Rashid Aali Al-Gaylani coup d’état, 1941 position of Baghdad Jews
Date
2019-08-04
Authors
Naser, Mu’tasem
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
European Centre for Research Training and Development UK
Abstract
Jews of Baghdad enjoyed a normal life in the Iraqi society throughout different
stages of history until the Arab-Zionist conflict in Palestine, which cast shadow on the
relationship of Jews with other people in the Iraqi society. This study highlights the position of
Jews in Baghdad of Rashid Aali al-Gaylani coup d’état against the British authorities in Iraq,
1941, and the role some of them played against this coup and in favor of British forces. This
position raised the ire of Iraqi society, which held the whole Jewish community in Baghdad
responsibile for al-Gaylani defeat. This led to what is known as the ‘Farhud’, or the violent
dispossession (pogrom) against Jews in Baghdad. This study depended mainly on Zionist
resources and references, where it has been noticed that it attempted to hold different groups the
responsibility for the Farhud, without acknowledging the responsibility of the Zionist acts in
Baghdad for the massacres that aimed at uprooting them from a society they used to live in for
thousands of years, and relocate them to Palestine in order to achieve the Zionism objectives,
which caused turmoil among the Iraqi Jews decades before the Farhud. In fact, the Zionist
movement was the first beneficiary from the Farhud; they forced the Jews to emigrate from Iraq
to Palestine. In spite of many viewpoints that dominated the Jewish communities, the Farhud
incidents formed a historic twist, at least regarding the Jewish presence in Baghdad.
Description
Keywords
Rashid Aali al-Gaylani , Coup D’état , Baghdad , Jews