History of the Jews in Kurdistan

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Kurdish Jews
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Kurdish Jews
  • יהודי כורדיסטן
  • کوردە جووەکان
  • Kurdên cihû
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

The Jews of Kurdistan

Sephardic Jewish blending during the 18th century.[7]

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

crusaders had fled from Syria and Palestine to Babylonia and Kurdistan. The Jews of Mosul enjoyed some degree of autonomy in managing their own community.[8]

Ottoman era

Tanna'it

Hebrew language. She wrote a long poem of lament and petition in the traditional rhymed metrical form. Her poems are among the few examples of the early modern Hebrew texts written by women.[11]

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

Lehi (Freedom Fighters of Israel) was Moshe Barazani, whose family immigrated from Iraqi Kurdistan and settled in Jerusalem
in the late 1920s.

The vast majority of Kurdish Jews were

Iraqi Jewish community. Almost all the Kurdish Jews of Iranian Kurdistan relocated mostly to Israel as well in the same period. It was reported that the Kurds mourned the loss of their Jewish neighbours and even maintained their synagogues.[12]

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

Kurdistan Regional Government named Sherzad Omar Mamsani as the representative of the Jewish community at the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs, but he was dismissed following assertions by the Jewish community in Israel that there were no Jews remaining in the Kurdistan Region.[14][15] However the sending of Hanukkah kits to Jews in Arab countries including Kurdistan[16]
indicates there may be Jewish remnants hiding there.

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

Dohuk, Sulaimaniya and Shinno/Ushno/Ushnoviyya), as well as from dozens of villages, mostly in the region of Bahdinan.[17][18] His study unveils new sources, reports and vivid tales that form a new set of historical records on the Jews and the tribal Kurdish society. His PhD thesis was commented by members of the PhD judicial committee and along with the book upon which it has been translated into several Middle Eastern languages, including Arabic,[19] Sorani,[20] Kurmanji,[21] as well as French.[22]

Gallery

  • Illuminated plaque on paper with calligraphy and decorative elements. Includes four liturgical poems for Purim customary among Kurdish Jews; mid-19th century, Kurdistan
    Illuminated plaque on paper with
    liturgical poems for Purim customary among Kurdish Jews; mid-19th century, Kurdistan
  • Jewish Kurd, 19th century, Ottoman era
    Jewish Kurd, 19th century, Ottoman era
  • Views of the solidarity protest for Rojava organized by Kurdish Jews on October 12, 2019, in Jerusalem, Israel
    Views of the solidarity protest for
    Rojava organized by Kurdish Jews on October 12, 2019, in Jerusalem, Israel

See also

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ Kurdish: کوردە جووەکان, romanized: Kurdên cihû, lit.'Kurdish Jews'; Hebrew: יהודי כורדיסטן, romanizedYehudei Kurdistan.
  1. ^ Iraqi Kurdistan's First Jewish Leader Wants To Revitalize Judaism And Boost Israel-Ties, But Challenges Lie Ahead By Michael Kaplan, 10/23/15
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "(p.2)" (PDF). slis.indiana.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2006.
  4. ^ "Kurdish Jewish Community in Israel". Jcjcr.org. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  5. ^ Berman, Lazar (30 September 2013). "Cultural pride, and unlikely guests, at Kurdish Jewish festival". timesofisrael.com.
  6. ^ "курдские евреи. Электронная еврейская энциклопедия". Eleven.co.il. 27 December 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  7. ^ "מגורשי ספרד בעיראק – הוצאת דרכון פורטוגלי – משרד עו"ד בת"א וירושלים".
  8. , p.26.
  9. , p. 186
  10. , p.226.
  11. , pp.7, 9
  12. ^ "Learn About Kurdish Religion". The Kurdish Project. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Ancient pride, and unlikely guests, at Kurdish Jewish festival". timesofisrael.com.
  14. ^ "Dismissal of Jewish representative 'administrative,' unrelated to Baghdad: KRG".
  15. ^ "Publicity seeking Kurdish official brings back memories of Jewish Kurd aliya fiasco". www.jpost.com. 7 December 2015.
  16. ^ Israel 365 News December 2,2021
  17. ^ 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])
  18. Hardback (xxii, 364 pp.), Jewish Identities in a Changing World, 9.
  19. ^ 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,
  20. ^ D. Mordixi Zakin, Culekekany Kurdistan, Erbil and Sulaimaniyya, 2015,
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ 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.

External links