ChiefRabbi of Israel, Rabbi Ovadiah Yossef,was at the centre of a furore last weekover his nauseating suggestion that thesix million who died in the Holocaustwere "reincarnated sinners".

Behind his preposterous theorylies the mystical doctrine of gilgul, wherethe soul is reincarnated or"transmigrated" to reach a new level ofperfection or to atone for some grossimperfection in a previous earthlyexistence. This idea, however, did notoriginate in Jewish sources and is notfound in the Talmud, though it waswidespread in early Christian circlesfrom the second century.

Scholars variously trace it toearly Gnostic sectarian teaching, toGreek, Platonic or neo-Platonic thought,or Indian philosophy. It was laterpromoted by Anan ben David inBaghdad, the eighth centry founder ofKaraism (the dissident Jewish sect whichaccepts the Bible but not the Talmud),who may have borrowed it from theIslamic Mutazila sect, and it enteredJewish Kabbalistic literature in the late12th century work, Sefer Habahir.

Though it met with trenchantopposition from our major medievalphilosophers, this did not prevent itsbecoming a cardinal doctrine in the laterkabbalistic system of Isaac Luria, leaderof the 16th century Safed circle ofmysticism. It was even defended by suchsages as Moses Nachmanides andMenasseh ben Israel. With the rise ofChasidism in the 18th century, belief inreincarnation was, as it were,reincarnated.

Over the years the g i l g u lconcept underwent variousdevelopments, such as the notion of thetransmigration of a soul into the body oflower forms of nature; or the doctrine ofi b b u r, "impregnation", when areincarnated soul may enter a host bodyin later life as an attachment to, orimpregnation of, the existing soul.

Its residence, for but a briefperiod there, is in order to enable somerestless, righteous soul to compensate forany particular mitzvah that it neglected toperform in its original incarnation, and soattain spiritual perfection.

A l a rge body of opinion,however, did not view transmigration sop o s i t i v e l y. Rather, it was seen as a

punishment imposed upon those inferiorsouls that had failed to stop their previousbodies from perpetrating particularlyheinous (especially sexual) sins. Out ofthis came the idea of a dybbuk, amalevolent spirit possessing a person,often to seek some personal retribution, atheme taken up in Yiddish literature fromthe 17th century onward.

There is a great danger inmysticism: that unless one has a firmgrounding in normative Judaism, it cantotally distort one's faith and undermineone's observance. This is what happenedto the followers of Shabbetai Zvi, the17th century false Messiah, and to thoseof Jacob Frank (mid 18th century), whowas regarded as Shabbetai'sreincarnation.

The Frankists paradedoutwardly as Orthodox Jews, but werecommitted to a belief in Shabbatcanismwhich prompted them to initiate awidespread attack on the Talmud andJewish law. Under the influence of theZohar, the main kabbalistic work, andsome distorted Jewish mystical ideas,they ignored the Torah's sexualprohibitions, adopting at first a synthesisof Jewish and Christian principles, andthe celebration of avowedly religiouso rgies, and ended up embracingCatholicism.

The result of their attacks on theTalmud was that the Church authoritiescarried out a systematic burning ofcartloads of Jewish religious works. Inaddition to the rabbinic cherem, or ex-communication, imposed upon the sect.Isaac Luria's recommendation thatkabbalah should not be studied by thoseunder the age of 40 was vigorouslyenforced.

In our own day, alternativereligions and cults have mushroomed,some using brain-washing techniques onrecruits, estranging them from theirfamilies, and subjecting them to fearsomeregimentation. Ruined lives, sometimeseven suicides, have been the result.

Popular mysticism is generallyincomprehensible to those who merelydabble in it, leading to their potentialmanipulation by charlatans who seek tocontrol the minds and pockets of theirfollowers.

As for the courses in mysticismbeing promoted by some in our owncommunity, while there is no evidence ofany of the above excesses, our responseshould be to spell out, at the very least,their philosophical pitfalls.

There is a lifetime of spiritualstimulation in our own traditional

sources, which are far more elevating andcompelling than any of the alternativetraditions on offer.

Like the communication of G-dto Moses, the truths of our tradition areframed, according to the Torah, "mouthto mouth, with clarity and not in riddles,so that the nature of G-d may be clearlyperceived."

Our sources hold that theeveryday life that G-d would have us leadcan be invested with the beauty ofholiness; that our rational mind issufficient to think spiritual thoughts; andthat our need to interrelate ethically withour fellow-man is far more importantthan a leap into the whirlpool of mysticspeculation. ♦

Rabbi Cohen is minister of StanmoreSynagogue

From The Jewish Chronicle, London

Rabbi Dr Jeffrey Cohen's articleconfirming that reincarnation is an alienbelief is a shining light in the currentdarkness of superstitious and magicalbeliefs still propagated by someOrthodox rabbis in this country, Israeland other parts of the world.

The late Ernest Wallis Budge,who was a leading Hebrew scholar andkeeper of Egyptian and A s s y r i a nantiquities at the British Museum, madeit clear in "amulets and Superstitions"that the Kabbalah, as we know it today, isalso foreign to authentic Jewish belief.He wrote: "The Kabbalah of Middle Agesrepresents a mass of beliefs and traditionswhich the Hebrews adopted from theEgyptians, Babylonians and Assyrians,Syrians, Zoroastrians, Gnostics, Greeks,Arabs and even European peoples."

The tragedy for Judaism in thiscountry is that Rabbi Cohen is one of thefew Orthodox rabbis who has theintegrity and courage to speak out aboutthe challenge superstitions impose on thefuture of authentic traditional Judaism. ♦

London Maurice J Summerfield

Isaac Luria's idea that G-d hadto withdraw from part of his Creation, tomake room for man's independence isuntenable. The presence of G-d iseverywhere in the Universe. The onlyconcession that G-d made to man was togive him a measure of free will. ♦

Et Tu Switzerland?from: Albert Khabbaza MD

A panel of independent historians hasconcluded that wartime Swiss officialsrefused entry to thousands of Jewishrefugees even after it was known thatthey faced almost certain death in NaziGermany.

By the summer of 1942 at the latest,the historians said in their detailed 350-page report, the Swiss authorities wereaware that Jews were being annihilatedby the Third Reich.

The historians also said there was noevidence that accepting many moreasylum seekers would have put neutralSwitzerland in danger of "invasion by theAxis or caused insurmountable economicd i fficulties." They thus rejected ana rgument advanced in Switzerland'sdefence after earlier disclosures of thecountry's treatment of Jews trying toescape the Holocaust.

Rather, the report cited anti-Semitismand an entrenched fear of foreigners inSwitzerland as the reasons the authoritiesturned away more than 24,000 Jews.

Swiss officials "became involved inthe crimes of the Nazi regime byabandoning the refugees to theirpersecutors," Jean-Francois Bergier, theSwiss historian who headed the panel,said at a news conference today.

The study is part of a larger historicali n q u i r y, commissioned by the Swissgovernment, that produced another reportlast year on Switzerland's goldtransactions with Hitler's Germany.Earlier this week, a separate report bySwiss banks and American Jewish groupsfound that 54,000 Swiss bank accountsmight be linked to Holocaust victims.

The latest report was prepared duringthe last two years by nine historians fromSwitzerland, Israel, the United States,Britain and Poland who hadunprecedented access to the Swissnational archives as part of Switzerland'seffort to come to terms with its wartimehistory. Jewish groups praised the newreport, but there were complaints fromthe government and from some privategrounps that the sharply critical studyfailed to measure official actions againstthe troubled international situation at thetime.

Although the report did not delvedeeply into other countries' treatment ofWorld War II refugees, the historians saidat the news conference that Sweden, alsoneutral during World War II, had beensignificantly more helpful than

Switzerland. Sweden, like Switzerland,had limited Jewish immigration between1938 and 1942, but reversed its policyafter officials learned of the mass killingsof Jews.

Switzerland followed suit only in July1944, when it declared that persecutionfor being Jewish was a valid ground forgranting asylum.

Switzerland's governing body, theFederal Council, issued a statement todaysaying the country's asylum policy "wasmarred by errors, omissions andcompromises" - renewing its 1995apology for wartime refugee policy."Nothing can make good theconsequences of decisions taken at thetime, and we pay our respects before thepain of those who were denied access toour territory and were abandoned tounspeakable suffering, deportation anddeath," the seven ministers said.

But the ministers said the reportignored "fears generated by the threatfacing Switzerland, the uncertainty ofmaintaining, foreign trade to ensure thecountry's survival."

Switzerland took in 51,000 civilianrefugees during the war, including some21,000 Jews, although many of those hadslipped into the country illegally andwere then allowed to stay.

There were some heroes among Swisso fficials, particularly among consularemployees who "were very liberal ingranting entry visas," but the reportdetails specific instances of serious"human suffering" to highlight the impactof Swiss refugee policy.

The study cited as particularlyegregious the Swiss push for arequirement, enacted in 1938, thatGerman passports for Jews be stampedwith a "J." It also cited the closing of theborder with Germany in 1942 to refugeespersecuted solely because they wereJews.

"Without Swiss pressure, the passportswould not have been stamped until later,perhaps not at all," the report concluded."This would have made it less difficultfor refugees to find a country willing toaccept them."

The report was particularly critical ofthe 1942 decision to close Swiss bordersto Jews even though senior officials were"aware of the fact the refugees sent backwere being threatened with deportation toEastern Europe culminating in death."

Although there was some publicprotest, the Swiss authorities stepped uprejections of asylum seekers - evendenying most the right to pass throughthe country to other destinations -

declining to "help people in mortaldanger," the report said.

S c r i b e : The action of the SwissGovernment in denying entry to Jewishrefugees was to satisfy the greed of Swissbankers who saw in the Germanpersecution of Jews an opportunity tograb their assets which they had trustfullysalted away in Switzerland. ♦

Pope's visit to the Western Wall

Pope John Paul II made a special visit tothe Western Wall and as is customary onsuch visits, he slipped a piece of papercontaining a wish and a prayer. It wasasking G-d for forgiveness for those whocaused the Jewish people suffering andpledging 'genuine brotherhood with thepeople of the Covenant'.

I think that this prayer is animportant turning point in the inter-actionbetween Christianity and Judaism andthat everybody should know about it.

Thank you very much for yourregular sending us our beloved Scribewhich we enjoy very much.

Ramat Gan,Israel Dr Raouf Semah

Scribe: The Pope first asked the Jewishpeople to forgive and forget the horrorsand the crime of the Holocaust. When hewas told that we can't forget, and that wehave no authority from the 6 millionvictims to forgive, he apparently decidedto turn to G-d for his forgiveness.

We are not sure if our G-drecognises the Pope. Forgiveness canonly be obtained from true and genuinerepentence, but anti-semitism is as strongas ever among Christians and in theChurch. ♦

At a recent updating of thewebsite for "Resources in SephardicGenealogy" a link has been placed toyour website at the following location:

h t t p : / / w w w. o r t h o h e l p . c o m / g e n e a l / s e f a r d im.htm#Iraq ♦

e-mail Jeff Malka

I have just finished reading (forthe third time) "If this is a man". I foundyour article to be a moving summary, andwould like to thank you for itsinformation. ♦

e-mail (UK) Rachel Spires

L I T H U A N I A HONORS AHOLOCAUST RESCUERfrom Points East - a publication of theSino-Judaic Institute, California

In the summer of 1940, in theLithuanian capital city of Kovno(Kaunas), a Dutch gentile businessmandid truly amazing things to assist literallythousands of stranded Jews. What wasthe role of Jan Zwartendijk (1896-1976)in the Kovno rescue episode? Why hasLithuania now recognized him forcourage fifty-nine years after the event?

The Kovno Episode

By late 1939, under the terms ofthe Hitler-Stalin Pact, Germany hadcompleted its occupation of westernPoland while the Soviet Union took overeastern Poland. By May 1940 at least10,000 Jews had fled from thoseoccupied zones into neutral Lithuania.On June 15, 1940 the Soviet Unionoccupied Lithuania and five weeks lateraccepted its "request" to be annexed intothe U.S.S.R., a procedure that wascompleted by August 5.

The Polish Jews who had fled toLithuania precisely to escape Soviet rulefelt especially vulnerable and desperateduring the annexation process. By Julyvirtually all consulates in Kovno, theLithuanian capital, were in the process ofclosing. Panic set in among the Jewishrefugees. At the point Jan Zwartendijk,voluntarily and at great personal risk,took on a role which quickly evolved intothe rescue of the Jews.

Since May 1939 Jan hadrepresented Philips, the Dutch electronicsmanufacturer, in Lithuania. In May 1940the Germans over-ran Holland and aDutch Government-in-Exile, technicallya resistance organization, was establishedin London. L.P.J. De Decker, the DutchAmbassador to the Baltic states who wasbased in Riga, Latvia, suspected the then-Dutch consul in Kovno of pro-Nazisympathies. In June 1940 he askedZwartendijk to take over in Kovno asconsul in Lithuania representing theDutch Government-in-Exile. In spite ofthe fact that Zwartendijk had nodiplomatic experience and a wife andthree young children in Kovno, he readilyaccepted this potentially riskyassignment.

Zwartendijk's work almostimmediately entailed the even moredangerous task of rescuing Jews. In July1940 Pessla Lewin, a former Dutch

citizen who was now a Polish refugeeliving in Lithuania with her husbandIsaac and son Nathan, took the gamble ofwriting to De Decker, who was still theDutch ambassador. She requestedauthorization to emigrate to the DutchWest Indies. She learned that no visa wasrequired but that she would need alanding permit from the local governor.Such permits were only rarely issued.Nevertheless the ambassador tried to helpby inscribing in her Polish passport, inFrench, the statement that "for theadmission of aliens to Surinam, Curaçao,and other Dutch possessions in theAmericas, an entry visa is not required."This stipulation, dated July 11 1940,came to be known as a "Curaçao visa." Itgave the impression of being as good as avisa since it omitted the key phrase that alanding permit was required. On July 22,Isaac Lewin approached Zwartendijk inKovno. According to Lewin,Zwartendijk, "after seeing what DeDecker had done, copied (the Curaçaovisa) into my Lithuanian safe-conductpass." Armed with this documentation,Pessla and Isaac Lewin, plus her motherand brother who were still Dutch citizens,went to the Soviet and Japanese consulsin Kovno and were routinely issuedseven-to-fifteen-day transit visasallowing them to pass through each ofthose countries. The Japanese consul wasSugihara Chiune, who has been featuredin movies and is far better known thanZwartendijk. Without Zwartendijk'sfictitious destination visas, however,neither Sugihara nor his Sovietcounterpart would have been able to issueone single transit visa through theirrespective territories.

Unaware of the Lewins'experience, Nathan Gutwirth, alegitimate Dutch citizen then residing inTelz (Telsiai), Lithuania, askedZwartendijk on July 24 if several of hisfellow students, non-Dutch citizens,could accompany him to Curaçao.Zwartendijk volunteered to help,providing the same notation he had giventhe Lewin's. Gutwirth conveyed thisinformation to Polish Zionist leader, andlater Israeli Minister of Religious Affairs,Zorach Warhaftig. Warhaftig madeinquiry of Zwartendijk, who let it beknown that he was willing to give a "Curaçao visa" to anyone who asked.

Thus, with Zwartendijk's help,the Lewins' single-family trip rapidlybecame a mass exodus of beleagueredJews. Within hours, dozens of petitionerswere lined up at Zwartendijk's Philipsoffice, which is today part of the Red

Cross hospital on Kovno's maindowntown thoroughfare. Zwartendijkoriginally had received De Decker'sconcurrence to issue phoney visas onlyfor a few of Gutwirth's friends. ButZwartendijk went on to writeapproximately 1,300 visas by handbetween July 24 and 27 and another1,050 with the help of a rubber stampbetween July 29 and August 3, when theSoviets took over Zwartendijk's office,obligating him and his family to return toHolland. The highest known visa numberis 2,345, issued to Elisasz Kupinski andhis family.

In reality, not a single Jewshowed up in Curaçao. This is notsurprising because Zwartendijk had madeit clear to the recipients of his "Curaçaovisas" that this notation would not allowthem entry. They understood very wellthat the "Curaçao visas" were a ruse toget out of the U.S.S.R. and, they hoped,as far as Japan, where they could try theirluck at various consulates to get visas forother countries. About half of theroughly 2,200 refugees who reachedJapan with Zwartendijk's visas succeededin moving on to the United States,Palestine, and other final destinations.Those not so fortunate were shipped bythe Japanese government to Shanghai,the only place on earth just prior to theHolocaust where a Jew, or anyone else,could legally walk ashore without anydocumentation whatsoever. Within ayear of the Kovno exodus Lithuania wasover-run by the Nazis. The remainingJews of Lithuania were almost entirelyannihilated. The thousands of Jews whoescaped with the help of visas fromZwartendijk would almost certainly havebeen murdered had they remained inLithuania.

On June 4, 1999, on the groundsof the Jewish State Museum in Vilna( Vilnius), the present-day capital ofLithuania, three stone monuments werededicated in his memory by Lithuania. ♦

I would like to trace a friend ofmine from Frank Iny School, Baghdad.His name is Safaa Nadhim Dabbi, 48, andI heard that he is living in Israel. I havenot seen him in over thirty years andwould appreciate any suggestions youmight have that could eventually lead tomaking contact with him.

Thanking you in anticipation. ♦

E-mail Sabah Ezra Sami Zilouf(Simon)Simon Zilouf<[email protected]>

H O L O C A U S T I G N O R E SGREEK JEWRY

Sir, There are numerous aspectsof the Holocaust to which attentionshould be drawn to appreciate itsdisastrous consequences. One such is theextermination of Sephardi Jews mainlyfrom Greece and other places in theBalkans.

The six million Jewish martyrsinclude over 60,000 Jews of Sephardiorigin, mainly in the Balkans, thoughmany were from Holland. Most of theformer were transported from Greece toAuschwitz in 1943.

Out of 70,000 Jews in Greecebefore the Second World War only10,000 survived. These numbers aresmall but still significant compared tothose from elsewhere in Europe.

The courageous GreekOrthodox Archbishop, Damaskinos ofAthens, wrote a public letter to the GreekPrime Minister at the time signed bymany other public figures stating: "TheGreek People were rightly surprised andgrieved to learn that the GermanOccupation authorities have alreadystarted to deport the Greek Jewishcommunity of Salonika to Poland.

"Greek Jews have proven to bevaluable contributors to Greek economyand have had their full share in thecommon sacrifice of Greece to defend itsinalienable historical rights... all thechildren of common mother Greece arean inseparable unity and we demand thatthe government protest against thedeportation of Greek Jews which insultsour nation's honour and unity."

The notorious ex-Mufti ofJerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, in abook by Zvi Elpeleg was quoted assaying, "Kill the Jews wherever you findthem - this pleases Allah, history andreligion." He recruited Muslim Nazitroops in Bosnia to help Rommel rid theHoly Land of Jews. In November 1941he was photographed with Hitler urginghim to carry out the extermination of theJews - before the Wansee "FinalSolution" conference of January 1942.On December 15 1942 Winston Churchillsaid in the House of Commons specialsession: We will pursue the Nazicriminals to the ends of the earth." As notenough was done, other mass murderersdid their evil work after the war. ♦

Percy GourgeySephardi member, Yad VashemCommittee of Board of DeputiesTwickenham

I have been an avid reader ofThe Scribe for the past 29 years, eversince my father Abraham SassoonMukamal received your first issue of thiswonderful agazine. My Father as well asall of his children and his brothers andsisters were born in Baghdad and proudto be identified as Iraqi Jews. My brotherSteven and I have established a websiteon the internet: w w w. m u k a m a l . c o mwhich now includes more than 900family members dating back to the early1700's. Some family lineage is mostcomplete while other members datingprior to the turn of the past century arevery skimpy in data. This is dueprimarily to the fact that old age hastaken a toll on these patriarchs who neverpassed down in written dorm where theycame from.

This website includes thespouses and their family of the patriarchs'Abraham Mukamal, a Sassoon Muradand Abdulnabi Chitayat. My brother andI are happy for what we haveaccomplished so far with identifying asmany family members as possible, BUTthere are so many more family membersthat are not included. Also, this website:www.mukamal.com was envisioned as aliving family tree of the originalMukamal, a Sassoon Murad and Chitayatpatriarchs'. One that could be updated asnew members are added and the departedare recognised. I need the help of TheS c r i b e and The Scribe web pagew w w. t h e s c r i b e . u k . c o m to spread theword that www.mukamal.com exists andthat any corrections, changes and/oradditions to a family such as a birth,death or special event or occasion. Pleasee-mail me at [email protected] Iwill be more than happy to include anyneeded changes to the family tree. Ispeak for my brother and my immediatefamily of uncles, aunts and cousins whoare proud of where they or their parentscame from. Thank you for giving me theopportunity to share the introduction ofthe website: www.mukamal.com withall The Scribe readership.

London David SamierMukamal,Son of Abraham Sassoon Mukamal

Scribe: One has to be very careful whengoing back more than 200-250 years. ♦

℘℘℘℘℘℘

Knowledge is powerThe greater our knowledge, the greaterour influence on others. ♦

COOKERY CORNER:Danish Rum Creamfrom: Joyce Rose

5 egg yolks4 oz sifted icing sugar1/4pt rum1 tblsp kosher gelatine2 tblsp water1 pint double cream, whipped5 egg whites, stiffly beaten Raspberry sauce

Beat egg yolks with sifted icing sugar andstir in rum. Dissolve gelatine in water ina bowl over hot water. Stir into rummixture until well combined. Fold in thecream, reserving a little for decoration,and the egg whites. Pour into a glassbowl and chill for at least three hours.Decorate with rosettes of whipped creamforced through a pastry tube and servewith raspberry sauce. Serves 6-8.

Raspberry sauce: push one small can ofraspberries through a sieve. Bring to theboil with syrup from the can. ♦

At last I have been browsingthrough your website and was thrilledand amazed at all that I found regardingphotos and the contents of the currentissue of The Scribe. Internet is really awonderful thing giving the possibility ofreading all the wealth of information andsubjects intesting me. I wish tocompliment you, Naim, and thank youfor all you have invested in this website.My only wish is if it were possible to addto the photos - David and Ide of NewYork with family, and an old photo ofgood times of Salim and Ruth ofStockholm. Blessed be Salim's memory.

Yes, it is Ruth's sister writing to you -with best wishes to you, Naim and Renée,for good health and happiness in thecoming year 5761. Shana Tova! ♦

Bat-Yam, IsraelE-mail from Judy Dattner

I thank you for telling my lifestory in "The Scribe"(No. 72, P. 38). Imust say it was beautifully presented andI am proud to have a presence in theSephardi community, which I love andadmire. ♦

London Freddie Knoller

The following is an interestingcorrespondence between Maurice SassonPeress and Rabbi Howard Joseph of theSpanish & Portuguese Synagogue ofMontreal which should be of interest toSephardim everywhere.

26 September 1999Dear Rabbi

We have been enjoying a periodof peace and harmony under theleadership of our President, Mr SelimMoghrabi. Prior to embarking on a steptowards modernisation, we should take along breathe and consider theconsequences. President Moghrabi, inhis address Yom Kippur emphasised thefact that our Synagogue needs a man, astrong man, a hard-working man tosucceed him as President. In stressing theissue, Mr Moghrabi was trying to avoidplaying into the hands of the MaghenAbraham's' faction who have beenadvocating the separation of theirservices from the Spanish (in order tohave the possibility of a lady President).Electing a lady President will no doubtweaken the position of the members whoprefer to stay at the Spanish. If MaghenAbraham decide to part away, a minimumof fifty families, Iraqis and Moroccanswill join them. The tax base of ourSynagogue will be diluted, the beautifulChapel towards Mr Joe Iny and hisbrother generously contributed will bevacant. Victor Mashaal is dreaming inTechnicolour when he says one memberleaves and 699 will stay. Fact is he willno longer be able to carry the flag unlesshe coughs amounts commensurate withthe honour bestowed on his beloved. Allwe ask you to do, our dear Rabbi, is torespect our Sephardi traditions and be astabilising factor in keeping us together.

Maurice S Peress

5 October 1999Dear Maurice

Your recent letters provide mewith the opportunity to offer my views asto the nature of Orthodoxy and the basisof unity in our Congregation. Othermatters will be clarified if we can cometo an understanding about these twofundamental issues.

An Orthodox synagogue is onein which the rule of Halakhic law andtradition is supreme and is interpretedand applied by an ordained rabbi who istrained to interpret and apply the legaltradition to contemporary issues.

This fundamental consideration

is very different from non-Orthodoxcongregations wherein the membersoften decide on their own what should orshould not be done without reference toHalakhic procedure. In some cases theymay give much weight to Halakhah butare also influenced by what they callHistory and Tradition (Conservative) ordisregard Halakhah completely in favourof what is convenient or comfortable(Reform).

But again, Orthodoxy has stakedits emphasis and commitment to theJewish legal tradition as the Word of G-dthat must be obeyed. Orthodox Jewssubmit their questions to their rabbi andsubmit to his decisions.

If we are going to have anOrthodox congregation then we are allgoing to work for this principle andrealise that the rabbi has a key role toplay. Neither Maurice Peress, VictorMashaal, Selim Moghrabi, Emile Fattal,David Kauffman or David Gabbay havethe expert knowledge required to renderHalakhic judgements. I do not know ofanyone else in the congregation whodoes. If anyone of these or othermembers wishes to serve in anadministrative capacity they can so bechosen by the members. But they cannotfunction as replacements for the rabbiand pronounce on what is or is nothalakhically valid course of behaviour.

Furthermore, our congregationis constituted of members who identifywith Orthodoxy and who may wishcongregation affairs to be guided byOrthodox policies but they themselvesare not completely observant in anOrthodox fashion. We call these kinds ofpeople today the 'non-observantOrthodox'.

In some Orthodox synagoguesnone of the above type persons would bewelcome to serve in any official capacity.In others they would not even be offeredto go to the Torah for an Aliyah. Theirlack of complete observance woulddisqualify them. In these congregationsthe members readily submit to thedecisions of the Rabbi.

There are other factors in Jewishi d e n t i t y. These may include anattachment to community, past andpresent; nostalgia for a lost community orfamily traditions; attachment to Israel andcharitable concern for Jews everywhere.H o w e v e r, for Orthodoxy the primarycommitment is the observance of G-d'scommandments in the Torah asimplemented in the Halakhah.

So, nostalgia may be importantbut it is not enough to go on. If one or

another group insists on its nostalgicvision to be implemented then there willbe no room for other groups in ourSynagogue. Halakhah does not workonly on what was done in the past; it mustdecide for the present. Orthodox Jewsask their rabbis if heart transplants andin-vitro fertilisation techniques arepermissible. The fact that one hundred orfive hundred or one thousand years agothey were not done does not mean thatthey are forbidden. These questions aredecided upon using the components ofJewish law from the Babylonian Talmudand subsequent codes and commentariesthat relate to these questions. They areinterpreted and applied. Sometimes aconsensus of rabbis is reached and,sometimes, differing perspectivesremain.

If we wish to create unity in ourcongregation it must be on thisfundamental. If we wish to move to astricter interpretation of Orthodoxy asnoted above we can discuss this.However, it is improper to conduct thesediscussions without the Rabbi present.Otherwise the sources of Torah are absentand the discussion is no longer one basedon Torah and for the sake of heaven.

On the question of whether ornot a woman can be President of asynagogue both Hazzan Abbitan andmyself agree that there is no Halakhicobjection. An Iraqi rabbi, the late RabbiHayyim David Halevi who served asChief Rabbi for many years, wrote that involuntary situations people can giveauthority to a woman to be a judge in areligious court for civil matters, forexample.

We also have the precedent ofGolda Meir. Orthodox rabbis served inher cabinet and I do not recall anyobjection to her being chosen as a leaderof a Jewish community. In 18th centuryKurdistan, Asnat Barzani, a scholarlywoman, succeeded her husband as headof a Yeshivah.

Finally, we have the example ofDeborah, the Biblical prophet, judge andleader who ruled our nation over 3000years ago.

So in my mind there is noreligious Halakhic issue here. If there areother issues to be discussed in this matterthen they should be brought forth but notunder the cover of religion. Religiously Ido not see any issue.

I know that some people areuncomfortable with the more elevatedopportunities women have in Canada andother Western countries. But this is theContinued on following page

r e a l i t y. If we deny women validopportunities in our communities we willlose the respect of our women forJudaism. This would be the end of ourtradition for they would not teach theirchildren about something that deniestheir dignity.

I hope that all those who wish tosee our congregation continue in theways of Orthodox Judaism will rallyaround the proper comprehension of thisterm and not use it so selectively promotetheir own special interests. I hope tocontinue to be able to have theopportunities to teach and explain to ourmembers how an active, serious anddevoted Jewish life can enrich their lives.I hope we can all work together topromote the observance of Shabbat, thedietary laws, regular attendance at theSynagogue all year long and all the otherbeautiful obligations by which Jews havelived for thousands of years but whichnow appear to be distant to many of ourmembers. We would then beapproaching the ideals of an Orthodoxsynagogue.

Rabbi Howard S Joseph

Scribe: 1) The occupational diff e r e n c e sbetween men and women has beennarrowing gradually since the FrenchRevolution two centuries ago, even moreso in the past 50 years of relativeinternational peace.

However, even if the differenceis now very small, we confirm the famousremark of one famous French deputy whosaid, "Vive la difference!" In fact, even ifwoman can now perform man'sfunctions, can man claim to be able toperform the role of the woman who aloneis capable of bearing babies?2) As for the Rabbi describingmembers of a congregation as being non-observant Orthodox, this is obviously acontradiction of terms. How can anOrthodox Rabbi knowingly lead acongregation that is completely or mainlynon-observant.

Some people may regard suchbehaviour as reform through the backdoor. ♦

Did You Know?

Of the 11 British primeministers between 1880 and 1940, nonewrote an autobiography; of the 11 since1940, Blair is the only one who hasn't yetwritten one. ♦

MOSSAD SNATCHESSACRED JEWISH TEXTS

FROM SADDAMPublished in The Sunday Times 7.5.00

Dozens of sacred Jewish scrollsthat Saddam Hussein ordered to bedestroyed have been smuggled out of Iraqin an operation masterminded byMossad, the Israeli secret service.

At least 50 manuscriptscontaining the Torah, the first five booksof the Bible, had lain for decades in awarehouse in Baghdad after being hiddenby Iraqi Jews who left for Israel in 1950-51.

Mossad has retrieved 30 of thescrolls after bribing members of the Iraqiarmy. One of them, thought to have beenhand-written 70 years ago, was put ondisplay last week in a synagogue inAfula, northern Israel. A n o t h e r, 200years old, has been exhibited in NewYork.

Many more scrolls, some farolder and more valuable, are still in Iraq."There is a fair chance that we willrecover and return them to Jewish handsso that they can be presented insynagogues in Israel and across theworld", said one source.

Mossad is believed to havestarted the operation after its agents inBaghdad learnt of a meeting at whichSaddam's generals told him that 50manuscripts had been found in the city'sBattaween district, where the Jewishcommunity used to be concentrated. Heis said to have replied: "Burn them".

The news appalled officers atMossad's headquarters in Tel Av i v,prompting comparisons withKristallnacht in 1938 when the Nazisburned Jewish shops, synagogues andTorah scrolls in Germany.

Mossad soon learnt that some ofSaddam's officers, realising the value ofthe scrolls, were prepared to defy hisorders in return for money. The agency'sstation in Istanbul, which carries outespionage, against Iraq, was ordered toinvestigate.

It is not known how muchMossad paid either to the Iraqi officers orto merchants based in Jordan who actedas intermediaries. It may have been asmuch as £30,000 each.

The rescue of the scrolls appearsto have been part of a much larg e roperation to recover artefacts linked toIraq's once sizeable Jewish community.

After Iraq declared itsindependence from British rule in 1932,

Jews held prominent positions in thecountry; Sasson Heskail, the firstminister of finance, was Jewish.

The climate turned hostile afterthe creation of Israel in 1948. About121,000 of the 137,000 Jews who lived inIraq were flown to Israel in 1950-1951.There was a further exodus (in 1970-71after the Ba'ath came to power and thehanging in Baghdad of 9 innocent Jews),a mere 68 are now left in Baghdad.

Israeli sources said last weekthat efforts to rescue the remaining Torahscrolls were continuing. "We knowwhere they are. Some of them served theIraqi Jewish community for hundreds ofyears," said a source in the IsraeliMinistry of Religion.

"We will not leave them in thehands of the Iraqis. The state of Israel,with the help of all its secret and non-secret organisations, will bring the scrollsback home."

Naim Dangoor writes:

In 1957 my late Father managedto export from Baghdad at his ownexpense no less than 500 scrolls out of atotal of over 3,000 that belonged to ourcommunity in Iraq. The 500 scrolls wereduly received by the Sephardi Federationin London. Many of them were thendespatched to various synagogues allover the world but others unfortunatelyfound their way into the hands of dealersand collectors. Baghdad was famous forthe quality of Torah scrolls and orderswere received from Eretz Yisrael, havingto wait sometimes for up to 3 years forcompletion and delivery. ♦

I am sending you separately acopy of my film "Baklava and theMeaning of Life". In this 23 minutevideo, sculptor Helene Simon (mymother) shares the recipe for her famousBaklava and treats us to her wisdom andinsight on happiness in life.

Helene was born in Baghdadand studied art in London, Egypt, and theUnited States. After raising a family, shebecame a sculptor, and her pieces are in anumber of museums and importantcollections. Along the way, she alsomade some wonderful Baklava.

This video takes a peek into theworld of a Jewish artist and mother. ♦

Somerville MA Jamil Simon

A suggestion was put forwardsome time ago that the Kurdish problemcould perhaps be solved by promoting afederation of present-day Turkey, Syria,Iraq and Iran. This is a wishful dreamand unrealistic. Such a federation wouldupset the balance of power in the regionand pose a serious threat to peace. Itwould be opposed and resisted by Israeland its Arab neighbours alike. T h epresence of Kurdish minorities in thesefour countries is not enough reason foruniting them in one entity with one end inEurope and the other end in Central Asia.But a union of a different configurationhas a better chance of resolving not onlythe chronic Kurdish problem, but alsoother minority problems there, includingthe Palestinian.

The area covered by Iraq, Syria,Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Arabia is aprecise geo-political and historicalregion, being the cradle of civilisation,the fountain of monotheism, thecrossroads of three continents and thehome of many ancient national groups.Its fertility and strategic importance madeit the prey of foreign invaders throughouthistory. The Arabs were destined to playa unique role in the historicaldevelopment of this region. Sheltered intheir desert, they were relatively immunefrom foreign invasions, but were alwaysready to pounce at the right time onneighbouring territories. Thus, aftercenturies of warfare between theByzantine and Persian empires thatsapped their energies, the dessert Arabs,under the banner of Islam, could defeatboth powers. By their ability to subsist inconditions not suitable to their rivals, theArabs have been able to retain andconsolidate their conquests and to fan outinto the outlying regions of the MiddleEast as the general climate becamewarmer. This process has continued bothin peacetime and in the wake of militaryaction. Likewise, by destabilising theregion, the Arabs have succeeded increating a continuous flow of emigrationfrom the Middle East - of Jews, Kurds,Lebanese, Christians, Assyrians, even themore advanced Arabs, who are scatteredall over the globe but who would havebeen invaluable to the development of theregion. By the same process a sizeableIsraeli diaspora has been mushrooming inEurope, Canada and the U.S.A. MiddleEastern politics and events have to be

viewed and understood in this light.After the dismemberment of the OttomanEmpire nothing came out of the self-determination that was promised by theAllies to the various national groups ofthe Middle East. It is said that theOttoman "millet" concept, under which alarge measure of autonomy was grantedto various racial and religious minorities,had to give way to the modern nationalconcept - but this has not succeeded."Arabs, Jews, Kurds, Seljuk Tu r k s ,Persians, Assyrians, Telkaifis, Armenians- how mould such a composite collectionof races into a single nation? Sunnis,Shias, Jews, Christians, Sabians, Yezidis- how to lessen the friction between sucha variety of creeds?" (The Heart of theMiddle East by Richard Coke).

In the end imperial and oilpolicies favoured treating with thedominant Arabs and everything washanded over to them. There has been anobsession in the world in modern timesthat democracy means the rule of themajority. Majority rule as an expressionof democracy only holds true in ahomogeneous society where thedifferences are over minor issues. In asociety divided by race, language,religion or colour, the rights of all groups,large and small, must equally be ensuredand protected. This principle wouldsolve Ireland, Africa, Cyprus and theMiddle East.

Of course, once in the saddle,the Arabs would not agree to share powerwith the other groups or allow them anyform of self-rule. Hence, the Assyrianmassacre of 1933 and the relentlesssuppression of Kurdish uprisings in theirstruggle for autonomy. In 1918, a fewmonths after the Balfour declaration,Prince Feisal, later King of Iraq, declaredbefore a large audience at the Albert Hall,"Palestine for the Jews and Arabia for theArabs."

Subsequently Arab attitudeschanged. When the U.N, voted thepartition of Palestine in 1947, the Arabsagreed to accept a previous plan ofJewish immigration without a state.When Israel was established, they agreedthe partition plan. Since the Six Day War,they have offered to accept the 1967borders. These are all false promises, forthe Arabs cannot in the long run acceptsituations which go against the grain ofpan-Arabic aspiration. Their aim would

always be the elimination of Israel as aforeign body, or cancer as they call it.

After the establishment ofIsrael, many Palestinian Arabs fledmainly on the advice of A r a bgovernments who wanted them out of theway and were confident to bring themback in triumph. Shortly thereafter, therewas an exodus of similar numbers ofJews from Arab countries to Israel and itwas widely recognised at the time by thepowers and indeed by the A r a bgovernments themselves, who allowedtheir Jews to leave for Israel, that therewas thus a logical and desirable exchangeof populations - like many others thattook place after the war in Germany,India and other countries. But whileIsrael absorbed its refugees after manyyears of hardship in transit camps, theArabs deliberately left theirs unsettled,although they had all the money to settlethem, and kept them as a political weaponand a lever against Israel in theircontinuing effort to defeat the Jewishstate.

The Palestinian refugee problemwas created as the direct result of Arabrefusal to recognise Jewish politicalrights in the Middle East. Zionism wasthe liberation movement of the Jewishpeople. To the extent that it sought todestroy the State of Israel, the PLO wasnot a liberation movement, but an arm ofArab imperialism.

The Arabs say that thePalestinian problem must be solved byIsrael. The Israelis maintain that it is anArab problem. In fact, it is a regionalproblem if only because of the interesttaken in it by all the neighbouringcountries. This and other problems in theMiddle East cannot be solved piecemeal.The solution must be global, for there canbe no peace for the Palestinian refugeeswhile the material and political rights ofthe Jewish refugees are ignored. Thesolution must be global for there can beno peace in one corner of the Middle Eastwhile 20 million Kurds cannot attainautonomy; while the Armenians andAssyrians remember their massacres andtheir stolen lands; while the Shiahmajority in Iraq are oppressed; while theArabs control 5 million square miles ofterritory and non-Arabs are denied anyterritory. These are not isolated problemsand must be solved together. T h e

MIDDLE EAST CONFEDERATIONCO-OPERATION IS BETTER THAN CONFLICT

by Naim DangoorAppeared in "Chronicles" in July 1983


solution must be global for there can beno peace in the Middle East while a fewArab rulers squander most of the oilwealth and embark on ruinousadventures. The solution must be global,for peace, law and order in the MiddleEast are indivisible. The Arabs haveacted irresponsibly in their attempt toArabise the whole region. As such theyhave forfeited the right to lead the MiddleEast.

The reason why the Arab-Israeliconflict has not come to a decisiveconclusion, even after four major wars, isthat the two sides have not been playingthe same game and it was thus impossibleto have a meaningful score. The gamethat Israel has accepted to play is RussianRoulette or Yo u - C a n - O n l y - L o s e - O n c e .The game of the Arabs is Winner-Takes-All. It is clear from this scenario thatneither Israeli victories nor Arab defeatscan be conclusive. Only Israel's defeatcan be conclusive.

The minorities of the MiddleEast must realise that they have to co-operate with one another to achieve a justregime in the region; if they don't hangtogether they will hang separately. In1976 I sponsored, with the help of theMinority Rights Group, a symposium onMiddle East minorities at St Anthony'sCollege, Oxford, which provided a venuefor the exchange of views on theproblems of the Middle East and theirsolutions. It might be useful now toundertake a feasibility study and toprepare a blueprint for a federal project.

As a Middle Eastern refugeemyself, I watch with dismay theunfolding of events in the Middle East -the destruction, the loss of young lives,the waste of money. The central issue isnot the artificial Palestinian problem butArab refusal to face realities; the troubleis not Zionism but Arab imperialism, notthe Nile to the Euphrates accusationlevelled at Israel but the dream of theAtlantic to the Gulf, and beyond, of manyArab leaders. As the Arabs face anincreasing Iranian threat with increasingconcern, they soon must come to realisethat their only possible saviour is Israel,which too would not tolerate Iranianpenetration of the region. Blindnationalism is not in the best A r a btraditions and, in the past, Jews co-operated closely with Arabs in war andpeace, especially in the fields ofcommerce, agriculture and industry.During the golden age of Islam all raceshad equal access to wealth and power.

The peoples of the Middle Eastwho often suffered together

under foreign domination but were neverunited in freedom could then organisethemselves into a confederation thatwould seek neither to Arabise, Islamise orSovietise the Middle East; aconfederation that would ensureautonomy, freedom and prosperity to allthe people of the region who will be freeto live and work everywhere. A regionaldevelopment board would ensure that thevast wealth of the region is utilised forthe benefit of all. Such a grouping wouldfit well with the neighbouring pattern ofIran, Turkey and Egypt.

The tradition and personality ofAbraham, revered in all parts of theMiddle East, and who is referred to as thefriend of G-d in the Old and NewTestaments and the Koran, can be used asa basis to forge the union, with a federalcapital named after him.

Sceptics might say that it willtake them ages before everyoneconcerned accepts this arrangement. Butonce the solution is identified the timeelement becomes immaterial. There is alocal saying that he who follows the rightpath will eventually reach hisdestination.

LESSON OF THE EXILE

All the four Rabbis missed thepoint. The reason why the Jews wereexiled to Babylon was to demonstratethat the Middle East was one region andthat the peace of the region is individual.In this case the imbalance between theland of the rivers and that of Palestinewill always end up in aggression from theBabylonian side. The lesson, therefore, isthat Israel must not embark on a revivalwithout pacifying the land of the rivers,Saddam's missile attack on Ramat Ganduring the Gulf War is an illustration ofthis point.

It is said that history repeatsitself. Like a good teacher, History willkeep repeating itself until the lesson islearnt. The lesson in this case is thatIsrael must become involved in thepolitics of Iraq if there is going to belasting peace for Israel in particular andfor the Middle East in general.

Two generations ago thepopulation of Iraq was 3 million, and nowit is nearly 30 million without anyimmigration from outside with a potentialof further increase to 40 or 50 million.This and Iraq's wealth in oil and waterwill eventually put Israel in the shade.

This problem should be the toppriority for Israel to tackle.

Some time during the third

century A.D., in one of the two greatJewish academies of Babylonia, fourrabbis discussed the question as to whythe Holy One, blessed be He, choseBabylonia as the place of exile for thepeople of Israel. Rabbi Hiyya, himself anative of Babylonia, thought it wasbecause they would not have been able tosurvive the severe decrees of Rome.Another native of Babylonia, RabbiEleazar ben Pedath, sought theexplanation topographically - namely thatBabylonia was a low-lying land,resembling the nether world, and fromsuch a land the Jews would soon beredeemed. A third sage, Rabbi Haninabar Hamma, suggested the reason that thelanguage of Babylonia was akin to that ofthe Torah. The fourth and last of thegroup, Rabbi Yohanan bar Nappaha, wasbrief and much more direct: G-d, he said,sent the children of Israel back to theirmother's home.

It will be noted that thedeliberations of these four worthy sagestook place almost exactly eight centuriesafter Nebuchadnezzar, drove thepopulation of Judah into exile inBabylonia. ♦

From The Jews of Iraq by Nissim Rejwan

BETH HAMEDRASHKNESSET YEHEZKEL

under the leadership of Rabbi AharonBassous

The past fifteen years have seenthe Sephardim in London make greatstrides. New communities have beenestablished, focusing on Torah education,more and more families have come closerto their roots, and an awareness in thewider community of the richness of areligious lifestyle is increasing.

Our aim is now to accelerate thisprocess by providing an all-encompassing place which will bereaching out to all segments of theSephardi community and activelycatering for their needs.

We hope to be able to establish acommunity, returning the pride of theSephardim in this country to its formerglory.

The Jewish community iswitnessing dramatic changes.

There has been a remarkableresurgence in Jewish learning and a senseof renewal in all aspects of Judaism.There is a renewed pride in Jewish

identity in countries whereacknowledging one's Jewishness wasforbidden for decades. There arethousands of books published in everylanguage. There are schools andeducation programmes appearingwherever there are Jews to be found.

And yet increasing numbers ofpeople are marrying outside of thereligion, and family life and values arebeing challenged on every level.

This contradiction is perhaps notso surprising, but it should not bewitnessed with complacency. There is aneed for more outreach and developmentin those parts of the community whichhave not benefited from the huge surge inoptimism within the religion.

Torah learning and a Jewish wayof life is the only way to guaranteecontinuity.

The experience of theSephardim in this country might bedescribed as that of the minority within aminority. If it were not difficult enoughto sustain a Jewish identity here, it hasbeen still more problematic to sustain thetraditions and learning from the orientalcountries.

There is a history among theSephardim of pluralism and tolerance.D i ffering traditions are sustained andrespected. Thankfully, there has been noexperience of ideological divisivenesswitnessed elsewhere in the Jewishcommunity. And yet there is a lessobvious threat to be witnessed, asSephardim gradually forget those specificcustoms which make the faith their own.And with that loss, so too there comes aloss of identity. ♦

ASHE LINCOLN

There is a splendid and well-deserved tribute to the late great CaptainAshe Lincoln QC, RNVR, by AbdullaDangoor in the September 1999 (No. 72)edition of The Scribe.

One of many episodes in whichAshe Lincoln was involved during theWar was when the Royal Navy captured aGerman submarine, which was loadedwith unexploded torpedoes. Typically,Ashe Lincoln risked his life dismantlingthem, and he could have been blown topieces.

Ashe Lincoln was awarded theKing's medal for bravery. and wasmentioned in Dispatches many times.

Probably the best of A s h eLincoln's books is "The Odyssey of a

Jewish Sailor", which is one of the mostinteresting books I have ever seen, and ishighly recommended to any readers ofThe Scribe who do not already have it.The splendid photograph in The Scribe isalso on the front cover of the book.

I had the privilege of knowingAshe Lincoln for many years, and had thepleasure of seeing him regularly atMarble Arch Synagogue, and on Shabbatat the New London Synagogue ("LouisJacobs' Shul"). ♦

London Lou Gorden

LETTER FROM ESTHERMERCADO (KHABBAZA)DATED 22 MARCH 1999

As I had to undergo a braintumour operation a few months ago, Iwill never know what would happen tome. Therefore I wish to offer to you andto my school friends, and all the readerswho happen to know me, the followingpoem in Arabic. ♦

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Experience is the mother of wisdomOut of experience comes wisdom. Welearn by our mistakes. ♦

REMEMBERING FOR T H EFUTURE 2000

The Holocaust in an Age of Genocide

Last July, a conference was heldin London and Oxford to discuss racialgenocide outbreaks that have been takingplace in various parts of the world sincethe end of World War II.

The following letter wasreceived from the Executive Chairman ofthe conference, Dr Elizabeth Maxwell.

To The Exilarch's FoundationOne of the outstanding papers

presented at the conference was by DrMark Levene, Dept of History,University of Warwick, Coventry.Speaking at a session of the conference,Dr Levene told academics and survivors:"It seems to me to be a paradox. For 50years no-one was really interested in theHolocaust; now it is everywhere."

Dr Levene questioned theuniqueness of the Holocaust. Heconsidered the invocation, "never again"as hollow and crass.

Dr Levene admitted that thefocus on the Holocaust was notnecessarily a bad thing, but wonderedwhere do we go from here? How doesknowledge of the Holocaust makegenocide more difficult? We probablydon't have an answer for that yet.

Scribe: The extermination of millions ofJews in the German gas chambers isunique because these Jews died ashostages for the free world. In 1939,Hitler threatened that if world Jewrywould embroil Germany in another worldwar, then all the Jews of Europe would beexterminated. That was the price that theJews of Europe had to pay, so that peopleeverywhere could live in freedom andpeace. Students of the Holocaust areperplexed by its significance becausethey miss this point. Moreover theHolocaust was aided and abetted by oilinterest and by Arab influence in the axiscountries which needs to be highlighted.

While "Remembering for thefuture" and "never again" may be uselessin preventing another Jewish Holocaustas there are too few Jews in Europe forthat, it may also be useless in preventingsmaller outbreaks of genocideselsewhere. But the victims of theHolocaust died for the free world andmust be remembered and honoured assuch. That is the uniqueness and that isthe importance of the JewishHolocaust. ♦

The Jewish connection withBabylonia dates from the time ofAbraham the Patriarch, who started hisjourney to the land of Canaan from Ur,just south of the city of Babylon.H o w e v e r, it was only after manycenturies, with the exiles from Judea andSamaria in the years 721 and 733 BCE,that a Jewish presence was established inBabylonia. But it was the destruction ofthe First Temple and Jerusalem in 586BCE, and the exile of the elite of thenation to Babylon, which created thebackground for the flowering ofBabylonian Jewry.

First Return to Zion

When Babylonia fell to thePersians in 539 BCE, forty-seven yearsafter the destruction and exile, the victor,King Cyrus the Great, was quick to issuea royal directive giving the Jewspermission to go back to Jerusalem andrebuild the Temple. Of the 120,000 Jewsliving in Babylon, 40,000 decided toreturn to Judea and, eventually, to rebuildthe second Temple, but 80,000 decided toremain and prospered there in agricultureand commerce, under the leadership ofthe Resh Galuta, the Exilarch.

The destruction of the SecondTemple (in 70 CE) strengthened thestatus of the Jews in Babylon, and itbecame, in fact, the spiritual center of theentire Jewish dispersion. For over athousand years the Jews of Babylon wererepresented by the Resh Galuta, theExilarch (the administrative head of theJews in exile), and great academies oflearning were created in Nehardea, Suraand Pumbedita. Babylon became thecenter for the creation of great works ofJewish scholarship.

The Talmud

The highly significantcontribution of Babylonian Jewry toJewish life was best expressed andpreserved in the compilation of theBabylonian Talmud (Oral Law), the basisfor Jewish law (halacha), philosophy andthe Jewish way of life - an enormousundertaking began at the Academy ofSura and was completed in the year 499CE. It has been rightly maintained thatno book, with the exception of the Bible,

has played such an essential part in thehistory of the Jewish people as theTalmud in both its versions, but theBabylonian Talmud is consideredsuperior to the Palestinian or JerusalemTalmud.

Islam Arrives

When the armies of Islam begantheir triumphant conquest of larg eportions of what was then the civilizedworld, Mesopotamia became one of theirearliest victories. The Jews of Babyloniawelcomed the Moslem conquerors withrelief, since the local Persian Sassanianruler had began one of their frequentwaves of harassment and persecution.

Baghdad and the Period of the Geonim

Baghdad founded in 762 A.D.,soon became the capital not only of theMoslem Empire but also of BabylonianJewish life and scholarship. Shortly afterits emergence as a capital and a heavilypopulated city, Baghdad graduallybecame the seat, first of the Exilarch, andthen of the Geonim, who up till then hadresided in the three centres of Jewishlearning: Nehardea, Sura and Pumbedita.The Geonim were the spiritual leaderswho headed the Babylonian academies.

The two most outstanding andinfluential Geonim were Sa'adiah benJoseph Gaon (882-942) and Hai benSherira Gaon (939-1038).

Turkish Revival

After centuries of decline, thefortunes of the Jews of Iraq began toimprove noticeably during the firstdecades of the 1800's under the TurkishOttoman Empire, which ruled the area foralmost 400 years, beginning in 1534.

In the 19th and 20th centuries,the Iraqi Jewish community was notedfor its highly developed communalorganization. In Baghdad, which had thehighest concentration of Jews, there weredozens of institutions including yeshivot,schools, synagogues, charitableo rganizations, medical institutions andother bodies, designed to meet the needsof the community. ♦

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ASPECTS OF BABYLONIANJEWISH LIFE IN INDIADURING THE 19TH A N D20TH CENTURIESby Sara Manasseh

Religious and communal lifewere of foremost importance in India.The early Baghdadian settlers combinedkeen business acumen with the religioustraditions of Baghdad; commercialinterests with the study and observance ofthe Torah. Houses of prayer wereestablished, and in time, beautifulsynagogues were erected. David Sassoonbuilt the Maghen Dawid synagogue inByculla, in 1861, and the Ohel DawidSynagogue, a famous landmark in Poona,in 1863. Later, his grandson, Sir JacobSassoon built the Kenesseth EliahooSynagogue in the Bombay Fort area in1884. In the same year, in Calcutta, theEzra family built the Maghen Dawidsynagogue, a magnificent structure andthe largest synagogue in the East. TheEzra family had also previously builtsynagogues in Calcutta, including theBeth El (c. 1861). In 1893, HakhamShlomo Abid Twena from Baghdad wentto Calcutta, and in time set up a prayerhall in his own home; he is rememberedfor his profound knowledge of JewishLaw and for his inspiring sermons,delivered in Arabic.

Philanthropic work by theSassoon family included the SassoonGeneral Hospital in Poona, and inB o m b a y, the Jacob Sassoon HighSchool and the Sassoon MechanicsInstitute, later renamed the D a v i dSassoon Library and Reading Room.In 1994, in recognition of the charitableworks of David Sassoon, the road leadingfrom the Library to the Law Courts, wasrenamed "David Sassoon Marg" (DavidSassoon Way). In Calcutta, the JewishGirls School achieved special distinctionunder Miss Rahma Luddy, who hadtrained in England, and who wasappointed headmistress in 1929.

In Bombay, the Jewish Women'sLeague was founded during the 20thcentury to assist needy families. MrsHannah Gourgey was one of the earlymembers. The league made majorheadway with the coming of MrsGeorgette Ani (my grandmother). Notcontent with attending to letters ofapplication for assistance at thecommittee's meetings, she would visit thepoorest families with one or two otherladies, and talk to them in the JewishBaghdadian Arabic dialect - the common

"BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON:"THE LONGEST DIASPORAbased on an article in Wizo Review

lingua franca. Visiting the Sir JacobSassoon High School it was found thatthe School Feeding Fund was totallyinadequate to meet the rapidly risingcosts in the World War 2 years. Sir VictorSassoon was approached, and with theassistance of the E. D. Sassoon funds, agood daily hot lunch was organised forthe whole school. With the coming of therefugees from Singapore, the JewishWomen's League organised the refugeecentre at Dharbanga Mansions (inMalabar Hill; provided by thegovernment of Bombay), and assisted thefamilies to get settled. The League alsoplayed its part in equipping children whowent on Youth Aliyah groups to Israel.

Wizo (Women's InternationalZionist Organisation) was founded inBombay after the arrival of EuropeanJews before and during World War 2, forraising funds for Israel. The JewishRelief Association was set up byEuropean immigrants to assist membersof this community who had come toBombay as refugees from Nazipersecution.

Relations with Israel

The Bombay ZionistAssociation was founded in 1920 bythree young Baghdadians: Judah Gubbay,Joseph S Ezra and Ezekiel S Somekh,inspired by newspaper reports of eventsin London to celebrate the BalfourDeclaration, 1917.

The Central Jewish Board ofBombay was founded in 1943, withrepresentatives from the synagogues,initially to deal with anti-Zionist or anti-Jewish attacks in the press. It wassucceeded by the Council of Indian Jewryfounded 1978.

Jewish publications included theJewish Advocate and the Jewish Tribune,and in later years, The Indo-IsraelReview. The BZA arranged lectures andfundraising for the national institutions inPalestine, and then Israel, and initially,'Aliyah (immigration) to Israel. From1948-1958 Mr F W Pollack personallypublished and edited a monthlymagazine, India and Israel, which washighly regarded.

Youth organizations

In 1935, Habonim (retained as areligious organization in India, unlike itsdevelopment elsewhere) was founded inBombay by H"R Albert Manasseh, withthe assistance of Mr Solomon Ezra. Themovement grew, and continued always as

a religious organization. Centers wereopened in Calcutta with the support ofSir David and Lady Rachel Ezra, and theleadership of Sally Meyer (now Dr SallyLewis); in Cochin, led by Mr Koder andin Poona. A number of the members latermade 'A l i y a h' to Israel. Haboniminitiated the first Youth Aliyah groupsfrom Bombay to Kibbutz Lavee and otherreligious centers.

Bnei Akiva was founded by theJewish Agency who sent shlichim(emissaries) from Israel to organize thework.

Maccabi, founded in Bombayby Mr Starosta, a European immigrant,with Sass Moses, as Chairman, capturedthe interest of the youth, and contingentswere sent to Israel to take part in theMaccabiah competitions.

In Bombay, for 50 years, AlbertManasseh (1907-1991) was the Chairmanand Life President of the Sassoon Trusts -which included the three synagogues - ofwhich he was the spiritual head, schoolsand burial ground. He devoted muchattention to youth in school, Bnei Akivaand Habonim. He accompanied the firstYouth Aliyah group to Israel from Indiato ensure that they were settled inreligious Youth Aliyah centers. Inrecognition of his dedication andguidance the trustees of the EEE Sassoonschool recently opened (c.1993) theAlbert Manasseh Memorial NurserySchool. ♦

from "The Jewish Babylonian", theNewsletter of Midrash BEN ISH HAI

To: H E Mr Zvi GabayIsraeli Ambassador Dublin

20 April 1999

AN IRAQI IN IRELAND

Your Excellency,

Greetings and salutations. Thisis but an introductory letter and messageof peace. I am Iraqi by birth and havebeen an Irish national since 1986. I leftIraq in 1976 and have not been backsince. My paternal grandfather SenatorMohammed Al-Sadr was one of Iraq's1920 uprising leaders, a hero ofindependence, an ecumenist, a politicaland religious figure and one of the fathersof the Iraqi state. It is because of thisfamily background that I was brought up

to know about and respect all theconstituent groups that constituted thepeople of Iraq. Alas, the violent Iraq ofSaddam I grew up in (post 1958) hadvery few Iraqi Jews, but both my lateparents spoke fondly of them. I yearnedto hear the Iraqi Jewish dialect.

I am an avid visitor of theInternet and visited the Babylon JewryHeritage Centre site. I also received theirnewsletter Nahardea. I was amazed tosee so many names I recognised fromwhat my parents had told me. I signedthe guest book and subsequently receivedan e-mail from a Ms Helen Bekhor inAustralia. She is of Iraqi Jewish originand her husband Ken is an Iraqi Jew. Shetold me that your kind self is an Iraqi Jewand that is why I decided to write to youboth to introduce myself and to offer yougreetings. Helen and Ken Bekhor alsoasked me to convey their regards (theytold me to remind you that you had lunchwith them, many many years ago whenyou were stationed in Sydney).

I pray that our peoples findpeace in our time and that we all can hearthe Iraqi Jewish dialect spoken again inthe land of Babylon, in a free, democraticand pluralist Iraq. Please honour me byvisiting my website ath t t p : / / w w w. g e o c i t i e s . c o m / B o u r b o n S t reet/Quarter/1803 and feel free to e-mailme any time.

Shalom / SalamMohammed H Al-Sadr Dublin

6 May 1999

Dear Dr Al-Sadr

Thank you very much for yourletter and the sentiment it contained. I amfollowing with much anxiety the situationin Iraq and only hope that peace willprevail in that country for its people andthe future generation in the Middle East.

I enclose a copy of The Scribe, aJournal of Babylonian Jewry published inLondon and trust it will be of interest toyou. ♦

Yours sincerelyZvi Gabay Dublin

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Courtesy costs nothingThere is nothing to be lost by behaving ina courteous way. Sometimes ‘civility’ or‘politeness’is used instead of ‘courtesy’.

THE FUTURE OFJERUSALEM

"Yasser Arafat feels he must consult withhundreds of millions of Muslims, beforehe can make any decisions with respect toJerusalem; well Jerusalem is also theconcern of all world Jewry", assertedAmbassador Dore Gold, Israel's formerUN ambassador, who spoke at a Friendsof Yesha meeting at the Hendon UnitedSynagogue. Gold, who also met with theBoard of Deputies carried a message thatthe involvement of the Internationalcommunity in the issue of Jerusalem islikely to increase in the months ahead:Up until now the world assumed thatIsrael's insistence on a unified Jerusalemunder Israeli sovereignty was carved instone. The perception emanating fromCamp David is that the Jewish position ismore pliable; this will now invitepressure on Israel in the future. Thismust be revised - the national consensusin Israel opposes concessions inJerusalem. For Russian Jews, forexample, the liberation of Jerusalem in

1967 began a re-birth that led to themovement to free Soviet Jewry. At CampDavid President Clinton proposed thatIsrael turn over two quarters of the OldCity to Palestinian sovereignty. PrimeMinister Barak did not reject thisproposal but only asked Clinton to checkwith Arafat. Whatever Barak said atCamp David was oral, was stated to athird party (the US) and was hypothetical(dependent on achieving Palestinianagreement on all other issues). It cannotconstitute a binding internationalcommitment for future Israeligovernments. A major world-wideinformation campaign is needed onJewish rights in Jerusalem after CampDavid. Gold now heads the JerusalemCentre for Public Affairs. His writing onJerusalem can be viewed on the centre'swebsite: www.jcpa.org ♦

The Zionist Standard

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DOME OF THE ROCKTemple-Mount Mosque 'Temporary'

JERUSALEM, 15 Kislev - After a 3 1/2hour discussion between a Jewishdelegation and representatives of theMoslem government last night, theMoslems gave assurances that themosque under construction on theTemple Mount is only in the way of atemporary structure.

The delegation had requestedthe interview after construction on themosque had begun despite explicitpromises by the authorities that, becauseof the Jews' unhelpfulness in theuncovering of the Foundation Stone, theholiness of the spot on which once stoodthe Temple would be carefullysafeguarded.

The Caliph's representatives, onthe other hand, argued that the Jews hadbeen granted many privileges, and that itwas "not too much to ask" that theMoslems be given the opportunity toerect a "temporary mosque" on the spotwhere, according to Moslem tradition,Mohammed tied us his horse - a spot

JERUSALEM, THE ETERNAL CITY

In 1996 the Khalili Family Trust commissioned the ultimate painting of the City of Jerusalem to be painted with the hopethat in the new Millennium it will be possible for Jews, Christians and Muslims to live together in Peace and Harmony.

The painting shown below was first exhibited in the "Summer Exhibition" in the Royal Academy of Art London from 29May 2000 to 7 August 2000 and subsequently will travel to the Tower of David in Jerusalem. Upon the attainment of permanentPeace in the Middle East it will travel throughout all the major Muslim countries in the world and hopefully will become a shiningtorch of the three faiths.

I have pleasure in enclosing a copy (shown above) of the postcard which we have produced which I hope you will findinteresting. ♦

London Dr N D Khalili

which also happens to be located on theTemple Mount.

Among the "privileges"enumerated by the Moslems are thefriendship of the Caliph enjoyed by theJews; the refusal of the Moslemauthorities to be swayed by thearguments of the Christians in the matterof the transfer of the Tiberias Academy toJerusalem; the appointment of the Jewsas guardians of the Temple Mount; andthe permission granted the Jews to builda synagogue next to the Foundation Stone- a synagogue which the Jews wereallowed to complete withoutinterference. ♦

From Chronicles - News of the Past -Volume II, No. 17

"THE NEW MILLENNIUM"

The fact that our planet rotateson its axis a little less than the 24 hours,we know as a day (by 3 minutes and 56seconds), and that it travels around thesun once every 365.25636 days, createdconfusion over the centuries about exactdates, and induced calendars to makecompromises.

The Romans may have beenaccurate in building aqueducts andcoliseums, but they erred when it came tothe calendar. They started with tenmonths, then added two more months,while fiddling with the numbers of daysin February which at one time had 30days.

Just for the record, in 46 BCJulius Caesar reformed the previouslyerratic Roman calendar. He took thelength of the year to be 365.25 days,beginning on 1 January. As a result of atremendous mistake by Roman priests,the calendar had to be reformed again in10 BC. Even so, by 1582 the SpringEquinox had slipped back from 21 Marchto 11 March. To prevent further slippage,Pope Gregory XIII reformed the calendarand as part of the reforms, ten days of1582 were removed with 5 Octoberbecoming 15 October.

But since the Gregoriancalendar, as it was called, necessitated theelimination of a number of days from thecalendar then in use throughout much ofthe Western World, a number of countriesbalked. The ones that immediately wentalong with the plan were the Catholiccountries in Europe, but the Protestantcountries refused.

Slowly but surely, however,

over the years even countries notcontrolled by Catholics agreed to use theGregorian calendar since the incorrectlycalculated Julian calendar was nowthrowing the year clearly out of the trackwith the earth's rotation. One of thenations that delayed converting to thenew calendar was England and itscolonies, which put it into practice in1752 and Russia and Finland not until1918,

The changeover in America, asin England, led to a loss of eleven days inFebruary 1752. This affected amongothers, George Washington, who as atwenty year old in 1752 saw his birthdaymoved from 11 February to 22 February.This seems quasi as fiction than a fact.Of course the celebration of Georg eWashington's birthday has now beenshifted to the third Monday in February -which has nothing to do with the Julian orGregorian calendar, but with moreimportant one for most people inAmerica: the federal holiday calendar.

As European power spreadaround the world, every countryeventually settled on the Gregoriancalendar as the way of marking thechange of year. Surely, other ways ofmeasuring time are in force. We Jewsshall have our New Year in 2000 on 30thSeptember and the year will be 5761, andaccording to Islam what we call year2000 will be 1420, while the ChineseNew Year in 2000 will be 4th Februaryand the year will be 4698.

From the 7th century to the year1338, the English considered ChristmasDay to be the first day of the year, andthen it was moved to 25 March for civilpurposes and to Easter for religious ones.

Gregory XIII was a CatholicPope, and of course his calendar issupposed to have begun with the birth ofChrist. But most students of the subjectsay the latest Christ could have been bornwas 4 BC. Thus, perhaps the Millenniumshould have celebrated in 1996.According to the "New CatholicEncyclopaedia", Dionysius, who hasbeen termed one of the most learned menof the sixth century, made a serious errorwhich, at that time, went unnoticed andwhich, since then, has gone uncorrected.

The Catholic Encyclopaediasays that Dionysius "wrongly dated (thebirth of Jesus) to 754 A.U.C. some 4years, at least, too late. Thus whatDionysius said was CE1, should havebeen four or more years earlier. A.U.C. isthe abbreviation for the Latin anno urbisconditae, which means "the year of theestablishment of the City-Rome."

Leaving aside whether Jesuswas a real character in history is certainlyfar from clear to most academics when hewas born, not to mention how he wasconceived.

In any case, the Millennium hasentered the door of history on 1st January2000 but not without a controversy fromcertain institutions such as theEncyclopaedia Britannica, the US NavelObservatory and the GreenwichObservatory, as they claim that right datehad to be 1 January 2001, though theVatican preferred to announce it in athree-cipher-year.

A book entitled "Zero - theBiography of a Dangerous Idea" byCharles Seife (Viking) discussing thehistory within the larger context ofalternative numbering systems developedby various cultures, such as the base - 60system of the Babylonians who broughtus the 60 minute hour and themagnificent zero invented by the Maya,came down to a statement that theabsence of nought gave us our "silly"calendar system that goes from 1 BC to1AD, guaranteeing that the newMillennium actually begins next year.

My personal view is thatclinging on to the errors of history in suchcases, is not worth a dispute especiallyafter the Millennium has already beenfixed and that the decision should betaken as a common sense choice.

Milan Edward Yamen

S c r i b e : The seven day week hasremained unchanged for thousands ofyears. Jewish leaders have successfullyreinstated any attempt to tamper with thatsystem, such as not to count one day ayear in order to have a year of 52 weeks,so that every month will start on aSunday and so on. Jews have stronglyobjected to any change in order to keepthe Sabbath in a fixed position. ♦

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You cannot make an omelette withoutbreaking eggsYou cannot expect to get something fornothing. You must be prepared to makesacrifices in order to gain your ends. ♦

Better an egg than a hen tomorrowThis means the same as A BIRD IN THEHAND IS W O RTH TWO IN T H EBUSH. ♦

SIR SASSON ESKELL

Hakham Heskel Shlomo Dawidwas a student of Hakham A b d a l l aSomekh. In 1873 he travelled to India tobecome the Rabbi and Shohet of thethriving Baghdadi Jewish Communitythere. In 1885 he returned to Baghdad awealthy man. In 1906 he built SlatHakham Heskel which was one of theprominent synagogues in Baghdad.

Sasson Eskell born in Baghdad17 March 1860 and studied at theAlliance School. He left for Istanbul in1877 in the company of Menahem SalehDaniel who had been elected a deputy ofBaghdad in the Ottoman Parliamentduring the reign of Sultan Abdul HamidII. After studying in Istanbul heproceeded to Vienna where he was anoutstanding pupil. He returned toIstanbul where he obtained a law degree.He returned to Baghdad in 1885 where hewas appointed dragoman for the consularservices.

On the announcement of thenew Constitution in 1908, he was electeddeputy for Baghdad in the first TurkishParliament, a position he occupied untilthe end of World War I when Iraq wasdetached from the Ottoman Empire. Hereturned to Baghdad in 1920 and wasappointed Finance Minister in the firstIraq Government. In 1921 he attendedthe Cairo Conference under thechairmanship of Winston Churchill atwhich Emir Feisal was chosen for thethrone of Iraq. He occupied the positionof Minister of Finance during fiveconsecutive governments until 1925.Thereafter he was Member of Parliamentuntil his death in Paris in 1932 where hewas buried at the Père LachaiseCemetery. ♦

The picture above was taken in Baghdad c. 1927 showing left to right,seated:Jack Eskell; Sir Sassoon Eskell; Henry EskellStanding: David Shaoul Eskell; Frederick Daniel ♦

1927 - Sir Sasson Eskell and his brother Shaoul (standing), with AlbertShaoul Eskell (left) and friend ♦

In the last issue, no. 72 ofSeptember 1999, we wrote about pharaohAkhenaten who attempted to introduce inEgypt monotheism which he learnedfrom his Uncle, Joseph, son of patriarchJacob. The following is an abbreviationof an interesting article about thatpharaoh which appeared in " A r a m c oWorld" Nov/Dec 1999.

CORRESPONDENCE INCLAY

by: Barbara Ross

"I am going to have a house-warming", read the invitation. "Comeyourself to eat and drink with me.Twenty-five women and 25 men shall bein attendance." The party favourpromised was "10 wooden chariots and10 teams of horses" - a lavish gift byordinary standards, but this invitationwas from royalty. It was sent some 3500years ago by Kadasman-Enlil, king ofBabylonia, to Akhenaten (AmenhotepIV), pharaoh of Egypt. The message wasinscribed on a pillow-shaped clay tablet,small enough to be carried easily in onehand or slipped into a satchel.

Akhenaten was the firstEgyptian king to worship a single deity.He forbade the worship of multiple gods,and he directed an entire society toworship one supreme being representedby the sun, which he referred to as"Aten". With his wife, Nefertiti, and theiryoung daughters, the royal family movedfrom Thebes, the capital of Egypt, to apalatial city he had built along the eastbank of the Nile some 300 kilometers tothe north. He named his city Akhetaten("Horizon of Aten"), and today it isknown as Amarna.

P o l i t i c a l l y, Egypt was at itszenith, the most powerful kingdom theworld had known, dominating the lesserempires of Babylonia, Assyria, Khatti,Mitanni and Alashiya (Cyprus), and theprovinces of Syria, Palestine, Canaan andKush. These Amarna clay letters werediplomatic correspondence between thepharaoh and the rulers of these lands, orthe vassals who governed towns andcities under Egyptian control.

After a flurry of courteoussalutations, most letters included a pleafor money, gifts or military troops. Thisis a typical introduction: "Say toNimmureya [Akhenaten], the king ofEgypt, my brother, my son-in-law, whomI love and who loves me: Thus Tushratta,

the king of Mitanni, your father-in-law,who loves you, your brother. For me allgoes well. For you may all go well. Foryour household, for your wives, for yoursons, for your magnates, for yourchariots, for your horses, for yourwarriors, for your country and whateverelse belongs to you, may all go very, verywell."

The meat of the letter wouldquickly follow. In this case, Tushrattaannounced that he was sending one of hismistresses as a gift to the pharaoh. "Shehas become very mature, and she hasbeen fashioned according to my brother's[Akhenaten's] desire. And, furthermore,my brother will note that the greeting giftthat I shall present is greater than anybefore."

Akhenaten was the richest andmost powerful man in the world, and theMitanni, in western Mesopotamia, wereamong Egypt's most important allies, andseveral princesses had been sent as bridesto marry Akhenaten and his father,Amenhotep III.

The written word of the timewas cuneiform, a type of writing that hadspread from Mesopotamia beginning inthe third millennium BC, and was used towrite several languages at different timesand places. The Armana Letters aremostly written in Old Babylonian, itself adialect of Akkadian, a spoken and writtenlanguage that developed in the city ofAkkad, now in Iraq. At the time theletters were written, Old Babylonian hadbecome infused with West Semitic and

Eqyptian words, and it had become thecommon regional language that unifiedinternational relations and trade, a linguafranca.

Each country outside A s s y r i aand Babylon, where Akkadian was thefirst language, had to maintain a staff oftrusted, educated people who couldinterpret and write in Akkadian. Forexample, when the Egyptian kingdictated a letter, his scribe probably wroteon papyrus. The scribe would then handhis text to a translator, who wouldinscribe it into clay in Akkadian. Thetablet would then be dispatched by royalcourier.

This was an era in whichdiplomacy was often urgent, forthroughout the Amarna period many ofEgypt's vassals were at war with eachother.

In a tumultuous political sea,what remained fixed throughoutAkhenaten's reign was his ardentadoration of Aten. Amarna was built withroofless courtyards, temples, and shrinesto facilitate worship directly toward thesun - although shade was provided for theroyal family. An Assyrian king protestedto the pharaoh on behalf of hisemissaries:

"Why are my messengers keptstanding in the open sun? They will diein the open sun. If it does the king goodto stand in the open sun, then let the kingstand there and die in the open sun. Thenwill there be profit for the king! Butreally, why should [my messengers] diein the open sun?"

Although many letters containsimilarly heated protests of the pharaoh'sways, he appears to have remainedlargely unmoved, for his power dwarfedthat of other empires.

Akhenaten and his wife Nefertitihad at least six daughters, and reliefsfound on shrines, temple walls, and burialsites show hints of intimacy and domesticcontentment that are unique in pharaonicart. In one painting, the king and queenare seated under a sun-disc whose raysend in tiny hands, which symbolise thelife-giving force of the sun. Their threeeldest daughters, Meritaten, Meketaten,and Ankhesenpaaten, are often depictedin scenes that display an unusual degreeof affection between them and theirfather.

Akhenaten died after 17 years ofreign and was succeeded by Smenkhare,who had married Meritaten. Smenkhare

PHARAOH AKHENATEN

Queen Nefertiti


ruled for 4 years, and was himselfsucceeded by Tutankhamen, who mayhave been either Akhenaten's youngerbrother, or Akhenaten's son by a minorqueen. The nine year old pharaohmarried Akhenaten's youngest daughter,Ankhesenpaaten, and ruled until hisuntimely death nine years later. This lefthis wife a widow while she was still,presumably, only in her teens.

During Tutankhamen's reign thecapital was moved back to Thebes, andthe old polytheism was reinstated. It iswidely believed that the young kingTutankhamen was manipulated by older,craftier advisors who saw a return to pastways as a means of restoring their ownpower. One of the closest advisors to theking was a nobleman named Ay, who hadbeen a faithful follower of Akhenaten.

But after the political climatechanged following Akhenaten's death, hehad become sympathetic to the Thebanpriests who still prayed to the ancientEgyptian pantheon. In the absence of amale heir to Tutankhamen's throne, Aybecame the designated candidate - but thepre-requisite of his ascent was marriageto Tutankhamen's young widow, who wasat least 30 years his junior.

What survives today ofAkhenaten's legacy is but a small part ofwhat once existed, and Horemheb'sdestruction is part of the reason that thereign of Akhenaten sank into obscurityuntil its re-discovery in the early 19thc e n t u r y. As for the Amarna Letters,although the form of communicationdoubtless continued, there have been nocorresponding caches of correspondencefound in Thebes, and thus the record endsapproximately a year after the capital wasmoved back there from Amarna, duringthe reign of Tutankhamen.

The Amarna Letters are our onlyintimate glimpes into lives lived in aworld so distant from our own in time,yet so similar in its humanity. ♦

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Learn to walk before you runKnowledge cannot be aquired all at once;it must be gained step by step. Don’t tryto spell ‘catastrophe’ if you cannot spell‘cat’. ♦

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Little and often fills the purseSmall sums of money frequrntly receivedsoon mount up. ♦

THE FOREIGN POLICY OFISRAEL BETWEEN

REALPOLITIC AND JEWISHFOREIGN POLICY

Yizhak Mualem Ph.D.Department of Political Studies

Yitzhak Mualem completed his studies bymeans of a scholarship from TheE x i l a rch's Foundation under thepatronage of NAIM DANGOOR

ABSTRACT OF THESIS

In this paper the purpose was toexamine whether the Israeli foreignpolicy is affected by the fact that the Stateof Israel is the state of the Jewish Peopleor whether this has no impact on theconducting of foreign relations of theState of Israel. That is, that the Israeliforeign policy is a policy which isconducted and based primarily onrealistic foundations, its meaning beingfocused political activities for thepurpose of realising the state goals inorder to reinforce its independence andstatus as nationality-state in theinternational arena.

The theoretical frameworkwhich has been adopted to deal with thefact that the State of Israel is both a Stateand the Jewish State is constructed oncombination of two theoreticalapproaches, the realistic and that of extra-national relations. The State of Israel,due to the structure of the Jewish peoplewhich is a case that cannot be for theanalysis of foreign policy of a state.Therefore, it is not possible to explainthis policy according to the realisticmodel alone. Hence, to be able to presentan effective analysis we needed acomplementary theory. The extra-national theory enables us to analyse thephenomenon of the State of Israel and theJewish world, the structure of which, asnoted, goes beyond the framework of aregular nationality-state.

The empirical framework of theresearch is comparative: three differentillustrative cases in respect of their timeand place of occurrence. The illustrativecases are: A. Israel-France relations andthe future of Algerian Jews between theyears 1958-1962; B. The JewishCommunity and the Israeli foreign policytoward South Africa under the Apartheidregime 1960-1967; C. The campaign forUSSR Jews after the Six Days War. Thisis while focusing on issues-field which isdefined by set rules of behaviour of the

actors: the State of Israel, the Jewishorganisations in the Diaspora and otherstates that took part in this field ofactivity.

The historical message on whichthis research is based has its source in thecentral foundations of the Israeli foreignpolicy as it was formed in the firstdecade. In that decade the Israeli-Jewishpolitics was based on the statehoodprinciple. This approach considered itnecessary to subject all the internal andexternal means within the State of Israeland the Diaspora for the realisation of theprimary goal of the Jewish People, whichis making the State of Israel a centralstate factor within the Jewish People.This unique political approach had,therefore, impact on the formation of theIsraeli foreign policy, and it is alsomanifested in the illustrative cases, whichwere examined in the course of thisresearch paper.

In the first illustrative case therewas an attempt to examine the nature andessence of the Israeli foreign policy intwo fields of activity which haveinfluenced each other. The first is thefield of Israel-France relations, and underthe second we have dealt with thequestion of the rendering of spiritual andmaterial assistance to a non-ZionistJewish community in Algeria throughoutthe 1950's and early 1960's. The researchin this case focused, as noted, on twoparallel lines the first of which and theprominent and significant one being thediscussion of Israel-France relationswhich has affected the other, more innerline, which dealt with the relations ofIsrael and the Jewish community inAlgeria.

The involvement of the IsraeliGovernment in South Africa and in thenew states in that continent had influenceon the status and welfare of the Jewishcommunity in South Africa. In this casethe policy of the Israeli Governmentregarding the question of preferring theinterest of the Jewish community, whichemanated from the context of the Middle-East conflict, over the interest of theJewish community was examined. TheIsraeli Government has deepened itspolitical and economic ties with the newstates in Africa and supported motions ofthe UN organisation to condemn theinter-racial separation regime in SouthAfrica and to impose sanctions on thisstate, while this notwithstanding theharming of the welfare status of the SouthAfrican Jews. The political interest wasdominant and essential whereas theoverall Jewish interest was marginal in

the interest scale of the State of Israel.This is because the harming of the SouthAfrican Jews was limited, as a result ofthe policy of the Israeli Government, tothe political and economic fields aloneand did not spread to the physical one.

The tension between the stateinterest and the Jewish interest wasintensified in the campaign for the USSRJews, especially in the period followingthe Six Days War when the diplomaticties between these two countries weresevered and the bilateral political chainshave been removed. The IsraeliGovernment dared and commencedacting decisively on the issue of theUSSR Jews. It took advantage of thestructural changes which started to format that period, when a new internationalreality started to come into being whichwas based on the policy of amelioration -the détente - between the twosuperpowers. At that period the IsraeliGovernment laid the issue of the USSRJews openly on the Jewish and even theinternational agenda. It has initiated abattle for the granting of immigration-permits and not departure-permits andthis contrary to the policy which has beendetermined by the large Jewishorganisations in the United States, suchas the Jewish-American Committee andthe World Jewish Congress. T h e s eo rganisations demanded to provideassistance to the USSR Jews to run theircultural life independently, and tocampaign for the cessation of persecutionand detention of Jews, as well as for theirdeparture to Western countries apart fromIsrael. These goals were defined by themas primary and essential goals.

From the facts which have beenrevealed in those three cases we concludethat the Israeli Government finds itdifficult to conduct foreign policy whichis based on the political realism alone, asa result of the international and inter-Jewish reality. It was forced to take intoaccount the magnitude and impact ofextra-state factors in the Diaspora. TheIsraeli Government accorded weight tothe overall Jewish goals, when it hasdefined the shape of the national interestof the State of Israel as the state of theJewish People. This accession means,politically speaking, that the IsraeliGovernment was forced to conductforeign policy that is not focused fromthe purely state viewpoint, which did notprovide full explanation of this foreignp o l i c y. Through the complementarymodel, the real-political viewpoint hasoffered a more precise explanation of theforeign policy of Israel.

According to the findings of thispaper it seems therefore that two thingsare present in the Israeli foreign policy,and these are: the fundamental-declarative aspect and the operative one.The foreign policy was characterised bythe declarative aspect in the parallelcommitment both to the state interest andto the overall Jewish interest. Moreover,in this aspect it has been relatively easy tocreate an overlap between the two so thatthe realisation of the state interest wasdefined as clear manifestation of theoverall Jewish interest. On the otherhand, in the operative aspect there werediscovered contradictions and contrastsbetween the two types of interests.Examination of those issues is whatstands at the heart of this paper. ♦

THE ACCOMPLISHEDLOSER

Shimon Peres considers his optionsafter losing the presidency of Israel toa political lightweight

His opponent was a nonentity.The press had predicted victory. Hispolitical allies had counted more thanenough votes for a win. All that was leftwas for Shimon Peres to wait out theofficial balloting in the Knesset for thelargely ceremonial post of the nation'sPresident, a position well-suited to thecountry's most senior statesman. Butwhen the final tally came in last week, theresult was written all over Peres' strickenface. Contrary to the general expectation,Israel's new head of state was not Peresbut the underdog, Moshe Katsav, a decentguy by all accounts but a politicallightweight.

Actually, the secret 63-57 voteshould not have been such a shock. Itwas in keeping with Peres' long andinglorious electoral record. Though he isthe most accomplished politician inIsrael-and a seasoned world figure aswell- Peres, 76, has not once managed towin outright an election for public office.In Israel's entire 52-year history Laborhas lost at the polls only when Peres wasits leader. The Likud's Katsav, Israel'seighth President, is the first from a partyother than Labor.

Katsav, 55 who will take overfrom the ailing and disgraced EzerWeizman, served as a cabinet minister invarious governments but never roseabove such second-tier posts as

transporation and tourism. Peres, bycontrast, has held every important job ingovernment including Minister ofDefence, Finance and Foreign Affairs andwas Prime Minister three times. Pereswas the chief architect of Israel'smilitary-industrial complex, including itsnuclear weapons programme, and a keydrier behind the 1993 Oslo peace accordswith the Palestinians, a role that earnedhim a Nobel Peace Prize.

Peres' wit and elegance havemade him a favourite among foreigndignitaries, but those qualities make littleimpression on Israeli voters, who prefertheir policitians rough-cut and earthy.Early in his career, Peres gained areputation as a self-promoter, an imagereinforced by old party rival Yi t z h a kRabin, who reflecting on what he saw assabotage by Peres during his first stint asprime Minister, memorably dubbed hiscompetitor a "tireless subverter".

At a Labour convention threeyears ago, Peres famously addressed thecrowd: "They say I am a loser. Am I aloser?" His fellow members thunderedback, "YES!" Yet neither that nor otherhumiliations, including rejection for thep r e s i d e n c y, motivated Peres to quitpublic life. Last week he revoked hisresignation as Minister for RegionalDevelopment, tendered in anticipation ofvictory in the presidential vote, andvowed to continue working for peace.There was some speculation Barak mightname him Foreign Minister after DavidLevy quit the post to protest the PrimeMinister's peace policies. Peres said hewould not seek the job. But perhaps hehas simply learned by now that admittinghe wanted it would spoil his chances ofgetting it. ♦From Time Magazine

'Palestine is a myth'

An Arab writer, Joseph Farahsays that prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeliwar, there was no serious movement for aPalestinian homeland.

Farah says Palestine has never'existed - before or since - as anautonomous entity'. He adds: 'There is nolanguage known as Palestinian. There isno distinct Palestinian culture. There hasnever been a land known as Palestinegoverned by Palestinians.'

In his scathing article, Farahcontinues by lambasting the Arabs for'wanting it all'. 'No matter how many landconcessions the Israelis make, it willnever be enough.' ♦

THE HEBREW COLLECTIONOF THE BRITISH LIBRARYby Ilana Tahan, Curatorin the HebrewSection

The history of the Hebrewcollection of manuscripts and printedbooks is rooted in the British Museumfoundation collections. The libraries ofSir Hans Sloane, Sir John Cotton, andRobert Harley, the First Earl of Oxfordwhich had been acquired by the BritishMuseum in the 18th century, containedimportant Hebrew manusripts some ofwhich finely illuminated. The Sloanelibrary yielded some thirteen Hebrewmanuscripts, the most notable of whichbeing a 14th century translation ofAristotle's Historia Animalum by Samuelha-Levi Abulafia and the handsomelyillustrated Leipnik Haggadah, datedAltona 1740. The most significantcontribution of Hebrew manuscriptsderived from Robert Harley's collectionand consisted of 130 manuscripts.Outstanding among those were thelavishly illuminated two volume copy ofMaimonides' Mishneh Torah completedat Lisbon, 1471-72, a beautiful 13thcentury Biblical Italian codex in twovolumes and a large Sephardic Biblefrom the 14th century known as theHarley Catalan Bible.

The following decadeswitnessed a steady expansion of theHebrew manuscripts collection. T h i sresulted partly from the dispersal oflibraries owned by English aristocraticfamilies as for instance that of the Dukeof Sussex, King George IV's brother, butalso from the judicious acquisitionpolicies pursued by some of the MuseumKeepers in charge of manuscripts,particularly Josiah Forshall and SirFrederic Madden. Their majorcontribution was the purchase in 1839 ofthe elegant manuscript known as theNorth French Miscellany copied around1280, and of the famed Ashkenazi andBarcelona Haggadot, which were addedto the collection in 1843. By the mid-nineteenth century the Hebrewmanuscript collection totalled about 300manuscripts, half of which were biblicalcodices.

The breakthrough in thedevelopment of the Hebrew manuscriptcollection occurred in 1865 when theMuseum acquired the library of theItalian bibliophile Joseph A l m a n z icomprising 332 fine manuscripts

covering all fields of Hebrew literature.One of the jewels in the A l m a n z icollection is undoubtedly the exquisiteGolden Haggadah copied andilluminated in Catalonia in the 14thcentury.

The contents of the collectionwas further shaped by two importantdevelopments, namely the acquisitionbetween 1877-1882 of nearly 300 mostlyKaraite and Yemenite manuscripts andthe addition in 1925 or 1300 manuscriptsfrom the library of Moses Gaster, who,for many years acted as the Hakham ofthe Sephardi and Portuguese communityin England. His collection was rich inSamaritan works as well as Hebrewbiblical, midrashic and cabalisticmanuscripts.

Today, the British Library holdsone of the most representative Hebrewmanuscripts collections in the worldnumbering some 3,000 volumes andabout 10,000 fragments deriving from theCairo Genizah.

Besides manuscripts thecollection boasts valuable printed bookholdings numbering some 80,000volumes. They too came into thepossession of the British Museum atvarious stages after its foundation. At itsinception in 1759, the Museum owned asingle Hebrew work among its 500,000printed volumes. This was the firstedition of the BombergTalmud printed inVenice 1520-1523, from the library ofKing George II. That same year a gift of180 books of great significance wasoffered to the Museum by Solomon DaCosta Athias, a merchant broker fromAmsterdam who had lived in London formany years. A turning point occurredwhen the book collection of Michael ofHamburg - 4,420 volumes embracing allfields of Jewish learning - werepurchased by the Museum in 1848.Subsequent acquisitions have includedboth religious and secular works leadingto further expansion of the collection.Among the printed book material themost significant category are the Hebrewincunables (i.e. books that were printedbefore 1500), numbering over 100 works.In the collection there is also a fineassortment of 16th century imprints, andmany unique examples testifying toHebrew printing activities over thecenturies in many parts of the globe.

Most of the manuscripts andprinted books have been recorded inscholarly catalogues, copies of which are

placed on open access in the OrientalReading Room (see below). The mostimportant are:G Margoliouth's "Catalogue of theHebrew and Samaritan Manuscripts inthe British Museum", 3 vols. & Index,London, 1965 (reprint)J Zender's "Catalogue of Hebrew booksin the British Museum", London, 1867(reprint 1964)Van Straalen's "Catalogue of the Hebrewbooks in the British Museum acquiredduring the years 1868-1892", London,1894Second Supplementary Catalogue ofHebrew printed books in the BritishLibrary, 1893-1960. 2 vols. London,1994

The Hebrew collection of manuscriptsand printed books forms part of theOriental and India Office Collection andis housed in the British Library's newbuilding at 96 Euston Road, LondonNW1 2DB. Hebrew material can beviewed and consulted in the OrientalReading Room, which is located on thethird floor of the building. Admission tothe Reading Room is by valid reader'spass only. A display of Hebrewilluminated manuscripts is on view in theTreasures Gallery of the Library, opendaily to the public. One of the mostbeautiful manuscripts in the collection,the Golden Haggadah is displayed on theTurning the Pages interactive electronicsystem, which is accessible free of chargein the Treasures Gallery. ♦

Dear Mr Dangoor

It gives me immense pleasure towrite to you to express my thanks for thewarm welcome extended to me duringmy recent visit to The Exilarch'sFoundation's offices.

It was indeed an honour and aprivilege to be permitted to view themanuscripts of your grandfather, theGaon Rabbi Ezra Reuben Dangoor Z.L.,illustrious 20th Century Chief Rabbi ofBaghdad and provinces, and prolificeditor and printer of Hebrew books.Rabbi Dangoor's vast knowledge andlove of Torah and the superb calligraphyexhibited in all his manuscriptsparticularly impressed me.

Rabbi Ezra Dangoor's recentlypublished edition of 'Adi Zahav’ a copy

From the British Library

of which you have kindly donated to us,constitutes an important addition to theLibrary's Hebrew collection of printedbooks and is greatly valued.

As a token of my appreciation Iam enclosing a list consisting of 53Baghdadi imprints held in the Hebrewcollection, many of which were printed atyour grandfather's publishing house. Iwould like to take this opportunity tocordially invite you to visit the HebrewSection and the Oriental Reading Room.I will be delighted to show you and yourcircle of friends not only books printed atyour grandfather's printing press, but alsosome of our treasured manuscripts. ♦

Hebrew Section Ilana TahanOriental & India Office Collections96 Euston RoadLondon NW1 2DBFrom the British Library

Dear Mr Dangoor

I understand that The Scribe willfrom now on be issued electronically onthe Internet. Though I realise theimportance of keeping abreast of newtechnology, I must express my personalregret that many of us will no longerenjoy the benefit of handling the printedversion of this excellent publication. Inthe Library's Reading Rooms users andresearchers have no access to the Internetas yet; consequently none would be ableto read The Scribe in its new format. Thisis a great pity indeed! Besides I know ofmany library users who would muchprefer leafing through the printed pagesof a journal than scrolling throughendless web pages. One of the sectionsof The Scribe most of its readers wouldno doubt miss is the visual material. Thephotographs accompanying the text wereabsolutely delightful!

Would it be at all possible tocontinue sending the Hebrew Section ofthe Library and other interestedcustomers (such as myself for instance)hard copies of The Scribe? I hope I amnot the only one voicing this request.

Ilana TahanCurator in the Hebrew Section

Scribe: We had to go on the internet inorder to move with the times and goforward rather than stay where we were.We acknowledge that this new practicemay at the beginning cause

inconvenience to some, but we feel in thefullness of time this will be overcome asand when the word has spread as towhere we are and how they can 'connectup' in order to receive what we think willbe an even more informative and flexibleway of publishing due to its versitility.

On the question of visualpictures, this should not be a problembecause we are getting an excellentreproduction on the internet of bothcolour and black and white pictures.

As an alternative to producinghard copies, we are prepared to provide aprint-out of each issue to anyoneinterested at a cost of £10.00 pluspostage. For your information, the oldmethod of producing The Scribe used tocost £7,000 per edition! ♦

NEW ALEXANDRIALIBRARY

The Egyptian Government isplanning to open later this year the newAlexandria Library to be namedBibliotheca Alexandrina. This is anambitious project reviving the famousLibrary of Antiquity which was destroyed16 centuries ago. The new library isbeing financed by donations from variousArab and International countries and isplanned to contain 2.5 million books andmanuscripts for the benefit of scholarsfrom all over the world.

When, during a recent visit toLondon, Suzanne Mubarak wife of thePresident, was asked whether the newlibrary will be subjected to censorship orfreedom of expression, she said "I hopeso".

We must recall at this stage thatAlexandria was the great centre of theJewish diaspora in classical times.According to Josephus, the famousJewish historian of the 1st century CE,Jews settled in Alexandria from itsestablishment in honour of Alexander theGreat in the 3rd century BCE. In theRoman period, they constituted aconsiderable proportion of thepopulation; of the five districts two wereinhabited by Jews, totalling nearly amillion. The Great Synagogue ofAlexandria was so vast, that the Shamashhad to wave a flag every time thecongregation had to say Amen.

The Jews of Alexandria playedan important economic role. T h e

community was autonomous, but its legalposition deteriorated under Roman rule.The Jews aspired to civic rights while thepagan Alexandrians, strongly anti-Jewish, objected; against thisbackground, grave riots broke out in 38CE against the Jews. In 66, under theinfluence of the rebellion in Judea,disturbances broke out among the Jews,but were suppressed with cruelty by theRoman governor, the convert TiberiusJulius Alexander. In 115-7, at the time ofthe general Jewish revolt, theAlexandrian Jews were heavily attackedand punished, their Great Synagoguebeing burnt down. As a result of theserisings, the Jewish populationdiminished. Their condition deterioratedfurther with the establishment ofChristian predominance. In 414, owingto the inflammatory preaching of thePatriarch Cyril, they were expelled fromthe city, but many evidently returned; asat the Arab conquest (642) their numberwas again considerable. but by thenleadership has passed from Alexandria toCairo.

In 1937, the Jewish populationnumbered over 24,000, but after theadvent of Nasser only 2,760 remained;very few remained by the 1970's.

Septuagint (from Latin),mentioned above, refers to the oldestGreek translation of the Hebrew Bible,based on legend according to which 72elders of Israel translated Pentateuch intoGreek in Alexandria in 3rd century BCE,for the benefit of the large Greek-speaking Jewish population ofAlexandria. Designation extended to theentire Bible as translated into Greekduring the following two centuries.

The United Nations must makesure that the Egyptian Government doesnot gloss over or diminish theoutstanding role of the Jews in the historyof Alexandria.

Visiting Alexandria and wantingto keep up with your e-mail? Take coffeein the Cyber Access Cafe in the SmouhaShopping Mall, in Laurent (Louran) onAbdelsalam Aref Street (Tram Street).

Smouha Mall is named afterBaghdad-born Joseph Smouha who cameto Egypt in the 1920's and establishedthere the modern Smouha City which wasappropriated by Nasser after the Suezwar.

Abdulsalam Aref was one of theleaders of the 1958 Revolution in Iraq.He was a pro-Nasserite and once boastedto him regarding one of Nasser's enemies,"You want me to kill him? A bullet costsonly 20 fils!" ♦

Joy Eliahu, the 31 year olddaughter of an Iraqi Jewish family whoimmigrated to London a year before herbirth, is an Israeli citizen and a licensedlawyer specialising in European andInternational Law.

Since last September Joy hasbeen living in Kosovo as the Red Crossrepresentative. Her nights are spent in amodest room in a bomb-wreckedneighbourhood, her days bearing theweight of human misery. Joy is the first(and so far only) Israeli to serve as arepresentative for the International RedCross, the neutral Swiss humanitarian aidorganisation established in 1863. Joywas relaxing in front of her TV after anexhausting, productive day when shechanced across a documentary aboutKosovo. She contacted the Red Crossabout doing volunteer work with theKosovar refugees who were arriving inBritain. A few months later she contactedthem again about becoming theirrepresentative in Kosovo. This entailed aseries of interviews and a five weektraining course in Geneva. "They teachyou about reuniting families, caring forprisoners, staying neutral, tracking downmissing persons, keeping track of thepeople held in prison monitoring theadherence to the various Genevaconventions" she says. The goal is toprovide humanitarian aid without anyfinger-pointing and above all protect theminorities.

Joy is not afraid of living on herown in such a dangerous area. She isprotected by an unarmed Albanian guard.Generally the workers are treated verywell. However, the place is very sad;everything is in ruins. The power and

water supply often break down andgenerally there is nothing to do.

The neutrality of theInternational Red Cross requires that Joykeeps all information she receives strictlyconfidential which makes it very hard attimes not to be able to share herexperiences.

She had gotten used to, she says,taking bodies across the border in her car- her perspective has definitely changed.

She is scheduled to spend untilSeptember 2000 in Kosovo and hopes tocontinue working for the InternationalRed Cross, perhaps in another country.

Joy sees her Judaism as onesource of her altruism - she learnt aboutthe Holocaust in High School where shevolunteered to help survivors in Jewishnursing homes.

She believes that Judaism meansbeing able to identify with people'ss u ffering - "I hear stories about theHolocaust and wonder why people didnothing to prevent it. I put myself in theirplace and say: I won't be that way." ♦

Abridged from Ha'aretz Magazine

I have recently discovered yourwonderful publication. When I was asmall child in the late 1940's myAmerican mother married the son of aprominent Iraqi politician, and in theearly fifties we went to live in Baghdad.I remember driving around the city withmy parents looking with a mixture ofwonder and vague dread at "abandoned"properties that had belonged to IraqiJews. Some houses stood empty foryears, tied up in legal wrangling betweencertain of the rich and powerful whosought possession. Why I remember thisso well, at an emotional level, is that apeaceful sector of the community thathad been a part of the city for ages couldarbitrarily be uprooted and driven out.Since then I learned that Baghdad's Jewshad constituted a very large fraction ofthe city's population. With them the citylost much of its best and brightest,especially in terms of culture.

Now the Jewish victims offorced emigration have been joined bynew waves, a continuing Iraqi diaspora.One can actually follow the threads onthe internet, as Yezidis, for example, tryto find one another. It is significant thatmany disparate ethnic groups are linkedtogether on the internet's Iraq sites, whichis how I found you. The times arechanging rapidly. Who could havepredicted the changes in the SovietUnion? With any luck at all, it will beonly a matter of time before the peoplesof the Middle East, including those incurrent partial diaspora, reconstitute inmutual self-interest to form a brighter,more mutually understanding andtolerant society. With any luck at all. ♦

Carbondale, IL Jim May

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Above : Joy Eliahu

JOY AND THE JOY OF GIVING

Semna lema serna henaya w'ma lehaqna b'ahlel ataya.We fasted until we became hunchbacked but could not catch up with those who makecharitable donations.

Ebnel hakham yesoum weysalli w'ebnel rasha'e yerqess weyghanni.Son of the Rabbi fasts and prays while the son of the wicked dances and sings.

THE REUBEN BROTHERS

Extracts from the article in F o rt u n emagazine dated June 19 2000

Last June F o rt u n e m a g a z i n efeatured a long article on the Reubenbrothers, David and Simon and theirspectacular rise to great fortune in Russiaafter the collapse of the Soviet Union,with the help of two Russians - LevChernoy and his brother Michael.

The Reubens brothers were bornin Bombay and raised by their Iraqi-bornmother and grandmother after theirparents separated. As poor teenagers, like so many ambitious kids in post-colonial India, the brothers made theirway to London, where they landed brieflyin a Jewish shelter. Simon eventuallywent into the rag trade and scrapedtogether enough money to buy his firstpieces of real estate. David spent hisearly years trading in scrap metal, laterco-managing a Soviet metals-tradingventure with Merrill Lynch - andeventually laying the groundwork forTr a n s World by founding his owncompany in 1977.

When the Soviet Union fell, itsentire military-driven aluminiumindustry collapsed with it. David Reubensays he had built TransWorld into one ofthe largest aluminium traders in Russiaby that time, and he seized theopportunity to expand into the void. Atthat time everything in Russia was up forgrabs. It wasn't long before Simon wasenlisted in the project as well.

Of course, Russia was even thena fairly lawless mafia infested society,with overlapping business rules, rampantcorruption, lax or naïve regulators, andstate-appointed factory bosses whosuddenly found themselves de factocapitalists - and in dire need of cash.Then, as now, a foreigner soon learnedthat these stormy seas were far morenavigable if he had a local partner to help.As David tells it, not long after he openedhis Moscow office, in 1992, a man with aheavy cane limped through the door. Inthe pre-perestroika shadow economy,Lev Chernoy had become a big trader intimber and fish, among other things, "Levsaid that only those with money can solveeverything", recalls David. "He said, 'Fly with me'." Lev soon introducedDavid to his older brother, Michael, now48, who proved a valuable asset to thefledgling enterprise. Michael who speaksno English has useful connections, and apartnership was born.

Of TransWorld's four principals,

only Michael Cherney wasn't interviewedface to face by Fortune. Instead, heresponded to selected questions faxed tohim in Israel. "I do not possess anyexclusive information on the so-calledRussian mafia", he wrote. As forquestions about bribes, murder, or moneylaundering, they "have nothing to do withme.........."

Scribe: The lucky break came when thebosses of the International MonitaryFund gave Russia a $20 billion loan andmade the foolish stipulation that theRouble be made freely convertible intoDollars. Many privatised industries andbusinesses quickly obtained heavyborrowings from their banks andconverted the Roubles into safe depositsin Switzerland. The $20 billion werecleaned up in a matter of days driving theRouble to an all time low, and businesseswere thus able to repay their bankborrowings in a depreciated Russiancurrency. ♦

THE MARRIAGE OF T H EPARENTS OF G E N E R A LKHALED AL-ZAHAWI

At a friend's house I recentlycame across a few back copies of TheScribe, which I read with great interest,especially your answers to readers'enquiries.

I would be very grateful if youcould help me, too, by providing moredetail about the persons in the followingpiece of oral history:

In order to escape from anunwanted marriage, a girl from a well-known Jewish family sought refuge inthe house of Muhammed Faidhi Al-Zahawi (1803?-1891?), Mufti ofBaghdad. Since the Mufti did notc o n s i d e r it pro p e r to have anunmarried girl living underhis roof, hemarried her to his son Mahmood. Ason from this marriage was GeneralKhaled Al-Zahawi, dire c t o r of themilitary academy in Baghdad in the1930's.

Since I do not have regularaccess to The Scribe, I would appreciateit if you could send an answer to myaddress. I am enclosing a self-addressedenvelope and two international replycoupons for this purpose.

Brisbane, Australia Ms Z Zahawi

Reply: We give you below the story aswe know it.

The parents of a Jewish girlwanted to marry her to an elderly Jew, butshe was friendly with a young Moslemneighbour and decided to elope with him.So she went to the Mufti MuhammedFaidhi Al-Zahawi for the marriageformalities. According to thearrangement between the Moslem andJewish communities the girl had to stay aweek at the Mufti's house who wasrequired to persuade her to return to herparents and would only marry her if sherefused at the end of the week to return toher parents.

When the Mufti was satisfiedthat the girl had no intention to return toher parents, he advised her that instead ofmarrying her poor Muslim friend, shewould be better off marrying his own (theMufti's) son. In fact this is whathappened and that's how the girl marriedthe father of Khaled Al-Zahawi.

We are informed that Khaledwas born in 1889 and if that is the casethe marriage of his parents would havetaken place around 1888, but certainlynot in 1803.

Khaled Pasha was Governor(Mutasarrif) of the Baghdad district at thetime of the Farhood in 1941. He came toour house on the morning of the rioting atwhich over 200 Jews were killed, andinformed us that although he askedpermission from the British militaryauthorities and Nouri Al-Said to dispersethe rioters by firing into the air, theyrefused to give him permission.

Reply from Lisbeth Zahawi

Thank you very much for yourdetailed answer to my letter concerningthe marriage of Mufti Al-Zahawi's son.What a lucky coincidence that this storycan now be verified from another source.

Since I am going to be inLondon in August, I am planning tocontact you then in order to find outwhether it would be possible for me tolook at some back copies of yourpublication and maybe have a look atyour reference library.

As to any photographs thatmight be of interest to you, I am afraidthere is nothing earlier than the 1930's.I'll bring some group photos with me andyou can have a look at them. I, on theother hand, am very hopeful that youmight have a portrait of the Mufti in yourpicture archive! ♦

Dear Mr Dangoor

The Programme Committee forthe 21st International Conference onJewish Genealogy, to be held in Londonfrom 8 - 13 July 2001 has much pleasurein inviting you to present a paper. TheSeminar is being organised by membersof the Jewish Genealogical Society ofGreat Britain and will be held at theIntercontinental Hotel at Hyde ParkCorner.

Over 600 participants from the80 member societies of the InternationalAssociation of Jewish GenealogySocieties are expected. We are invitingother European Genealogical Societies tocontribute to the programme.

The suggested subject for yourpaper is Babylonian Jewry but if youprefer others, this should be no problem.

We sincerely hope you will beable to accept this invitation to speak.For more information, please contact usat the addresses or numbers below.

George Rigal : 14 Pembridge Place,London W2 4BX Fax No: (0)20 7221 7302 Tel. (0)20 72296845Arlene Beare: [email protected] Issroff: [email protected]

Some of the Speakers:

Morris BierbrierTracing your Ancestry in Italy and theOttoman Empire

Dr Nardo BonomiItalian Jewish Resources for Genealogy

Hal Bookbinder Vice Pre s i d e n t ,International Association of JewishGenealogical SocietiesChanging Borders of EuropeThe Khazars

Judith Langer-Surnamer CaplanTombestone Translation - how to read aHebrew Tombstone almost anywhere inthe World

Frederick E CohenJews in the Channel Islands during theNazi Occupation of the Islands

Rabbi Frank Dabba-SmithPhotographs of the Holocaust: from"Propaganda" to "Bearing Witness". A

comparison of Nazi Propaganda Photoswith those taken by Jews or witnesses.

Professor Jerry EstersonJewish Given Names - A U n i q u eDatabaseOne Name Studies - A MethodologicalApproach

Anton FeltonJewish Carpets - A cultural chronicle for4000 years

Professor Ruvin FerberA History of the Jews of Latvia

Dr Helen Forde of the Public RecordOfficeProblems in the preservation of ArchivalMaterial

Karen FranklinGenealogical Holdings at the Leo BaeckCentre and Archives (New York)The Centre for Jewish History,Genealogy Section, New York

D r S t e w a rt Green (Paediatrician,Birmingham)Halachic Aspects of Inherited Diseases,Genes, Jews and Genealogy

Nigel GrizzardWho are the British? Who are the Jews?

Phyllis HoralThe Jews of Kaifeng

Professor Bruce KahnGenealogy on the Internet

Ezra KahnGenealogical sources at the library ofJews College, now the London School ofJewish Studies

Rabbi Abraham LevyThe Jews of Gibraltar

Ros LivshinThe Manchester Jewish Museum

P ro f e s s o r Vivian Moses and NeilBradmanGenetics of the Jews. The Cohens andLevis

Peter Nash of AustraliaChina - Tracing the former European,

Russian and Sephardi Communities

Steve PaulssonJews in Hiding, the actions of "The Joint"after the Warsaw Uprising

Miriam Rodrigues-PereiraBevis Marks Records, from the oldestsurviving London Synagogue

Raphael SievThe Jews of Ireland, a brief history andbackground

Ilana TahanIllustrated Hebrew Manuscripts in theBritish Libary

and with Hazel DakersBritish Library Genealogical Resources

Theon WilkinsonJewish Communities and Memorials,Cemetries, and Burials in the Near andFar East, from Aden to Japan ♦

SEARCH FOR DON MATVAY(MOTTLE)

May I take this opportunity towish you and all your loved ones apeaceful and prosperous New Year, andwell over the Fast?

I am writing, firstly to thank youfor your most pleasing journal in itsinformation on Babylonian Jewry.

S e c o n d l y, may I enlist youresteemed help?

A sad Jewish lady in Israel is insearch of her missing relative. Is itpossible that you could give a few linesof your journal for her personal search?

MILYA PECHERSVY, Levanon 21/11,Kyriat Shmona 10200, Israel is looking for:DON MATVAY (Mottle) d.o.b. 1921/2"somewhere in the London area"

If anyone has information please write toMilya at above address or P.O. Box 3589or telephone (06) 6943785.I am most grateful to you for kindlyreceiving this request. ♦

Gwent, Wales Meg Thomas

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON JEWISH GENEALOGY8 - 13 JULY 2001

S c r i b e : According to our informationfrom the book by Dr Abraham Ben Jacob,Abdullah Elias was the eldest son ofEliahou Shlomo David, (see family treeelsewhere in this issue).

Abdullah and his brother Meirwere cotton merchants and used to travelto Manchester. In 1892 A b d u l l a hreturned to Baghdad to marry Sarah Floraof the Bassous family, and there, three ofhis children were born. He was falselyaccused of insulting Islam, but the WaliHaj Hasan Rafiq Pasha who was a friendof the family dismissed the accusation.In 1899 Abdullah moved to London andappointed his nephew Menashi Saleh ashis agent in Baghdad. He donated fiftypounds for the repair of the Shrine ofEzra Hasopher near Basra. Sir SassonEskell was a cousin.

His brother Meir was also agenerous benefactor and in 1910 he builtthe large Meir Elias Jewish hospitalwhich treated non-Jews also and wasonly the third in the city. The hospitalwas opened by the Wali and members ofthe government and the consular service.He suffered sun-stroke while supervisingthe building of the hospital and died thesame year. After his death his large housewas converted into a synagogue bearinghis name, where the Emir Feisal wasacclaimed on arrival to Baghdad tobecome King of Iraq. ♦

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THE ELIAS FAMILY

I have read with interest your magazine 'The Scribe" andam wondering if you have in your archive any information aboutthe Elias family. I enclose the immediate family tree and aphotograph of Abdullah Elias with four of the five children(youngest not yet born).

I am married to his grandson, David William. I alsoenclose two copies of photographs taken in Baghdad. Abdullahand his brother Meir were cotton merchants and moved toManchester in about 1895-1900.

London Jennie Elias

Top right : Abdullah Elias with wife Sarah Flora (formerlyBassoos) with four of their children outside their Manchester homein 1901.Middle right : One hundred years ago - picture taken in Baghdadwith teachers and the students of the Midrash Talmud TorahYeshiva Seated - Abdullah Elias with his son, Eliahoo Victor and hisdaughter, Messooda LucyBottom right : The Turkish Governor of Baghdad with his Cabinetand foreign Consuls in the Sarai c. 1895

Few days before the wedding, itwas customary in the Iraqi Jewish societyto have a ceremony called the night ofHenna - something roughly equivalent toshower in the USA. It was arranged bythe family of the bride as a symbol ofseparation of the bride from them andonly close family members were invited.It was customary to use Henna - a redorange solution of leaves of certain treeson the fingers of the bride - so that thecolour would remain for a few days.

But the most happy part of theceremony was the special songs andmusic. The "Deqqaqa" - a professionalwoman musician who sang and played onthe drums (Neqqara). She was assistedby a small group of women who alsosang in response and played a larg etambourine (Daff).

Although it was considered

shameful for any woman to sing or playany instrument in the Jewish community,the night of Henna was an exceptionbecause, probably, it was originally anoccasion for women only. It was evenapproved by the Iraqi rabbinate.

Another occasion when it wasnot considered shameful for a woman tosing, even in the presence of men, was athome when the mother put her child tosleep and sing the famous lullaby -"Dillilloli".

Some of the songs at the night ofHenna were:

1.Ghannu ala elbaidha.Sing for the brightness, (of the white flower) meaning, the bride.

2.Yabu elwared.Oh, the father of the flowers. It was addressed to the father of the bride as the bride was described as flowers.

3. Yabu el henna ma jouz menna.Oh, the father of Henna, I will not l e a v eyou alone.

But the most famous one is Afaki, Afaki.It is a very long song - part of it is shownbelow.

Bravo bravo for theartful trick you used.

I toiled and suffered andYou took him ready made.

You found him a very good boySeparated him from me by sword.

You begged Abu Yousef.

I do not know what youhad fed him.

You said I want him.

And he was helpless.

G-d bless his son.

He who will console him.

Afaki, Afaki ala elfan le'emeltainu

Ana t'abtu wana shquaituAla l'hadher akhedhtainu

Sheftainu walad alkaifBerritainu menni bilsaif

Twessalti b'abu yousefMa a'aref ash t'amtainu

Enti qelti ariduW'hewi amru ma beedu

Rabbi ye'eteq wlaiduHewi elli yesaleenu

THE NIGHT OF THE HENNAby: Albert Khabbaza, MD, New York

Note that in this song, the mother of thegroom complained that her son wastaken away, or "stolen" from her andblamed (not seriously of course) both thebride and her mother. ♦

DO YOU PLAY BRIDGEfrom: Edward Dangoor

An old, coloured woman was applyingfor a new position. When asked why sheleft her last place she said:

"Yessum dey paid good wages, but it wasthe most awful place I ever seen. Deyplays a game called "bridge", and last

night was a lot of folks dere. As I waspreparing refreshments, I heard a mansay:"lay down and let me see what you got"Then annuder man say:"I got strength but no length"Then annuder man say to a lady:"Take your hand off my trick"I near dropped dead when a lady say:" You forced me..........you jumped me

twice when you didn't even have a raise"Annuder woman was talking about herhonour.

Well, I just got my hat and coatand as I was leaving, I hope to die if oneof dem didn't say:"Well, I guess I'll go home now, dis is delast rubber". ♦

I recently found a branch in myfamily tree that appears to be Jewish. Ido not know much about Jewish beliefsor customs. I have a couple of questionsconcerning this branch of my tree. Thereare about ten generations that were allborn in Babylon, starting in the year 590AD. The first generation found had thename of "Hanini David" and had the titleof "Exilarch". All of the following ninegenerations carry the surname of"David". What is the significance of thisand what is an "Exilarch"? UnfortunatelyI live in a small town in Wyoming, USAand there is not a Jewish Temple close, orI would turn my questions to the localRabbi.

Thank you for your time.

Lander, WY, USAAnnessa Main

Scribe reply:

How are you personallyconnected to this branch of the familytree? "Exilarch" was the title of the headof the Jewish community in Babylon. Itbecame extinct in the year 1270 and wasrevived by Mr Naim Dangoor 700 yearslater in the year 1970, and he is thepresent incumbent.

Annessa Main's reply:

First, thank you for yourresponse. I will try to list all thegenerations that I have to lead to thisfamily branch. It is quite extensive. TheJewish part of our history was lost a longtime ago.

1. (Myself) Annessa Lynn Huff b.28 Mar 1972 Scottsbluff, NE, USA2. Julia Ann Belden b. 13 May

1950 Alliance, NE, USA3. Vida Lee Hascall b. 20 Mar

1926 Gaston, OR, USA4. Leslie Earl Hascall5. Ray Smith Hascall6. Sarah Caroline Whitman b. 9

Apr 1820 New York, NY, USA7. Martha Patsey Lucas b. 14 Nov

1796 Harolin County, KY, USA8. Sarah Phelps b. 1771

Buckingham County, VA, USA9. Thomas Phelps b. 1725

Albermarle County, VA, USA10. Thomas Phelps b. 1703Albermarle, VA, USA

11. John I Phelps b. 1683Goochland, VA, USA12. William Phelps b. 1656 England13. Elinor Howard b. 1626 England14. Matthew Howard b. 1609Wardour, Whitshire, England15. John Howard b. 1 Dec 1578Brockdish Hall, Norfolk, England16. Robert Howard b. Jan 1537,Syon House, London, England17. Thomas Howard b. about 1512Ashwell Thorpe, Norfolk, England18. Thomas Howard b. 1443 StokeNewland, Suffolk, England19. John Howard b. 1420 Tending,Essex, England20. Robert Howard b. 1385 StokeNeyland, Suffolk, England21. John Howard b.1365Wiggenhall, Norfolk, England22. Robert Howard b. about 1336Wiggenhall, Norfolk, England23. John Howard b. 1310Wiggenhall, Norfolk, England24. Joan De Cornwall b. about 1295Thunnock, Lancashire, England25. Richard De John Cornwall b.about 1275 Burford, Shropshire, England26. Richard Plantagenet b. about1252 Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire,England27. Sancha, Countess of Provence b.about 1225 Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhone, France28. Raymond Berenger V, Count ofProvence and Forcalquier b. 1198 Aix-en-Provence, B o u c h e - d u - R h o n e ,France29. Alfonso II, Prince of Aragon b.about 1174 Aragon, Spain30. Sancha, Queen of Aragon b. 21Sep 1154 Castile, Spain31. Alfonso VII, Pierre Raimund,King of Castile, Leon and Galcia b.1105Castile, Spain32. Urraca Alfonsez of Castile andLeon b. 1082 Castile, Spain33. Alfonso VI "The Valiant" Kingof Castile and Leon b. 1039 Castile,Spain34. Sancha, Princess of Leon b.about 101535. Alfonso V, King of Leon b.about 098936. Elivira Garcez of Castile b.about 0971 Castile, Spain37. Count Garcia Fernandez ofCastile b. about 0955 Castile, Spain38. Urraca Garces of Pamplona b.about 0937 Pamplona, Spain39. Garcia Sanchez I, King ofNavarre b. about 0920, Navarre, Spain

40. Sancho Garces I, King ofNavarre b. about 0890 Navarre, Spain 41. Dadilda De Pallars, b. about0870 Pallars, Spain42. Daughter of Raymond ofToulouse b. about 0800 Toulouse, France43. Count Raymond I of Toulouse b.about 0822 Toulouse, France44. Countess Senegonde ofToulouse b. about 0800 Toulouse, France45. Bertha D'Aube David b. 0775 Autun, France46. Theuderic Thierry Makir Davidb. about 0720, Babylon47. Habibai Ben Natronai David b.about 0687 Babylon48. Natronai Ben Nehemiah Davidb. about 0670 Pembeditha, Babylon49. Nehemiah Ben Hanini David b.about 0650 Babylon50. Hanini Bar ‘ Adoi Davidb. about 0627 Babylon51. Bustani Ben Hanini David b.about 0590 Babylon52. Exilarch Hanini David b. about0590 Babylon

Does the “David” at the end of these namesmean they are descendants of David? Doyou have any more of the family line? IsExilarch a religious post or more of anappointed leader? If it is an appointedpost, by who (i.e. G-d?)? Was (Is) itpassed down in an “ eldestSon” manner? Why was the posteliminated?

Thank you for your time. Thishas been very helpful.

Scribe reply:

The reference to David in thename definitely means a direct descentfrom King David through KingYehoyachim and all the previous Kingsof Judah. We are sending you by post acopy of the Babylonian Haggadah whereyou will find on page 91 the earliergenerations of Exilarchs and on page 90all the previous kings to King David.

The Exilarch is a political postof Royal descent, but many Exilarchswere eminent Rabbis in their own rightsas was Rabbi Makir, mentioned in yourancestor No. 46, who was sent by HarounAl-Rashid, Calif of Baghdad toCharlemagne, King of the West at hisrequest, who wanted to establish inEurope a middle class based on a Jewish

SIXTY GENERATIONS ROOTS TO BABYLON?


nucleus. Rabbi Makir was received byCharlemagne and was given the title"King of the Jews". The office anddignity of Exilarch was hereditary in theroyal line, passed down not necessarily toeldest son, but more often to the mostsuitable candidate. The post came to anend in 1270 following the Mongoldevastation of the Middle East.

We would be very interested inhaving copies of original documents tosupport your family tree.

Annessa Main's Reply :

In reference to your e-mail andAugust mailing - all received. Thank youfor the information; it is very interesting.

The information from myself togeneration no. 6 is from word of mouthand family history from my grandmother.From gen no. 7 onto gen no. 35 wasfound through the Mormon churchinformation, in the ancestoral files thatthey have. From gen no. 36 onto gen no.50 was found in the internationalgenealogical files found at the Mormonwebsite (familysearch.com). T h i sinformation was posted by:

John Feagin Sr.9632 Rocksparkle RowColumbiaMD USA 21045

I have written him a letter andhave not received a response, nor do Ihave any other way of getting a hold ofhim. I came across this informationlooking for the ancestors of gen no. 35and have not come across any otherinformation. But, as I have only beendoing this for a little more than a year,that may change.

I have never heard of this book.Why is it debatable? Why is it doubtfulthat there could be Jewish settlers inFrance? Toulouse borders Spain. I havefound information that states that theCount Raymond of Toulouse was a veryprominent and powerful man who hadseveral descendants that married intoRoyal families (Biography of Eleanor ofAquitaine). I suppose I do not find thisinformation to be improbable.

Anyway, as far as paper in myhand-proof of this line, I have yet toreceive information from the person whoposted it in the website. I also hope thatit is not false.

Thank you for your time. ♦

Annessa Main USA

FAMILY TREES

After meeting you a few yearsago, I started to work on a family tree.

Recently you started to printvarious family trees and so I decided tosend you what I had developed over thelast few years. It took time to meet andcontact family in Israel (the main sourcefor my information). They were kindenough and patient enough to agonizeand remember under my persistentquestioning (I guess I could be cited bythe Human Rights organizations for myinterrogations).

Anyway, attached is the result ofmy work. It has been suspended due tomy recent marriage.

I have researched the following:Father's father's family - Yossef Ajemy-Chitayat and Baruch TahanFather's mother's and Mother's father'sfamily - H'baba and Aziz PeresMother's mother's family - Shelomo andHabiba Houri

I have enclosed the family list intree form and in outline form.Regrettably the program cannotaccommodate first cousins gettingmarried. This leaves us with the problemof names being repeated.

Save the above caveat, I wouldlove to contact other families who mightassist me in seeing where our mutualtrees intersect.

I know that the Moreshet in OrYehuda is putting some effort into thisand have sent them the enclosedinformation. Just to be sure however, Iam sending it to you as well.

Thank you again for yourcontinued efforts in maintaining contactwith our tradition and keeping usinformed.

S David Moche1700 York Avenue, 8P,New York City,NY 10128USATel. No. 212-876-3893Fax No. 212-876-3498

Scribe: We have passed your family treeinformation to Ms Lydia Collins, ourgenealogy specialist, who would be gladto correspond with readers on ancestrymatters c/o The Exilarch's Foundation, 4Carlos Place, London W1K 3AW,U.K. ♦

The Horesh-Baher Family Tree

In the last issue of The Scribedated September 1999 I happened to lookat the genealogical tree of the Horesh-Baher family and was surprised to notethat my brother-in-law, Rouben Horesh,whose father is Raphael Horesh andbrother Charles Horesh (hanged by theTikrity regime on January 27 1969) werenot mentioned in that genealogical tree.I asked my brother in law who dismissedthe whole subject as superfluous. Couldyou clarify this to me? Thanks.

E-mail Maurice M Sawdayee Ph.D

From The Editor:

This is a line we don't knowabout. Can you send us details going asfar back as possible - we may then be ableto join them to the main tree. ♦

In your Scribe No. 72 I read thatEliaShahmoun came to open the schoolbearing his daughter's name: "RachelShahmoun".

I remember my mother used tosay that only if "Ezra Joseph HakhamSaleh", my father, will take charge of thebuilding, because he trusted my father,Elia Shahmoun will accept to have thebuilding done.

My father accepted to takecharge.

My father finished the schoolbut he died on the 27th July 1927.

Elia Shahmoun came over forthe inauguration of the school - shouldn'tmy father's name be mentioned? After allElia Shahmoun trusted my father, he washis friend, and he wouldn't have anybodyelse to be in charge.

Please, I would like you to lookinto the matter and mention that withoutmy father the school wouldn't have beenbuilt. Is it also possible to try to find aphoto of my father and put it with it?

The Scribe this time waswonderful. Yom Kippur helped mereading all you wrote. I don't know howyou have the time and the energy to findall these lovely things, to put it so nicelytogether.

You are a genius - G-d BlessYou! ♦

London Violette Levy

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The following article is intendednot only to remember my beloved fatherShaul Darwish, but also to celebrate ourbeautiful Iraqi heritage.

by: Tamara RubenWestfield NJ

MY KING SAUL

In Ramat Gan, Israel, Iremember day-dreaming in Bible classesabout King Saul, the defeated biblicalKing, whose tragic destiny alienated himfrom G-d, from his people, from livinglife to its fullest. I remember thinkinghow he had it all but had nothing as hewas consumed by an invisible yetdevastating disease of melancholy.

My thoughts would then drift tomy own father, Saul, whom I secretlyanointed as my King, as early as I can goback in time. My King also had momentsof melancholy. Moments that seemedlike an eternity to a growing child. Whenmy King Saul was triumphant over life'syoke, I would rejoice, my soul wouldcelebrate. Our lives would betransformed into exotic trips in northernIsrael to virgin places, magnificent intheir beauty and simplicity. I recalllaughters, practical jokes, abundance offresh food, and the exotic aromas of spicymeals. The King's Chamber would onceagain be bustled with people coming andgoing, with rich stories that only myfather, the Master Story-Teller, could tellabout his life in Iraq. About his life in thedesert as an officer in the British OilCompany with his favourite dog andhorses, his travel to Palestine in the 30's,his audacity to face some hoodlums in themarket place in Baghdad, his firm standfor what he believed was just and righteven at his own expense and ours, hisunmatched ability to deal in commercewith people while tending to hisunmarried sisters.

And we listened with thirst to thestories and "travelled" with him until heno longer could...

His profound passion forlearning, for nature's wonders andanimals became his nourishment,sustaining him in those dark momentswhen his soul ached. When he felttrapped. When darkness ascended uponhis spirit. When even a soft touch of hischild of 5 or 10 was dismissed, unheard.

On Tu B'shvat of 1984 at thedawn of spring, as nature awakens inIsrael with the first signs of spring, myKing Saul died, spared by the oncoming

snowstorm that day which he so dreadedin his last years. He died fighting his ownbattles as the mighty King of Israel, in aquiet hospital room in New York. TheKing's Chamber was once again silent.

R e c e n t l y, at my role as aDirector of Jewish education at TempleEmanu-El in Westfield, New Jersey, Iwrote the article below. It was written incelebration of the beautiful and fertileIraqi Jewish community, and above all, incelebration and memory of my belovedKing Saul, my father Shaul DarwishZ"L, the son of Benyamin and Salha ofBaghdad, Iraq.

1950, Baghdad, Iraq. A baby isborn to Shaul and Violet Darwish, aJewish family who was a part of asplendid Jewish community in thisancestral part of the Middle East. Acommunity which remained intact andproud of its heritage in spite of beingexiled from Judah by the BabylonianEmpire in 586 BCE. While manyreturned to rebuild the second Templewith the help of Ezrah & Nehemiah, theprophets, a good number of the exiledremained in Babylon/Iraq.

1950, Westfield, New Jersey. AJewish congregation in Westfield ischarted after years of dreams and visionof its founding members. In hermagnificent Historic Narrative, one ofthe founding members and author,Evalyn Averick, writes: "It seems thatduring a social afternoon...six womenturned the conversation to their dreamsof starting a Temple in Westfield...Theyspoke to other women, then to theirhusbands, and to the other Jews of thec o m m u n i t y, resulting in thegathering...the first official meeting."

I often wonder about these twobirths and the hand of fate that has linkedthem together. Two worlds seeminglyapart, yet in many ways connected. Bothcommunities struggled with maintainingtheir Jewish identity and the continuationof Jewish life, while being a smallminority. Both communities used theirvulnerable state to build strong andhealthy societies that will serve them andthe generations that will follow.

With the inspiration of theProphets in the Babylonian exile, aprofound sense of hope guarded the Jewsagainst despair and extinction. Zeal forlearning and Jewish scholarship resultedin the establishment of the Academies forthe study and interpretation of Torah inBabylon. The Jewish community therebegan to thrive and served as a guidinglight to the rest of the world's Jewry.

As a minority in the early '50'sin Westfield and other places inAmerica, "Jews found that the UnitedStates Constitution with its noble ideals,nevertheless, was no substitute forTorah." Here too, the Chalutzim, thepioneers of Temple Emanu-El, listenedto the call of Ezrah the Prophet and hiscontemporaries to build a Jewishcommunity in spite of all the obstacles.With a prophetic spirit and a keen senseof vision, they set to create varioussegments of the Temple. Thefascinating history of the Temple is astory of Livnot Ulhibanot, to Build andbe Built.

Two weeks after my birth, myfamily, along with thousands of otherJews of Iraq and other countries, set outto Israel to realize yet another vision,another dream. A dream that travelledwith our people since antiquity."Veshavu Banim Ligvoulam," and theChildren of Israel have returned to theirLand. Jeremiah's prophecy was realized.Building the country, providing physicaland emotional refuge for its wanderingsons and daughters of Israel were centralto the newly found State.

During these years, in Westfieldtoo, there was a sense of yearning tobuild the newly formed community anddeveloped it. "The 'togetherness'concept perfectly fit the mood ofWestfield Jews who were searching foridentity, who were building a Jewishcommunity and were concerned aboutrelating to their neighbors." (Ibid)

When I assumed the position ofDirector of Education at our Te m p l eEmanu-El in 1989, I was thrilled todiscover a community infused with deepcommitment to Jewish learning, and anunconditional love for its young ones. Iwas excited to join a Temple whosepassion to Israel, to social justice andTikun Olam are a way of life. Standingon the shoulders of others before me inBaghdad, Israel and Westfield has been aguiding light for me in working with asuperb staff and most committed parentsat Temple Emanu-El Religious School.Together we have transformed it into atrue Beit Midrash, a House of Learning.A place where our children and many ofour parents have evolved to becomeinformed Jews who experience in somany creative ways Judaism as a sourceof joy, beauty, meaning, consolation andhope.

At 50, I bless you, Te m p l eEmanu-El and the entire congregation.At 50, I bless myself and those Icherish. ♦

To Baghdad And Backby Mordechai Ben PoratReviewed by: Anna Dangoor

" To Baghdad And Back" byMordechai Ben Porat is the remarkabletrue story of the mass immigration ofmany Iraqi Jews to Israel between 1949-52. The book portrays both moments ofcourage, and loyalty, as well as some ofthe worst traits of human nature. It is anextremely moving account of thed i fficulties faced by the Jewishcommunity in Iraq, and those trying tofacilitate the Aliyah of almost 130,000Jewish men, women and children, anumber which represented over 80% ofthe Jews in Iraq at that time.

Sent to Iraq as an emissary byThe Mossad in 1949, Ben Porat writesfirst-hand, describing the way in whichhe was smuggled into Iraq assuming afalse identity. Ben Porat's family had leftIraq themselves in 1944, and his Iraqiappearance, and fluent Arabic helped himspend nearly two years there with his trueidentity remaining undiscovered.

The book begins almost as a spynovel, with descriptions of the activitiesof the underground Zionist movement inIraq, "The Halutz", and the methods ofsmuggling many people illegally acrossthe borders. However this book is alsomuch more than that. Ben Poratdescribes intricately the way in whichinfluential members of the Jewishcommunity in Iraq were asked,persuaded, and even pleaded with, to usetheir connections to put pressure on theIraqi government to allow Jews toemigrate. He also depicts the balancingact in which emissaries from Israel foundthemselves, juggling the desires of theJewish community, members of theHalutz movement, and the Iraqiauthorities, all the while pushing theemigration process forward.

At points, the detail with whichBen Porat describes events becometedious, although his memory isastounding, and situations he relates cansometimes be confusing in theirc o m p l e x i t y. This is only a problemtowards the middle of the book where thebusiest period during 1952 of the 'Ezraand Nehemiah Campaign', as theemigration process became known, isdescribed.

Overall, this is merely a minorfault, in a book which has the qualities ofcovering many attributes of its subject,

such as 'political manoeuverings' andmaintaining radio communication withIsrael, and also has the benefit of thestrong sense of emotion which only afirst-hand account can give.

One aspect of the book whichBen-Porat feels especially strongly aboutis the issue of the bombing of Baghdad.In 1951 a number of bombs were thrownat a synagogue, and a shop owned by aJ e w, amongst other Jewish targ e t s .Eventually Yousif Bari and SalehShalom, both Jewish, were accused ofcarrying out the attacks, and they weresubsequently hanged for this crime. Itwas claimed that The Halutz Movementwere behind the bombs, in an attempt toscare more Jews into leaving Iraq forIsrael. "To Baghdad And Back" containsthe full report of an Israeli InquiryCommission on The Bombing ofBaghdad which was produced in 1960,and since then the Halutz, and all itsactivists have been 'completelyvindicated' of an accusation which to BenPorat 'is almost like a blood libel'. Thebook contains an incredibly distressingaccount of the tortures Basri and Shalomwere forced to endure before they signedtheir confessions admitting to thebombings, and it seems highly likely thatthe pair were framed by Iraqi police,desperate to charge someone for thecrimes.

Apart from the tragedy of thesetwo young men, and others who weretaken prisoners in Iraq, overall the Ezraand Nehemia campaign was a success. Ahuge number of Jews managed to leaveIraq in a short space of time, and settle inthe land of Israel. Ben Porat concludesby hoping that although many Jewishtreasures had to be left behind in Iraq, therich heritage of Babylonian Jewry willnot be lost, and this is something whichwe must all make sure of. ♦

Beyond Hitler's Grasp:The Heroic Rescue of Bulgaria'sJewsby Michael Bar- ZoharAdam Media CorporationHolbrook Adams Media Corporation-268 ppUS $24.95Can $36.95Reviewed by Linda Dangoor-Khalastchi

On the eve of World War 2Bulgaria aligned itself with Germany,

largely on the promise of recovering theterritories of Thrace and Macedonia lostin World War 1. As the war progressed,Germany put pressure on its ally toimplement its anti-semitic legislation andto send its Jews to Labour camps. In aconcerted effort, the leaders and thepeople of Bulgaria resisted bravely to theend. Not one of the 50,000 BulgarianJews was deported to the death camps.

How could such a small countrydefy and stand up to Hitler's regime?

The answer is in Michael Bar-Zohar's book "Beyond Hitler's Grasp". Ittranspires that the Bulgarian people andmost of their leaders were not in the leastanti-semitic and not understandGermany's "problem" with the Jews. In aletter to his government in Berlin, theGerman Ambassador explains thedifficulties his country was to face inBulgaria,

"The Bulgarian Society doesn'tunderstand the real meaning of theJewish question. Besides the few richJews in Bulgaria, there are many poorpeople who make their living as workersand artisans. Partly raised together withGreeks, Armenians, Turks and gypsies,for the average Bulgarian the racialquestion is totally foreign to him."

We learn that most of the Jewswere non-observant (very few went tosynagogue), almost none kept Kashrutand most of them worked on the Sabbath.The reason for their popularity was their"normality", their non-Jewish behaviour,if you like. They were totally integratedBulgarians. When King Boris wa s askedby Hitler to transfer the Jews of Bulgariato German camps, he refused to do so onthe pretext that they were needed inBulgaria to construct roads and railwaytracks. Although King Boris was an allyof Germany, anti-semitic legislation wasnot always observed and many timesignored. Most surprising was the pro-Jewish position of the country's leadingChristian figurehead, MetropolitanStefan, who voiced his opposition timeand time again against anti-semiticactions.

The feature of this thriller-likebook is that the author, Bar-Zohar, livedthe drama of those times first-hand.

Scribe: Bulgaria was not without her anti-semite in the ranks of power.

Bulgaria is the only country thathad shot down in the early post-war yearsan El-Al aeroplane with the loss of thelives of hundreds of passengers. ♦

BOOK REVIEWS

HITLER'S POPEThe fight to reveal the secrets thatthreaten the Vatican Taken from The Sunday Times 12.9.99(abridged)

Ever since a young Germanplaywright, Rolf Hochhuth, accusedEugenio Pacelli, Pius XII, the wartimePope, a saint of the Catholic church, ofnot having done enough to save the Jewsfrom the death camps, the debate over hisculpability has gone to and fro. Did hisreticence condemn millions of Jews tothe gas chamber?

A practising Catholic and aformer seminarian, I always believedPacelli was innocent. I could not imaginethat a pope of such evident holiness couldbe guilty of silent complicity in theHolocaust and I originally set out to writea definitive book in his defence. I knewof the sworn depositions in the Jesuit'skeeping and I was eager to have sight ofthem. After a number of meetings withone of Rome's top prelates, the GermanJesuit Father Peter Gumpel, at theheadquarters of the Society of Jesussituated next door to the Vatican, heagreed to let me read the 1,000-pagetyped transcript: the testimonies of 40years, his doctor, his nephew and hispriest secretaries, as well as variousbishops and cardinals.

I read the testimonies in anenormous dust-laden reading room filledwith portraits of Jesuit missionarymartyrs. Gumpel agreed to photocopy,personally, any of the pages I wanted.His courtesy was clearly dependent onhis conviction that I would write aglowing portrait of Pacelli, whom hefrequently described as "that beautiful,saintly man".

Eventually I flew back to Britainwith 650 pages of documentation. Thematerial was to give me a deep andunique insight into the personality andmotivations of arguably the mostpowerful churchman in modern times.

After reading through thecombined archives alongside a hugeamount of historical scholarship onVatican diplomacy in Germany duringthe 1920's and 1930's - in which Pacellihad been the dominant figure - I foundmyself in a state that I can only describeas moral shock. The material I hadgathered, taking the more extensive viewof Pacelli's life, amounted not to anexoneration but to a wider indictment.

Spanning Pacelli's career fromthe beginning of the century, my researchtold the story of a bid for unprecedentedpapal power that, by 1933, had drawn the

Catholic church into complicity with thedarkest forces of the era. I foundevidence, moreover, that from an earlystage in his career Pacelli betrayed anundeniable antipathy towards Jews.

Having realised the sort of bookthat I have written, Gumpel attempted towreck it - not on the basis of inaccuracy,but by legal threats based on the claimthat he had never technically givenpermission for me to use the material inthe first place, which was untrue.

Gumpel's anger and dismaywent much deeper than meredisappointment at seeing his herodepicted in a bad light. The process ofmaking Pacelli a saint, a project muchsupported by Pope John Paul II, hasenormous implications for the future ofthe Catholic church.

Pius XII has become an icon ofthe ever-growing constituency ofCatholic traditionalists who want torestore the reactionary policiesabandoned by the Second Va t i c a nCouncil after his death in 1958. A bookcritical of him has implications for alooming titanic clash between Catholictraditionalists and progressives in thebillion-strong worldwide Catholicchurch.

Vatican II urged a decentralised,more democratic church, which admittedits fallibility and extended friendship toother denominations and religions. Butthe traditionalists believe that the futureand unity of the Catholic church can besecured only by concentrating allauthority in the person of the Pope. JohnPaul II has increasingly endorsed thisview.

The canonisation of Pius XII is akey move in the attempts to restore areactionary papal absolutism. My bookshows that the failure of Catholics toresist Hitler, and the failure of thewartime Pope to speak out against thefinal solution, were precisely linked tothe politics of that same absolutism.

Gumpel, in a piece of specialpleading, has written that critics ofPacelli "should realise that they aretrampling on the sensibilities of Catholicsand in doing so hinder efforts to buildbetter relations between the Catholicchurch and Jews".

After my own journey throughthe life and times of Pacelli, I amconvinced that the cumulative verdict ofhistory reveals him - on political groundsalone - to be not a saintly exemplar forfuture generations, but a deeply flawedchurch leader from whom Catholics canbest profit by expressing their sincere

regret.The documents also show him

to be a deeply neurotic, narcissistic andarrogant man in his private life, the veryantithesis of the saintly model he wassaid to be - and I intend to reveal detailsof these flaws. ♦

Freud, Dora, and Vienna 1900by Hannah S DeckerFree Press - 299 ppReviewed by Linda Dangoor-Khalastchi

Everyone has heard of Freud butno-one has heard of Dora. Who was she?Freud's mistress? Daughter? Mother?No. Dora, alias Ida Bauer, was a patientof Freud for many years and about whomthe Viennese psychoanalyst wroteextensively. One of Freud's unhappiestcases, her case history became apioneering vehicle in theory and practicefor subsequent analysts.

But don't let that put you off!Although the book is about

Dora, her story (and that of Freud's) istold within the broader framework ofBohemian and Viennese Jewish history.

From their first settlements inthe 11th century, the Jews of Bohemiawere a people apart, their liveshallmarked by unpredictability. Whilecertain stable times allowed them topractice numerous crafts and trades andallowed them to live "normally" thesewere always short-lived. Changing timesbrought with them restrictions, specialtaxes, physical attacks and repeatedexpulsions.

Hannah S Decker with greatinsight describes how these anti-semiticconditions had a lasting and negativepsychological effect on the Jewishpsyche which was passed on fromgeneration to generation. We learn, forexample, that in the 18th century aprogramme of deliberate populationcurtailment had begun in Bohemia. In1726 a law was passed which causedmuch suffering to the Jewish community.It disrupted family life by limiting thenumber of Jews eligible for marriage.Only the eldest son was allowed to marryand this not before the age of twenty fourand only after his father's death. Ifchildren, other than the eldest son wantedto marry legally they had to leave thecountry as marriages not conforming tothe new conditions were consideredillegal.

The Law had the desired effect.In thirty years the Jewish population ofContinued on following page

Bohemia fell by a quarter.By placing Dora and Freud and

their respective families in theirhistorical, religious and socio-economiccontext, the author does a wonderful jobin reconstructing Jewish lives, attitudesand aspirations and showing howi n e ffectual conversions to Christianitywas as a means to being accepted.

Dora was born at the end of the19th century into an upper middle-classViennese Jewish family at a time whenmasculine qualities and feminine onesmistrusted and ridiculed.

"In Christian society, middle-class Jewish girls and women feltespecially powerless. In addition to thecontinual negative sentiments they had tobear as women and as Jews, they had tocope with the very real disadvantages thatbarred their admission to highereducation and careers."

Misogyny (woman hating) andanti-sensitive went hand in hand, thedenigration of both, women and Jewsbeing part of social conventions "Eventhe most superior woman wasimmeasurably below the most debasedman, just as Judaism at its highest wasimmeasurably beneath even degradedChristianity". Hannah S Decker explainsthat it was the general consensus thatwomen were inferior and the insistentproclamations of anti-semites that theproof of the "Jews' deficiencies lay intheir exhibition of traits commonlyassociated with women. Thus did anti-feminism and anti-semitism unite at theturn of the century. A young Jewishwoman like Dora could be filled withmore self-doubt, and even self-loathingthan a Jewish man.

It is disheartening to learn thatan important and influential man such asFreud held the same views as some of hiscontemporaries. "At no time in hisc a r e e r, was he prepared to recognisewomen's sensibilities".

It begs the question: how muchharm was done and can be done bypsychoanalysts' bigoted views and ideas?

Freud, as the author explains,was from a most traditional background,leading a conforming married life. He"cannot be blamed for his conventionalviews. But his lack of empathy withDora ........further narrowed hercircumscribed situation.....".

Half-way between adocumentary and a novel, Decker's bookmakes fascinating reading. A l t h o u g hrepetitious at times, it raises questionsthat are still pertinent today. ♦

Brief Encounters of a LegalKindby Aubrey RoseReviewed by: Anna Dangoor

Aubrey Rose's book "BriefEncounters of a Legal Kind" is awonderful insight into the many differentfacets of human nature. Rose talks with afrankness and honesty that makes thisbook almost autobiographical, although Ifound his style sometimes too confident,and sure of itself.

The book is divided intochapters which consist of an introductionfollowed by the story of a related legalcase. In the introductions Rose revealshis multitudinous knowledge of a greatvariety of cultures, and communities thathe worked with closely, and marvels athow he was often taken deeply into theirtrust, having been invited to become theleader of a Torvil council in England, andmediating for a West Indian communityduring the fraught time of the Brixtonriots.

Rose's own Jewish backgroundalso features in the book, Jewish ideasoften being turned to, when he iscontemplating the situations he hasexperienced; situations which have takenhim to New York, Paris, Geneva, andallowed him to work with Jamaicans,Nigerians, Sri Lankans and many otherpeoples.

Of all Rose's "encounters" mytwo favourite are most definitely "ANight for St Patrick" and "The One DayCase". "A night for St Patrick" tells of acase in which Rose was acting in defenceof a man called Danny who had beeninvolved in a pub brawl in Kilburn. Thepolice had arrived to break up the fight,and having seen nothing, arrested Danny.The main witness, who had had to have48 stitches in his face, because a brokenbottle had been thrust into it, allegedly byDanny, took the stand. Rose summariseswhat was said, and it quickly emergesmuch to the embarrassment of theprosecution, that the witness has no ideawho in fact had injured him.Furthermore, even after sustaining hisinjuries he threw himself wholeheartedlyback into the fight, claiming to have"given more than I got". The differentperspective that this witness could takeon a situation, which to the prosecution,Rose, and also myself seemed horrific, isfascinating, and as Rose notes it indeedprovides a window into "another world".

My other favourite anecdote"The One Day Case" reveals Rose's

ability for perception, and quick thinking.He describes how he was approached bya South African mother whose son Davidhad been taken into custody in "one ofJ o h a n n e s b e rg's most notorious policestations". The reason for hisincarceration was simply that he had beenteaching English to black students, andalthough his mother had mounted aninternational campaign for his release shehad had no success; the South Africangovernment would not budge. Actionwas required immediately but the Englishcourts could do nothing to help, and Roserealised that he would have no sway inthe South African courts either.

Inspired by the actions of aPolish lawyer years earlier, Rose decidedthe only course of action was to write tothe Prime Minister of the time, MargaretThatcher. The timing was perfect, asThatcher was due to attend a Heads of theCommonwealth meeting in which shewas one of the only figures defendingSouth Africa against sanctions. Rose senta copy of the letter that he was sending toMargaret Thatcher to the South Africanembassy, and because the loss of hersupport would have been so detrimentalto South Africa, David was released by2.00 pm that afternoon. As Rose hadexpected, a week later he received a replyfrom Margaret Thatcher's secretarysaying that regrettably she could be of nohelp in the matter.

"Brief Encounters of a LegalKind" is a book about generosity andgreed, cruelty and kindness, about thebest, and the worst sides of human nature.Through his stories Aubrey Roseconfirms that time old saying that givesits name to the penultimate chapter of thebook, "there's nowt so queer as folk"!

Naim Dangoor writes: M r sThatcher's reply that she cannot help iswhat she is supposed to write, that shecannot interfere in the course ofgovernmental business. However sheoften took action behind the scenes if thecase merited her help.

In fact, she helped ourcommunity in London twice; once byinstructing the Inland Revenue not tocharge us Capital Gains Tax on the profitsof sale of our property and secondly, byhelping us with our planningapplication. ♦

℘℘℘℘℘℘

No answer is also an answerIf you ask a person a question and he doesnot reply, his very silence is an answer initself. ♦

Britain's Withdrawal From EastOf SuezThe Politics Of Retrenchmentby Jeffrey PickeringReviewed by: Anna Dangoor

This book was an unusual readfor me. Having not studied history for afew years now, such an in depth analysisof a single historical event on which I hadno previous knowledge was not mystandard bedtime reading. Light it wasnot, but I was astounded at how enjoyableI found reading the study.

Pickering's self-professed aims in thisbook are to investigate the causes ofBritain's decision in 1968 to withdrawfrom almost all her military outposts eastof Suez. He explains that the issue ofretrenchment in general, has been dealtwith too superficially in the past, and heseeks to dig deeper, and piece together afuller picture of the factors thatprecipitated Britain's withdrawal fromthe 'East of Suez' bases. UltimatelyPickering aims to create a framework inwhich other instances of retrenchmentcan be studied.

The work is clearly set out with alengthy introduction outlining how this'longitudinal' study is to be carried out.Pickering takes care to explain all theunfamiliar terms he uses, ensuring thatone does not need any background on thesubject to get the most out of the book.

The study focuses on three crises in thepost-war years up until the decision toretrench. Within this focus, Pickeringexamines both Britain's increasinglyfragile, economic state, and the politicalmovements going on at these times.

The first crisis period is between theyears 1945-1951, in which the new worldorder taking shape after the war, has leftthe global situation highly unpredictable.In this period the government of ClementAttlee is examined, and his politicalrelationship with his Foreign SecretaryErnest Bevin, which biographer A l a nBullock claims was one of the mostsuccessful partnerships in British history,is explored.

The second crisis to be investigated isthe well known Suez crisis of 1956, andhere the political wizardry of HaroldMacmillan, who managed against allodds to restore faith in the Britishgovernment after the shame of Suez, isrevealed.

Finally Wilson's government isdepicted, concerning the economic crisesof the 1960's, explaining the way inwhich he continually juggled his cabinetin order that his position of power should

never be challenged.Throughout these periods Britain's old

notions of being a world power, a symbolof which, to many, were the 'East of Suez'bases, restricted any major policymovement towards retrenchment. Thiswas the case, even though, from Attlee'stime, it was clear that in upholding theseoverseas roles Britain was overstretchedboth economically and militarily. Thisimperial hangover, and other factorsexplored in the book, ensured that it wasnot until 1968, when what Pickering calls'a triacle of factors' came together, thatthe need for retrenchment was finallyaccepted. ♦

"THE LAWS OF B A RMISWAH"Reviewed by: Anna Dangoor

"The Laws of Bar Miswah" by RabbiYa'aqob Menashe is divided into twosections, one Hebrew, and one English.The English section is a summarisedtranslation of the Hebrew part, laid out inpoint form, and detailing laws andcustoms relating to all aspects of a BarMitzvah.

This book is of interest to both thoseactually planning a Barmitzvah, andthose who are purely intrigued by Jewishculture, and traditions of the time oldpractices that make up part of thecelebration of a Bar Mitzvah. T h eMitzrot of Sisith, and Tefillih aredescribed in great detail, explaining theten laws which must be followed whenmaking the latter as well as such customsas making sure to touch the Sisith beforethe Tefillih when one comes to pray in themorning.

The book also discusses the Rabbinicalopinions, as to when a boy actuallyreaches the required age of thirteen andone day, on which he has come of age,and can celebrate his Barmitzvah in orderto show G-d that we are happy to take onthe burden of his commandments.

Batmitzvahs are also briefly examinedin the book, and it was interesting todiscover that unlike with othercommandments which women areexempt from, if a woman chooses tocarry out the Mitzrah of Sisith she isconsidered proud and conceited.

All in all, although the English portionof the book is short, it is packed with agreat deal of information and guidance,as to the intricacies of a subject which isimportant to all of us as Jews; the time ofour lives when we accept responsibilitybefore G-d for our actions; theBarmitzvah. ♦

BOOKS RECEIVED

A Divinely Given Torah In OurDay and AgeStudies on the Weekly Torah Readingsfrom Bar-Ilan UniversityDesigned and produced by Laser Pages Publishing Ltd,Jerusalem, Israel - 479 pp

In these studies a number ofprominent writers give theirinterpretations and views. They includeProfessor Moshe Kaveh, President of theUniversity; Dr Aharon Arend; ProfessorNathan Aviezer; Professor ElazarTouitou; Professor Jacob Klein; ProfessorHannah Kosher; Dr Zohar A m a r ;Professor Dov Schwartz, Rabbi YaakovCharlap; Rabbi Dr Pinchas Hyman; DrAvraham Elqayam; Dr Penina Meizlish;Dr Meir Bar-Ilan; Dr Dvorah Ushpizai;Dr Meir Gruzman; Rabbi Ye h e z k e lLichtenstein; Professor Ephraim Chazan;Dr David Elgavish; Yona Bar-Maoz; DrDavid Eglavish; Hillel Neuman; Dr ZviBetzer; Professor Eric Zimmer; Dr LebMoskovitz; Naftali Stern.

Naim Dangoor writes: In ParashatLekh-Lekha, G-d's command to Abrahamto "Get thee out from thy land, thybirthplace and thy father's home", isusually interpreted as in this study asdemonstrating the painful decision thatAbraham had to make in leaving hishomeland, so that G-d had to sweeten Hiscommand by promising Abraham tomake him a great nation.

But I have a deeper, more subtleand more meaningful interpretation of hishistorical phrase. G-d's emphasis that theland of the rivers is Abraham's land andthe house of his fathers is to remind himthat the Jews must always regardMesopotamia as their rightful homelandand any forgetting of this fact wouldresult in disaster after disaster as hashappened in our history - exile toBabylon, the destruction of the secondTemple and finally Saddam's missiles onRamat Gan.

Israel cannot hope to survive inpeace unless she attempts to passify Iraqand consider the whole Middle East asone country. ♦

Al ketheb bem'hallu ebada.Lying in its proper place is equal toworship. ♦

Hiding PlacesA Father and his Sons Retrace theirFamily's Escape from the Holocaustby Daniel Asa RoseSimon & Schuster - 377ppU.S. $25.00Can $36.00

In this innovative memoir, parttravel narrative, part spiritual quest,prize-winning author Daniel Asa Rosedescribes the remarkable journey inwhich he and his young sons retracedtheir relatives' escape from A n t w e r pduring the Second World War and alsoembraced, with ample amounts of wit andirreverence, the Jewish heritage that hadpained and mystified him. ♦

Alexander the GreatThe Unique History of QuintusCurtiusby Elizabeth Baynham Ann ArborThe University of Michigan Press - 219pp

In recent years much attentionhas been given to evaluating thesurviving ancient histories of Alexanderand their own sources.

In this book Elizabeth Baynhamexamines these issues concerning firstcentury historian Quintus Curtius'account of Alexander which, until now,has received very little attention fromAlexander historians. ♦

The Middle East2000 Years of History from the rise ofChristianity to the present dayby Bernard LewisPhoenix Press - 387 pp

In this book Bernard Lewischarts the successive transformation ofthe Middle East, beginning with the twogreat empires, the Roman and thePersian, the development of monotheismand the growth of Christianity; theastonishingly rapid rise and spread ofIslam; the waves of invaders from theEast and the Mongol hordes of JengizKhan; the rise of the Ottoman Turks, andthe changing balance of power betweenthe Muslim and Christian worlds. ♦

A People ApartThe Jews in Europe 1789-1939by David VitalOxford University Press - 898 pp

David Vital explores the Jews'consistently tense relationship with therulers whom they were subject and thepeoples in whose midst they wereembedded. He documents the struggle ofthis ancient but almost uniquely non-territorial people to establish a place foritself within an increasingly hostilepolitical and social environment. ♦

Jews and ArabsTheir Contacts Through the Agesby S D GoiteinSchocken Books - New York - 252 pp

In this new edition, whichcarries the story of Arab and Jewishcultural developments into the 1970's,Professor Goitein explores the social andintellectual contact between Jews andArabs since their beginnings threethousand years ago. ♦

Sun, Sea and SoulA little bit of heaven on holidayby Lionel Blueand Jonathan MagonetHodder & Sloughton, London - 246 pp

This is no ordinary holidayguide. True, it tells you how to help andnot hinder your quest for a happy holiday,how to plan, budget, deal with queues,lost luggage, holiday rows and romances,loneliness in five star hotels, and enjoythe culture, but the insights go muchdeeper........... into the bigger journey oflife itself.

Laced with Jewish humour andpersonal anecdotes, Rabbis Blue andMagonet talk us through the holidayexperience in all its unpredictable glory.They pass on their delightfully upbeatwisdom, gleaned from a complete mix ofholiday destinations - the disco floors ofBenidorm, the Chapels of Malta, thecultural delights of the Edinburgh fringeand much more. They share theirwisdom on how to have a truly happy orat least happier holiday and how every bitof a traveller's body, mind and spirit canbenefit from the experience.

Lionel Blue is a popular andmuch loved Rabbi whose thoughts for theday have become a nationalinstitution. ♦

Coming Home to JerusalemA personal journeyby Wendy OrangeSimon & Schuster - 291 ppUS $25.00Can $37.00

An American Jewish womanuproots her family to live in Jerusalem,searching for a new home. For WendyOrange, a writer in her early forties, whatstarts as a ten day conference inJerusalem, stretches into a six yearresidence in one of the world's mostcaptivating cities, where she undertakesan illuminating and evocative trip to thisancient land. ♦

Dear Sirs,

The last issue of The Scribe Ireceived was on September 1999. I waswondering what happened to the next twoissues?

I have been receiving thisvaluable journal for several years. If youhave had a change of policy regardingsubscription, please let me know and Iwill be glad to oblige. This journal is aresource and, a very good one at that, toall of the Babylonian Jews such asmyself.

I would like to continuereceiving this excellent journal. Thankyou.Sincerely yours

Shamoon Salih USA

Issue 73 on-line is a magnificentaccomplishment, but now that you areonly on-line, spare a thought for yourhundreds of older readers who used tolook forward with such eagerness toreceiving their copy of 'The Scribe'.

Is it possible to have a re-thinkon the subject?

Helen Bekhor Australia

Scribe : We have to move with the times.However, we are willing to provide acolour print-out of issue 73 which covers76 pages at US$20 including air-mailpostage. ♦

Like AIDS, life is a sexuallytransmitted terminal disease; and, likeAIDS, it has got out of hand. ♦

From BBC Radio 4

Please continue to send me TheScribe as I am greatly in need of thematerial published in it.

I am glad to send you herewithtwo books which I published lately, thefirst Arabic one, "In the World of Peace",a collection of poems by the author, thesecond in Hebrew, "The A r t i f i c i a lFertilization In View of Islam".

Shlomo (Salim) ShashouaRamat Gan Israel

TOGETHERby Shlomo (Salim) Shashoua

We and the Arabs both drank from thespring of peace,Bearing banners all over the worldcalling for harmony,We are brothers in faith and grandsons ofSam.

We and the Arabs joined flourishing life,United by ideal brotherhoods andfortune,We are like a bird which can fly only withhis two wings.

We and the Arabs focusing light ofknowledge towards mankind,We had liberated peoples from thedarkness of paganism, We are all standing like a huge mountainfacing critical moments.

We and the Arabs determined to livetogether,We are grandsons of one forefather whowas a prophet,Our uterine relations will last forever.

We incline to peace and go forwards,Begging him to prevail comfort andhappiness to people, Expecting fulfilment of great hopes.

We are all eager to the immortal, "GoldenAge",Which bears happiness and long lifeWe are relatives of Peace, and adhere tohim by branches and roots.

We and the Arabs will build anhonourable and glorious world,In which ideas expressed freely rejectingbounds,And in which life will be continuoussweet and happiness.

This is the peace returns back to ourhomelands today,Carrying tidings for a period full of fertilelife,Our peace shines like the sun but does notvanish. ♦

"The world is coming to an end", I heardsomebody say.Because no-one is innocent any more -the children work, not play.The morality has sunk quite low andpeople are falling sick.I doubt that this is what G-d intended - itseems to be a trick.

The world is coming to an end, and no-one can tell me why,Instead of improving themselves, thereare people who cheat and lie.They murder, usurp and commit othersins for reasons which I can't fathom.I doubt G-d is happy any more, for lookwhat was done to Adam.

"The world is coming to an end", I heardsomebody scream.People are selfish nowadays - they justsatisfy their own dream.What happened to sweet charity whichexisted long before?Does nobody desire to help the lessfortunate any more?

"The world is coming to an end", and Iam quite upset.There are sins committed every twoseconds which ordinarily would not belet.Religion is forgotten - morals can neversurvive.Instead of yearning to be higher, peoplehave put the dirt into their lives.

The world is coming to an end, and it'snot what G-d intendedFor he wishes us to improve ourselves -to fix whatever must be mended.People welcome sin and laugh mockinglyat old traditions. The Guide toImmorality must have been printed inmany editions.

The world is coming to an end, and it isvery sad,That we Jews who promised G-d we'dkeep his laws are making him quite mad.We said we'd keep the Torah in our heartand it would be our life.So many people have died for our faith -was it worth all their strife?

Have we forgotten everything? Are ourmemories so unclear?What happened to our Torah which weused to love so dear?What happened to our wisdom? Has itdisappeared?What happened to morality? It used to berevered.

The world is coming to an end and wecan't help that fact.Do you think if we turned back the clock,we could bring morality back? ♦

℘℘℘℘℘℘

A thing you don’t want is dear at anypriceIf you don’t want an article, howevercheap it may be, it is dear because it isuseless to you. This is a warning againsttemptation to buy something just becauseit is cheap. ♦

"THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END"

by Nicole Iny (when 16), New York

365 DAYS ATTHE TERMINALPALACEby Shaoul H. Sassoon

Mr Shaoul H Sassoon hasrecently published in English in a limitededition "In the Hell of Saddam Hussain".Three hundred and sixty five days at the"Terminal Palace". It is a translation ofhis Arabic book published earlier, and is amoving description of the terribleexperience that he went through for awhole year in the notorious detentioncentre of the present regime at Qasr al-Nahaya which was the famous RoyalPalace of Qasr al-Rihab. ♦

CORRECTIONS BY T H EAUTHOR

Allow me first to express myappreciation of your tremendouscontribution to our community inpublishing 'The Scribe', a wonderfulchronicle of history and a social mediumthrough which this scattered communitycan interact.

In reviewing my booklet " In theHell of Saddam Hussein", and in articleswhich appeared in previous issues, Inoticed a few inaccuracies and omissionsrelating to events with which I ampersonally familiar. I would like to regaleyour readers with the followingobservations:

In an earlier Scribe (Issue 18),Mr Meir Basri mentioned that HakhamSassoon was dismissed. As a matter offact, King Faisal I requested hisresignation and send Prime MinisterNouri Al Said to the Hakham's house toconvey his wishes. I detail the PrimeMinister's visit on pages 108 and 109 ofmy book "A Leader and his People".

Regarding my own arrest, Iagain beg to differ about the reasonbehind my year long ordeal at the handsof the Baathist gang. I reject thesuggestion that it was a way of puttingpressure on my father, the Hakham, in anattempt to buy his silence andcompliance. These bloodthirsty thugs didnot need indirect methods to silenceanyone, nor did they care much about theHakham's position or influence. I wasarrested, accused of spying because ofpassing on a letter concerning spying toIsrael addressed to Mr Abdul Hamid AlDamirchi from Mr Mustafa ChetaBabkukel, and endured a year ofunspeakable torture and abuse until myso-called trial which miraculously freed

me.The late Gourgi Bekhor

mentioned in his book "Fascinating Lifeand Sensational Death" that the lateAlbert Nounou and Shaul H Sassoonwere similarly accused, but A l b e r tNounou was sentenced to death andShaul H Sassoon was released withoutbail. However, the specific charg e sagainst Albert relate to his friendshipwith the late Haim Nathaniel, who wasdescribed by the court as the mostdangerous Israeli spy in the world. ShaulH Sassoon received the charges againsthim because of passing on a letterconcerning spying to Israel addressed toMr Abdul H Damirji.

As for Meir Basri's arrest, it hadto do with a visit by an A m e r i c a njournalist who wanted to get somehistorical information about Iraq. Thelate poet, Anwar Shaul, recounts in detailthe interesting events leading to hisrelease in his book "Kissat Hayati FiWadi Al Rafidain" p229-232. He relateshow four lines of soul-touching poetry,which he composed, saved the situationand resulted in Mr Shaul personallyputting up the bail for Mr Basri. ♦

London S H Sassoon

FREEMASONRY

When I was in Iraq during the1950's, I had some dealings with asolicitor who was high in Masonry. Uponmy enquiry, he explained that it is ano rganisation that teaches morality,promotes charity and the brotherhood ofman.

I was impressed and wanted tojoin. While he was willing to introduceme, he decided at that time to emigrate,and I lost the opportunity. But that was ablessing in disguise. When the revolutiontook place in 1958, the new governmentrounded up all freemasons and put themin jail!

The opportunity arose again inEngland during 1973 and I immediatelytook it up. I have never regretted thatdecision.

The great majority of those whojoin a lodge stay members for life. It isalso common for them to introduce theirrelatives and friends. They enjoy thefellowship and the dramatic presentationof moral lessons that it provides. Theycan always resign if they want to. Alodge normally meets four times a year inthe evenings. The meeting is in two

parts. The first is formal and ceremonial.It concerns the admission of newmembers, the installation of a new masterand the general administration of thelodge. The speakers are those who wantto be active. There are also many ofthose who just want to sit and watch. Therituals relate to certain events in history.It teaches humility, morality, honesty, andto regard the interests of the family asparamount. Members undertake not touse masonry for personal gain. Thosewho prove to be below the expectedstandard, face expulsion.

The second part is a socialgathering in which the members treatthemselves with good dinner and goodwine. It offers a framework forcompanionship, teamwork, characterdevelopment, and enjoyment of sharedexperiences. It is forbidden to discussreligion or politics.

Membership is open to men ofall faiths who are law abiding, and ofgood character. Masonry is not areligion, but those who join must believein G-d. To join, you need to ask amember.

It was an excitement when oneday I received a letter from the GrandSecretary stating:"I am commanded by the MostWorshipful The Grand Master, HRH theDuke of Kent KG, to inform you that inrecognition of your services toFreemasonry in London he proposes toconfer upon you the honour of LONDONGRAND RANK" giving me the date andthe details. I have also received honoursin other orders. Each order relates todifferent events in history. Several IraqiJews have this honour and some havehigher. ♦

London Elias Dangoor

Letter to the Jewish Chronicle

If Jerusalem is expendable, thenwhat is left to keep us there, atroublesome corner of the world for thepast 3,000 years?

In an overall peace deal with allthe Arabs, we might be able to swapIsrael for Mauritania, a more strategicand more convenient location, 40 timesthe size of Israel and very sparselypopulated, next to a friendly Morocco.Soon the Jews would make the desertbloom, and I for one will hasten to gothere. Would the Palestinians havesecond thoughts and ask us to stay? ♦

Naim Dangoor

Dear Naim

You may remember me. I amthe son of the late Reuben HeskelDangoor. I was very pleased to receive acopy of the great journal The Scribe, No.72, which was full of rare and preciouspictures. And since I worked in variousgovernment department, including tenyears in the Prime Minister's office, theBroadcasting and television house, theMinistry of Education in Arabic since1946 until after my recent retirement, Iwanted to present Prime Minister Barakmy copy of The Scribe in which heappears. This I did on my visit to hishome on the occasion of Succoth to greethim for the Festival and he thanked mevery much with a kiss. Thereafter he alsosent me a letter of thanks. I also wantedto present a copy to Major General YairItzhaky (see his picture P. 56, issue 72)whom I know well. And I had learntbookkeeping at his grandfather's school.

I remember you well as anofficer in the Iraq army in Baghdad whenI was a conscript and I saluted you as youpassed by but you did not recognise me.

The loss of your dear brotherSalim came as a shock to all of us. I usedto see him often at the Dangoor stores inBaghdad where I worked for many years.And I also remember well when heeulogised at the age of eleven hisgrandfather Hakham Ezra Dangoor at theSynagogue at the Alliance Schooldescribing him as "my younggrandfather". ♦

Jerusalem Asher Reuben Dangoor

The grandsons of Churchill,Roosevelt and Stalin are going to meet inHolland in April 2001 to carry out ageneral discussion on the Ya l t aconference and the Teheran conferencethat were held by the wartime leaders inYalta and Teheran in 1945.

There will be present at themeeting 250 historians, political analystsand leading business men. ♦

Populations of Arab countries

When former Secretary of StateHenry Kissinger was asked what was thetotal populations of Arab countries, theanswer he gave was 20 people. Heexplained that in Arab countries only theheads can be counted; the rest are allonions. ♦

I have been very pleased toreceive, at last, The Scribe , theSeptember'99 edition, and felt veryattached and touched!

As I have been, all my career-years, active and related to Music andBroadcasting, I look forward to beconnected, in a way or another to theprinted articles of yours. I am stilldeeply involved in the wide music field,within our communities. Further of myendeavours are: I have organised aprofessional group who presents apanorama of oriental music, includingIraqi.

Allow me to make the followingcomments.

In the picture on page 53, theman sitting next to Yousaif Horaish is notMohammed Alqubbanchi, the famousIraqi singer, but is the celebratedEgyptian composer Mohammad El-Qasabgi.

In the article of Mr YeheskelKojaman; on page 53, it says:

"There was only one A r a b i cmusic ensemble in 'Qol Yisrael' (IsraelRadio);.."

In fact, one ensemble, at least,has been active through some years in"Israeli Arabic Radio". Parallel to mywork with the permanent orchestrathrough conducting, composing andtaking part in public-radio-programmes, Ihave been named to take charge offounding and conducting anotherorchestra. That project took place,beginning in 1976. I made manyrecordings and broadcast them. Later, Ibrought it on stage in publicperformances. After that I proceededwith the orchestra in a series of publicconcerts.

WORK AND LIFE EXPERIENCE -Synopsis

Came to Israel from Iraq in 1951.Attended Hebrew University in EasternStudies and Music. In 1957, joined thepioneers who established The Voice ofIsrael In The Arabic Language as anational radio station. His programmeshad wide popular appeal and have beenreceived enthusiastically bymusicologists in Israel and in Egypt,where he enjoys high esteem amongst hispeers. Composed, performed, recorded,and lectured on Arabic music of all styles.Authored and translated lyrics. Appearedin various panels and talk shows onNational Television as authority on thehistory and trends of Arabic music. Mr

Aviezer is fluent in Arabic, English andHebrew. He has been married for 34years and has a son in New York and adaughter in Israel, both of whom arelawyers and musicians.

Israel National RadioChief of Arabic Music Programming:Editor; Anchor; 1957 - PresentHeaded the Arabic Music ProgrammesDepartment. Created, presented, edited,and anchored a wide range of radioprogrammes, including documentary,entertainment, and live shows.Presented, in the Arabic language, ownprogrammes featuring European classicalmusic, Hebrew music, and Ethnic music.

C o m p o s e r, Conductor, The RadioOrchestra of Arabic Music, 1959 - 1985Performed and recorded numerousmusical works of Arabic musiccomposers.

City of Ramat-Gan CulturalDepartmentMusical Director of Oriental CultureCentre, 1985 - PresentEstablished and conducted Naharayim,the only choir of its type in the world,specialising in the hymns and songs ofthe Babylonian Jewry heritage.Composed and wrote new tunes andlyrics to enrich and perpetuate themessages of that heritage. Establishedthe Ramat-Gan Ensemble to performboth with the choir and independently.Conducted the Choir and Ensemble inlive concerts for large audiences.

Independent Composer and MusicianComposed works of unique nature, suchas The Prophecy of Peace of Isaiah;composed music to poems of famousArabic poets, such as Egyptian Valley OfThe Kings; composed songs about peacein the Middle East, infusing Israeli andArabic themes, such as Jerusalem Of TheThree Religions. Compositions havebeen publicly performed and gained wideacclaim. Plays, performs, records, andinstructs Oud in the Arabic styles.

LecturerLectured on Arabic Music in T h eEducational Center of the IsraelBroadcasting Association, The OrientalMusic Center in Jerusalem, and T h eIsraeli Academic Center in Cairo, Egypt.Instructed the Arabic language in TheTel-Aviv Open University. ♦

Ramat-Gan Isaac Aviezer

MUSIC OF BAGHDAD

I am corresponding with you ona subject other than that of the LittleSynagogue. You may recall that duringour correspondence I asked that you sendme a few copies of "The Scribe".

It has occurred to me that youmay be interested in the Struma project asa possible subject for your publication.

I am going to Istanbul at the endof August to participate in the Strumaproject. The Struma was a ship that wasblown up in the Black Sea in 1942 whiletrying to reach Palestine. I had a relativeon the ship.

Since I have already written adetailed version of my Struma story formy family, I am sending you the entiretext. I hope you find it of interest.

Fair Lawn, New Jersey

Joel Ives

A few months ago, after morethan three years of research, I had finallyidentified each of the thirty-eight peoplein a 1924 family photograph. At thecentre of the sepia coloured photographwas my grandfather's uncle who laterdied aboard the ship Struma that wasblown up in the Black Sea on 23February 1942.

The search for historical andgenealogical information led to a seriesof internet contacts with people fromaround the world interested in the shipStruma and eventually to a meeting inWashington.

The adventure took aninternational twist a few years ago whenI wrote an article about the ship Strumafor inclusion in the Jewish Genealogicalmagazine, "ROM-SIG" (RomanianSpecial Interest Group). The article Iwrote included a list of the 768 peoplewho died aboard the Struma, andmentioned the one survivor of the Strumat r a g e d y, David Stolier who wasmentioned in a number of historicalsources.

Although ROM-SIG only has acirculation of a few hundred, the articleand the list of passengers was put on theinternet, which led to people from aroundthe world contacting me.

On Suday morning, 16 January2000 Sheryl (my wife) and I met DavidStolier the sole survivor of the Strumatragedy for the first time in WashingtonDC. We had been brought together inWashington by the power of the internet.

My article in ROM-SIG had put me incontact with Greg Buxton whosegrandparents were on the Struma. Gregwho lives in Great Britain by coincidenceis a diver and has done "deepexploration". The Struma is 70 metresunder the surface of the Black Sea. Greghas explored the Britannic in the Aegean.He said he has no objective in his searchfor the Struma other than to "close thecircle for himself and his father that wasbroken in 1942". I gave Greg thesuspected address I had for David Stolierin Oregon and the names, addresses ande-mail addresses of a number of people Ihad been in contact with that wereinterested in the Struma. Greg and hisfriend Louise Trewavas, who publishes awomen's diving magazine, met with us inthe lobby of the Loews L'Enfant Hotel inWashington, which is near the HolocaustMuseum. Jeff Hakko also joined us forbreakfast. Jeff is a contact that Greg hasmade during a visit to Istanbul, Turkey.A few months ago, Greg had visitedIstanbul in an attempt to do preliminaryresearch with Turkish divers and to workout some of the logistics of this extendeddepth "technical dive" and speak to localpeople about the location of the Struma.Jeff is a member of the small Jewishcommunity in Istanbul and iscoincidentally a diver connected with"SAD" Turkey's premier underwaterresearch and diving group. Jeff, Greg,Louise, Sheryl and I were all transfixedhearing David Stolier's story.

David was escaping fromBucharest, Romania with his fiancée(Lisa Lotringer) and future in-laws late in1941. Their goal was to get to Palestineand a place where Jews could be safer.David knew about the horrors of theNazi's in the West of Romania and thatthe "Iron Guard" was killing RomanianJews in the street. David's father stayedin Romania. His mother lived in Parisand was deported and later died inAuschwitz. David boarded theramshackle overloaded boat Struma inConstanta, which is Romania's easternport, on 12 December 1941, five daysafter the bombing of Pearl Harbour. Hesailed into an unknown future with 776other people.

The ship was detained in theBosporus in the Istanbul Harbour for 71days during which time it became aninternational political incident.

David said that the ship washorribly overcrowded. When we passedthe wooden bunks in the Holocaust

Museum, he mentioned that there weresimilar constructions on the Struma.

Hundreds of people were stuffedaboard the Struma on a ship that couldn'thold 100 people comfortably. Everyonewas assigned space and that was whereyou had to stay. David was 19 years oldat the time. He said the ship was made ofsteel but wooden platforms were built onthe deck to allow more people to betransported in layers. Only a smallproportion of the fleeing Jews could fitabove the deck at one time. The rest hadto endure the stench below deck. Therewas only one bathroom.

The engines failed outsideIstanbul and Struma was towed into theouter harbour.

When the Turks stopped theship, the engines were barely functioning,the food was running out and the toiletthat served the hoards of people stunk.

David said that the ship wasboarded by some Turkish police againstthe will of the passengers in order for theTurks to attach a towline that could pullthem out to sea. The Turks had toforcibly board the ship to clear the way tomake the connection and to raise theanchor. The Turkish police took controlby force and cut the anchor chains. Thepassengers were very ill, malnourishedand weak, so it would seem that little realforce was used.

The Turks apparently in a logicthat still is difficult to explain, and notgenerally agreed upon by historians,towed the helpless ship into deeperwaters of the Black Sea. David said thathe knew that the engine block wascracked. He suspected that the crew hadremoved the engine in an attempt torepair it. According to US reports fromIstanbul, the engine had been takenashore for repair and not returned to theship at all. The Struma was trulyhelpless. Here were 769 Jews, including103 children and infants, that could notgo back to Romania for fear of death, notto mention the fact that the Romaniangovernment would not allow them toreturn since they had "left the countryillegally".

The British would not providevisas for anyone to go to Palestine until itwas too late. The Turks would not let thisleaking ship pass through their territorialwaters under political pressure from theBritish government. The Russians werekilling Jews in the crossfire of War andthe Romanian Iron Guard was asmurderous to the Jews as the German SS.

THE SINKING OF THE STRUMA IN 1942

The world Jewish community struggledto help while the world watched. Eightpeople, four of whom with connections toan oil company obtained visas and wereallowed to leave the ship after pressurewas applied by a Turkish company. IsraelDinari was one of these people. Awoman Mrs Salomovitz who was inlabour was taken to an Istanbul hospital.

The Struma was registered inPanama and some of the crew wasBulgarian. Bulgaria had just become atwar with Panama. The crew tried toabandon the ship with the people aboardbut was prevented by the Tu r k s .Unfortunately, the rest of the desperaterefugees on the Struma had nowhere togo.

After more than two months ofstalemate, the Turks towed the helplessStruma out into the deeper waters of theBlack Sea under pressure from the Britishgovernment and as they saw it, with littlechoice, to rid themselves of the problem.A recent Turkish position is that the Turksfelt that the sea's current would cause thepowerless ship to be grounded and oncethat happened, the people could be savedsince they would be classified as a"shipwreck". The engineless ship driftedfor one night and at dawn about 5.30 ama Russian submarine fired a singletorpedo and sank the Struma. The violentexplosion that occurred blew a hole in theside of a boat. David said that the shipsank immediately. Anyone below thedeck was trapped. The Struma just wentstraight down. There was debris all overthe frigid waters from the shatteredtemporary wood structures that had beenbuilt on the deck. People were screamingand thrashing about in the cold icy watersof the Black Sea. Many quicklysuccumbed to the freezing water and oneby one disappeared. David was thrownup in the air with the explosion and fellinto the water. He held on to somewooden planks. He remembered that thewaters were calm. He said he would nothave survived in rough waters. Towardsevening, a large piece of wreckagefloated near him and he dragged himselfaboard and out of the water. Birds flewover the corpses but no-one appeared tobe living. Shortly afterwards, Lazar anaide of the captain was pulled aboard thewreckage but he died shortly before thenext morning. Twenty-four hours afterthe explosion, a commercial boat passedright by David without stopping andafterwards men from the local lighthousein a small boat pulled David out of thefrigid water. They had come from thelighthouse a few miles away. David was

the only survivor of the sinking of theStruma. The men that had saved himwere surprised that anyone was still aliveand David has theorised that they rowedinto the wreckage in order to findsomething of 'value', not to discover ahuman being alive. Fortunately forDavid, they took him ashore and wrappedhim in blankets.

His hands and feet were frozenbut he was alive. He was put in a sickroom under the guard of the police whowatched him night and day. He wasgiven some food and shortly afterwardshis "saviours" didn't know exactly whatto do with him so they dragged his limpbody, since his feet could not supporthim, onto a bus and left him on the frontseat. Since he did not speak Turkish hehad difficulty communicating. At the endof the bus run he was lifted up by botharms and brought into a hospital. He wascared for by a few nurses and doctors fortwo weeks, completely isolated from theoutside world. Then, barely able to walkwhen he left the hospital, he was broughtto the Central Police, arrested, and put ina small cell. For his crime ofmiraculously surviving this tragedy, hewas put in jail. His legs were damagedsince they had been frozen. The Jewishcommunity in Istanbul sent him packagesof food and clothing.

Actions of the Jewishcommunity in Istanbul (and probably theInternational community) resultedeventually to his release. Two monthshad passed since the sinking of theStruma. It was now 23 April 1942. Heslept one night in the house of one of theleaders of the Istanbul Jewishcommunity, Simon Brod, and then he wasput on a train accompanied by a Turkishpolice officer that took him to the borderof Syria. He stopped at Aleppo and thenwent by car to Haifa where he wasinterrogated in the police station by theBritish. He was given ID papers and toldnot to contradict the official version ofevents that the Struma was sunk by a"mine".

It is amazing from today'sperspective of overbearing media andpervasive communications that Davidwas told by the Turks and British not tosay anything about his ordeal. He wasalso told not to talk about his ordeal bythe Jewish Community in Istanbul sincethey were living in a potentiallyprecarious situation in the middle ofWorld War II. One would think that hisarrival in Israel and his survival wouldhave been met with news media fromaround the world but David had a friend

in Israel and stayed with this friend inrelative obscurity for several months andfurther regained his health.

Later David joined the JewishBrigade of the British Army and wasstationed with the Eight Army in NorthAfrica.

David now lives in Bend,Oregon. He speaks English very well butalso speaks Japanese, French, Romanian,Yiddish and Hebrew. I asked him whatlanguage he speaks to Romanians in andhe answered, "French".

David has a son and grandson inCalifornia. For years, he never told hisson the story of the Struma. When hisson was about 20 years old he foundsome old documents and started askingquestions. (Note: Some of David's story was takenfrom Saveanu's book)

Professor Jurgen Rohwer aGerman historian was mentioned since hewrote about a Russian submarine in hisbook as being the culprit that released thetorpedo. Rohwer was the first to uncoverthe submarine records with the break-upof the Soviet Union. A R u s s i a nsubmarine commander, Lt Denezhko wasgiven a "medal" for his "heroic" action ofkilling all these defenceless people.Rohwer's book gives the co-ordinates ofthe attack. One possible view of the"rationale" of the Russian attack is thatthey thought that there were Nazi spiesaboard the Struma. The Panamaniangovernment was discussed since theStruma flew a flag of that country. DrFisher was planning to attend theStockholm International Forum on theHolocaust in Sweden at the end of themonth. He said he would bring up thesubject of the Struma. He also suggestedthat the Holocaust Museum wasinterested in putting together an exhibitabout the Struma. The Museum wouldlike a piece of the ship for their exhibithowever time will tell whether this willbe possible since it requires the approvalof the Turkish government to remove anyartefact from their country.

The exact location of the Strumastill has not been verified. Tu r k i s hfishermen tear their nets in an area theyknow as "The Jew Ship." The Russiansubmarine had different co-ordinates ofwhere the Struma was blasted to oblivion.Greg will carry out a "side scan sonarsurvey" concentrating on the two logicalsites. David Stolier's story perhapssuggests still another location.

Now the Struma has a web page:http://www.struma.net. ♦

KEBBA BURGHUL

Burghul (cracked wheat) balls filledwith meat, almonds and raisins.

To make 15-20 portions. 35-40 balls.

Ingredients for the shell:1/2 kg burghul (coarse)1/2 kg burghul (fine)1/2 kg semolina1 egg1/2 tsp. Salt1/2 tsp. turmeric

Ingredients for the filling:1/2 cup blanched almonds3 onions, finely chopped5 tsps. Oil400 gr minced meat8 stems chopped parsley1 tsp. black pepper1 tsp. chilli powder20 seeds ground cardamom100 gr raisins

For the soup:10 cups water2 tblsps. Chicken soup powder1 tsp. turmeric1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preparing the shell:Soak the burghul in water for one hour,then squeeze off the water. In a bowlmix together the burghul, semolina, egg,turmeric and salt.

Preparing the filling:Blanch the almonds and cut in half. Heatthe oil in a frying pan then fry thechopped onions until golden brown. Addthe chopped parsley and the spices. Thenadd the almonds and raisins. Mix welland cook for 10-15 minutes.Take about 1-3 oz of the burghulmixture and roll out in your wet handsto a nice ball 7-8 cm in size. Make ahole in the centre and push in twotablespoons of the filling inside the holethen seal well and shape.In a deep saucepan, put ten cups ofwater, salt, pepper and soup powder andbring to the boil. Add the burghul ballsinto the boiling soup. The balls will riseto the surface after 2-3 minutes. You caneither continue to cook the kebba overmoderate heat for another 20 minutes oryou can fry after taking it out of thesoup and let to cool. ♦

KETCHRI

Rice cooked with red lentils

Ingredients:1 cup of red lentils2 cups of rice1 tsp. salt1/2 tsp. black pepper2 cups of water3 tbsps. Oil8 cloves of garlic chopped1 1/2 tsp. cumin1 large fried onion (thinly sliced)Slices of hard cheese1 sliced tomato

Directions:

Soak the rice in water for 2 hours. Soakthe red lentils for 15 minutes before

cooking. Add the pepper and salt to thewater and bring to boil. Put the rice andlentils in the boiling water. Cook onmedium heat until the water hasevaporated. Lower the heat. Cook for afurther twenty minutes. Heat the oil in frying pan. Add thecumin, garlic and fry until goldenbrown. Pour the fried garlic over therice. In a seperate saucepan fry the slicedonions and cover with the sliced cheeseand then the tomato slices. Cover andcook until the cheese is melted. Serve ontop of the rice. ♦

from ‘Iraqi Cooking’ by PascallPeres-Rubin

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