User:Gruzinim/sandbox/Iraqi Jews
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| |
|---|---|
 Babylonian Jews at Ezekiel's Tomb, 1932 | |
| Total population | |
| 500,000 | |
| 156,000 (residing in Iraq in 1947)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Iraq | 7–8[2] |
 Israel | 450,000[3] |
 Canada | 25,000[4] |
 Australia | 20,000[5] |
 United States | 15,000[6] |
 United Kingdom | 5,000[7] |
| Languages | |
| Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Aramaic | |
| Religion | |
| Orthodox Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kurdish Jews, Persian Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardi Jews, Assyrians | |
| Part of a series on |
| Jews and Judaism |
|---|
Iraqi Jews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, Babylonian Jews, Yehudim Bavlim, Arabic: اليهود العراقيون al-Yahūd al-ʿIrāqiyyūn) are Jews whose ancestors lived in the region of the modern state of Iraq. There has been a presence of Jews in Babylon since the 6th century BCE; making them one of the world's oldest Jewish communities. The Babylonian Jewish community is associated with some of the most important events in Jewish history. Ezra's return to Judea from Babylon led to significant changes in Judaism and the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Talmud was compiled in what is now Iraq by Babylonian Jews.
The religious and cultural traditions of Iraqi Jews are still kept alive today in by strong communities now established in the State of Israel, especially in Or Yehuda, Givyatayim and Kiryat Gat.[8] The vast majority of Iraqi Jews live in Israel, while smaller communities in the Jewish diaspora exist in Britain, Australia, Canada and the United States.
History[edit]
Present-day Iraqi Jewish communities[edit]
Australia[edit]
In 1969, when Iraqi Jews were being persecuted, Australia granted refugee status to any Iraqi Jews who managed to reach the country. Today there are around 20,000 Iraqi Jewish Australians.[5] They are known for being observant.[9]
Canada[edit]
There are 25,000 Iraqi Jews in Canada, with most living in Montreal or Ontario.[10] They came as refugees in the 1950s.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ Ben-Yaacob, Abraham, et al. (2007). "Iraq." Encyclopaedia Judaica. 2nd ed. Vol. 10 (pp. 14-24). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. p. 16. Estimate based on the 1947 census, amounting to 2.6% of the total population. Ben-Yaacob et al. note that some studies suggest that the total population of Iraqi Jews "in the late 1940s" could have been as high as 135,000, given that 123,500 were estimated to have immigrated to Israel between 1948 and 1951, and that 6,000 still remained in Iraq after the mass immigration.
- ^ "Baghdad Jews have become a fearful few". New York Times. 1 June 2008.
- ^ Collie, Tim. "JEWISH & IRAQI". Sun-Sentinel.
- ^ Rath, Zachary. "Iraqi Jews In Montreal". Iraqi Jewish Association Of Ontario.
- ^ a b "Australia". Jewish Virtual Library.
- ^ Shohet, Maurice. "Iraqi Jews in the USA". Iraqijews.com.
- ^ Rashty, Sandy. "Iraqi Jews 'did wonders for us'". JC.
- ^ "In Israel, Iraqi Jews Reflect on Baghdad Heritage". Retrieved 2018-08-22.
- ^ Gale, Naomi (1997). "Religious Involution: Sacred and Secular Conflict among Sephardic Jews in Australia". Ethnology. 36 (4): 321–333.
- ^ Balass, Leah. "Montreal's Iraqi-Jewish Community Pieces Together Fragments of its History". The Link.
- ^ "Brief History of Canadian Jewry". CIJA.
External links[edit]