New constitution prevents citizenship for Jews, says MP

[kardox]

Baghdad, 27 July (AKI) - The first draft of the new Iraqi constitution will prevent Iraqi Jews, stripped of their nationality in the 1940s and 1950s, from re-obtaining it, Mundhir al-Fadl, an Iraqi MP and member of the constituent assembly's constitution commisssion, has told Adnkronos International (AKI).

Al-Fadl, one of the commision members responsible for drafting the constitution's chapter on "rights and duties" explained that one paragraph of the draft says that "the Iraqi nationality is a right acquired by every Iraqi, which cannot be withheld for any reason and is the basis of his citizenship."

"All those who have been deprived of their citizenship after 8 February 1963 have the right to recover it, as they have the right to multiple nationality," the draft continues.

However, the parliamentarian, who is part of the Kurdish list, pointed out that this rules out Iraq's Jews, who were forced to emigrate from the country before 8 February 1963, the date of the coup carried out by the Baath party, who overthrew the country's then ruler, Brig Abd-al-Karim Qasim, who had taken power in a military coup almost five years earlier.

"I believe that every Iraqi citizen deprived of their nationality for any reason, political, ethnic or religious, has the right to recover it," al-Fadl told AKI. He added that "this opinion represents the majority, but not all the members [of the constituent assembly], it is contrary to the universal declaration of the rights of man and implies a clear discrimination against men on the basis of their religion," he said, affirming that "the aim of this text is clearly to prevent Iraqi Jews from recovering their Iraqi nationality."

During the 1940s and 50s the Iraqi government took away Iraqi citizenship from many Iraqi Jews, confiscating their property and capital, despite which the majority refused to leave the country they were born in and had lived in for many years in peace and harmony together with other religions.

kardox: I think its totally unfair, Jews of kurdistan and Iraq had lived in harmony with us until they were kicked out by the arabs after the establishment of Israel. They came to kurdistan for more than 2000 thousand years ago, and if an Sudanic arab can have Iraqi citizenship after 3 years, why should the native Jews not being granted the same right ??

this shows that the jafari and his gang are very pro iran and do have zero tolerant for anything Jewish.

[Piling]

Arabs answer always "Present !" for making a unuseful political mistake....

Even if they consider that they are in war with Israël, in any case, how much Jews remain in Iraq ? 90% of them had to leave the country after the Farhud, and the creation of Israël. Do this brainwashed Arabs nationalists believe that a few number of Jews in Iraq would threaten their great andproud NATION ?

In Israël, Arab citizens have their own MP... I would like they protest against that...

[Emmunah]

So, no jews...well that pretty much leaves me out. What are they afraid of anyway? Show me a country with a good sized Jewish population and I'll show you a success...not because jews are so smart, or have money, but because it speaks well of the country that the jew feel they can live there, and that makes a country more successful when other people feel they can prosper there.

But, you know...almost all the kurdish jews went to Israel...I am sure this will break their heart as much as it breaks mine. Now all of the people that say to me "you are working for people who hate you, and always will" are sticking it in my face.

Now the whole of arab and islam world can cry about the jews taking palestinians lands....today I could care less...let iraq take the palestinians!! take them all and leave the jews alone! If jews are to be outcasts, and singled out as the one type of human that can't have citizenship in Iraq, and not even mentioning polytheists, or athieists or anything like that, then maybe we should just give the world a damn good reason for all of their bitching and finally send all those arab brothers to iraq!!!

[Emmunah]

oh...and i forget to mention....there is just such a long line of jews just dying to go live in iraq right? It was such a great life for 2600 years, living only as "dhimmi" and getting called names and pushed around....i'm sure they are lining up to go back!

[Diri]

Not only is this constitution wrong... But it is RASCIST... AND MORE OVER IT IS NAZI!

[Delal]

Wow, I wasn't aware that there were Iraqi jews that had their citizenship removed...I guess it wasn't even an issue on my radar. Thanks Kardox, for bringing the issue up. I agree with you also that nationality should be restored to them if they wish it.

[Emmunah]

These would be some of the people that can never go back...do they look like the people that run the world to you.



In 1950, Iraqi Jews were permitted to leave the country within a year provided they forfeited their citizenship. A year later, however, the property of Jews who emigrated was frozen and economic restrictions were placed on Jews who chose to remain in the country. From 1949 to 1951, 104,000 Jews were evacuated from Iraq in Operations Ezra & Nechemia; another 20,000 were smuggled out through Iran.

In 1952, Iraq's government barred Jews from emigrating and publicly hanged two Jews after falsely charging them with hurling a bomb at the Baghdad office of the U.S. Information Agency.

With the rise of competing Ba'ath factions in 1963, additional restrictions were placed on the remaining Iraqi Jews. The sale of property was forbidden and all Jews were forced to carry yellow identity cards. After the Six-Day War, more repressive measures were imposed: Jewish property was expropriated; Jewish bank accounts were frozen; Jews were dismissed from public posts; businesses were shut; trading permits were cancelled; telephones were disconnected. Jews were placed under house arrest for long periods of time or restricted to the cities.

Persecution was at its worst at the end of 1968. Scores were jailed upon the discovery of a local "spy ring" composed of Jewish businessmen. Fourteen men - eleven of them Jews - were sentenced to death in staged trials and hanged in the public squares of Baghdad; others died of torture. On January 27, 1969, Baghdad Radio called upon Iraqis to "come and enjoy the feast." Some 500,000 men, women and children paraded and danced past the scaffolds where the bodies of the hanged Jews swung; the mob rhythmically chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to all traitors." This display brought a world-wide public outcry that Radio Baghdad dismissed by declaring: "We hanged spies, but the Jews crucified Christ." Jews remained under constant surveillance by the Iraqi government. An Iraqi Jew (who later escaped) wrote in his diary in February 1970:

"Ulcers, heart attacks, and breakdowns are increasingly prevalent among the Jews...The dehumanization of the Jewish personality resulting from continuous humiliation and torment...have dragged us down to the lowest level of our physical and mental faculties, and deprived us of the power to recover."

In response to international pressure, the Baghdad government quietly allowed most of the remaining Jews to emigrate in the early 1970's, even while leaving other restrictions in force. Most of Iraq's remaining Jews are now too old to leave. They have been pressured by the government to turn over title, without compensation, to more than $200 million worth of Jewish community property.

continued

[Emmunah]

[Emmunah]

Kurdish jew....looks a lot like all other Kurds to me.

[Emmunah]

Kurdish Jews.

From right to left: Abraham Iny Ben-David

Abraham (Sa'at) Shafir
Yitzhaq Sa'at

and sitting Saleh Sabha.
Arbil 1935.


okay, i'm sorry for all who have dial up...i'm just angry...i should stop. maybe i move the pictures over to the "used to live here" section.

[dyaoko]

But, you know...almost all the kurdish jews went to Israel...I am sure this will break their heart as much as it breaks mine. Now all of the people that say to me "you are working for people who hate you, and always will" are sticking it in my face.

emmunah it also breaks my heart too, when I see that someobdy like you cant get citizenship , it makes me mad ! if i was Iraqi's PM , I would set you as my FM.

how these assholes can say Jews cant get citizenship...woe to them...stupid arab muslems...

please tell your jew friends , Jews foot are on we kurds' eye , and they are so wellcome in Kurdistan..

please tell them , yeah it is true...kurds were more muslem before ...but now kurds are Aware ! now kurds undrestand they shouldnt sell their Kurdish identity to their islamic one....I am sure Kurds in 100 years ago, had done bad things to jews...there is even Anti Jew Sayings in Kurdi !

but today kurds are Aware , and majority of kruds belive they are first KURD then something else... Kurds no longer attack to their Ezedi brothers...as they had done it 100 years ago for ISLAM !

infact in the past 100 years, muslems has done enough genocides on kurds that made kurdish nationalism raise as hell !

Jews foot will on our eye , and I am sure nobody can stop Kurdisatn Regonal Government to give ctizenship to Jews.


you said , every country that has considerable population of jews is sucessfull...you are right...infact living jews in those countries in peace means "how open minded and modern that society is ! and how they can get along with every relligion and race peacefully "

[dyaoko]

I am sure , kurds will do their best to keep consitition from being Islamic, as much as they can.

thats what the Christans Hope !
Iraqi Christians hope Kurds keep the constitution from becoming too Islamic
http://northerniraq.info/news/index.php ... =1#more590

and also Peter W. Galbraith hopes America dont force kurds to get along with arabs just to do proccess ONTIME .
http://northerniraq.info/news/index.php ... =1#more658

plz tell your jew friends...we will do our best , and our hearts are with you.

[Piling]

What a pity, they seem so Kurdish, no difference with other ppl of Zakho, Amadiya, Silêmanî...

Kurdish Jews who left Kurdistan from Israël have a great nostalgy of their country. In fact they did not leave it willingly.

[dyaoko]

What a pity, they seem so Kurdish, no difference with other ppl of Zakho, Amadiya, Silêmanî...

Kurdish Jews who left Kurdistan from Israël have a great nostalgy of their country. In fact they did not leave it willingly.

yeas Pilling, some weeks ago , a jews form israel called my Skype Number,
(Skype is a program that works like phone but with PC) you wouldnt blive me if I tell you , he speaked kurdish better than me ! (REALLY better than me)

he said he had left "Negede" in Iranian Kurdistan, 36 years ago .

he could also speak Turkish (because negede is kurdish city near Azerbaijan)
he could speak Farsi Aramani , Hebrew as well...

he wanted a phone number of his friend that he had left 36 years ago in iran ...I searched a lot for him...and finally found his friend and gave his phone number to him...yea he had a very great nostalogy for kurdistan...

I could feel that how he suffred before...he thakned me jsut because I talked to him ! (he said "dont you feel fear ? that you aare speaking with a Jew? thank you...")

[Diri]

I am provoked... But I will go on in a new thread - because that is another matter...