History of the Jews in Kurdistan
| |
---|---|
Judeo-Aramaic), Kurdish dialects (mainly Kurmanji), Azeri Turkish (in Iran)[6] Additional: Mizrahi Hebrew (liturgical use) | |
Religion | |
Judaism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Mizrahi Jews, Ashkenazi Jews and Sephardic Jews; also Samaritans |
Part of a series on |
Jews and Judaism |
---|
The Jews of Kurdistan
In the present-day, the overwhelming majority of Kurdistan's Jewish population resides in the State of Israel, with the community's presence coming as a direct result of either the Jewish exodus from Muslim states or the making of Aliyah by stragglers in the following decades (see Kurdish Jews in Israel).
History
Middle Ages
According to the memoirs of
Ottoman era
Tanna'it
Kurdish Jews had lived in Kashan, Iran, and many Jews migrated to Turkey during the 1700s to 1800s. They were active in trade in rural villages in Turkey; regions like Gaziantep and Malatya had a substantial Jewish populations. They were usually quite concealed but did not have any negative interactions with other communities.
Immigration of Kurdish Jews to the Land of Israel initiated during the late 16th century, with a community of rabbinic scholars arriving to Safed, Galilee, and a Kurdish Jewish quarter had been established there as a result. The thriving period of Safed, however, ended in 1660, with Druze power struggles in the region and an economic decline.
Modern times
Since the early 20th century some Kurdish Jews had been active in the
The vast majority of Kurdish Jews were
The Times of Israel reported on September 30, 2013: "Today, there are almost 200,000 Kurdish Jews in Israel, about half of whom live in Jerusalem. There are also over 30 agricultural villages throughout the country that were founded by Kurdish Jews."[13]
On October 17, 2015, the
Historiography
One of the main problems in the history and historiography of the Jews of Kurdistan was the lack of written history and the lack of documents and historical records. During the 1930s, a German-Jewish
Gallery
-
Jewish Kurd, 19th century, Ottoman era
See also
- History of the Jews in Iraq
- Israel–Kurdistan Region relations
- Jewish ethnic divisions
- Jewish diaspora
- Judeo-Aramaic
- Kurdish Jews in Israel
- Northeastern Neo-Aramaic
- Dönmeh
Bibliography
- Mordechai Zaken, "Jewish Subjects and their tribal Chieftains in Kurdistan: A study in Survival", Jewish Identities in a Changing World, 9 (Boston: Brill Publishers, 2007)
- Brauer, Erich; Patai, Raphael, The Jews of Kurdistan. (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1993).
- Asenath Barzani, "Asenath's Petition", First published in Hebrew by Jacob Mann, ed., in Texts and Studies in Jewish History and Literature, vol.1, Hebrew Union College Press, Cincinnati, 1931. Translation by Peter Cole.
- ISBN 0300026986).
- Ariel Sabar, My Father's Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq. Illustrated. 332 pp. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. Biography & study of Yona Beh Sabagha = Yona Sabar, native scholar of this community and its language. Reviewed in The New York Times, Oct. 12, 2008 and The Washington Post, Oct. 26, 2008.
- Mahir Ünsal Eriş, Kürt Yahudileri - Din, Dil, Tarih, (Kurdish Jews) In Turkish, Kalan Publishing, Ankara, 2006
- Hasan-Rokem, G., Hess, T. and Kaufman, S., Defiant Muse: Hebrew Feminist Poems from Antiquity: A Bilingual Anthology, Publisher: Feminist Press, 1999, ISBN 1-55861-223-8. (see page 65, 16th century/Kurdistan and Asenath's Petition)
- Rabbi Asenath Barzani in Jewish Storytelling Newsletter, Vol.15, No.3, Summer 2000
- The Jews of Kurdistan Yale Israel Journal, No. 6 (Spr. 2005).
- Judaism in Encyclopaedia Kurdistanica
References
- ^ Iraqi Kurdistan's First Jewish Leader Wants To Revitalize Judaism And Boost Israel-Ties, But Challenges Lie Ahead By Michael Kaplan, 10/23/15
- ^ Zivotofsky, Ari Z. (2002). "What's the Truth about...Aramaic?" (PDF). Orthodox Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2007.
- ^ "(p.2)" (PDF). slis.indiana.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2006.
- ^ "Kurdish Jewish Community in Israel". Jcjcr.org. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ^ Berman, Lazar (30 September 2013). "Cultural pride, and unlikely guests, at Kurdish Jewish festival". timesofisrael.com.
- ^ "курдские евреи. Электронная еврейская энциклопедия". Eleven.co.il. 27 December 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ^ "מגורשי ספרד בעיראק – הוצאת דרכון פורטוגלי – משרד עו"ד בת"א וירושלים".
- ISBN 965-278-238-6, p.26.
- ISBN 0-87451-706-0, p. 186
- ISBN 0-88125-661-7, p.226.
- ISBN 1-55861-224-6, pp.7, 9
- ^ "Learn About Kurdish Religion". The Kurdish Project. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ^ "Ancient pride, and unlikely guests, at Kurdish Jewish festival". timesofisrael.com.
- ^ "Dismissal of Jewish representative 'administrative,' unrelated to Baghdad: KRG".
- ^ "Publicity seeking Kurdish official brings back memories of Jewish Kurd aliya fiasco". www.jpost.com. 7 December 2015.
- ^ Israel 365 News December 2,2021
- ^ Joyce Blau, one of the world's leading scholars in the Kurdish languages, culture and history, suggested that "This part of Mr. Zaken’s thesis, concerning Jewish life in Bahdinan, well complements the impressive work of the pioneer ethnologist Erich Brauer."[Erich Brauer, The Jews of Kurdistan, First edition 1940, revised edition 1993, completed and edited by Raphael Patai, Wayne State University Press, Detroit])
- ISBN 978-90-04-16190-0Hardback (xxii, 364 pp.), Jewish Identities in a Changing World, 9.
- ^ Yahud Kurdistan wa-ru'as'uhum al-qabaliyun: Dirasa fi fan al-baqa'. Transl., Su'ad M. Khader; Reviewers: Abd al-Fatah Ali Yihya and Farast Mir'i; Published by the Center for Academic Research, Beirut, 2013,
- ^ D. Mordixi Zakin, Culekekany Kurdistan, Erbil and Sulaimaniyya, 2015,
- ^ French into Kurmanji translation of an article by Moti Zaken, "Jews, Kurds and Arabs, between 1941 and 1952", by Dr. Amr Taher Ahmed Metîn n° 148, October 2006, p. 98-123.
- ^ Juifs, Kurdes et Arabes, entre 1941 et 1952," Errance et Terre promise: Juifs, Kurdes, Assyro-Chaldéens, etudes kurdes, revue semestrielle de recherches, 2005: 7-43, translated by Sandrine Alexie.