Correspondence, Primarily Regarding the Jewish Hospital in Baghdad
View interactive document pageThese are documents from the Baghdadi Jewish Community. The majority of the documents relate to the Jewish Hospital in Baghdad but included are other correspondence within the community. It also includes a letter from a German Jewish Doctor from 1933 trying to move to Baghdad.
2502 30 December 933 ⟦30 December 933⟧ Ketubot Very Urgent To the Honorable Chairman of the Israeli Hospitals Committee After greetings and respect, I wish to confirm to you our urgent letter No. 2428 dated 26 November 933, in which we requested to be informed of the number of Ketubot and the amount of their revenues for the past year, without having received a response from you until now. With respect to you, On behalf of Head of the Community Head of the Community
204 - 4 5 Ramadan 352 and 21 December 933 His Excellency the Respected Minister of Interior After greetings and respect It is not hidden from Your Excellency that Meir Elias Hospital belonging to our community is in dire need of employing a specialist doctor in bladder diseases (urologist) And since obtaining such a doctor is very rare, and there happened to pass through the capital by chance the foreign doctor specializing in these diseases and in technical obstetrics, Meir Sakharovitch, who is a holder of a high diploma, and since Meir Elias Hospital has allocated a department for obstetrics and it is in need of a specialist doctor, we request Your Excellency to kindly grant permission for his employment in the aforementioned hospital in service of humanity. Provided that he does not practice his profession outside the hospital at all And to Your Excellency the highest respect and honor The Diploma ⟦For the pass⟧ On behalf of Head of the Community ⟦red mark⟧
Telephone No. 6 Jewish Hospitals Committee - Baghdad JEWISH HOSPITALS COMMITTEE (Meir Elias Hospital, Rimah Khedouri Eye Hospital & Dar-el-Shifa Pharmacy.) BAGHDAD. ⟦line⟧ Established 1884: No.: 90 Date: 5 December 1933 Subject: His Excellency the President of the Jewish Community, Respected After greetings. We inform your Excellency that the woman named Regina has repeatedly dared to address the employees of the Dar-el-Shifa Pharmacy with words of insult and cursing, and besides that, she has started coming to the hospital and acting recklessly toward all the employees in an inappropriate manner. Therefore, I have written this to request your Excellency to inform the Police Department of this and prevent her from repeating this in the future. With respect. Secretary ⟦signature⟧ President of the Hospitals Committee ⟦signature⟧ Presidency of the Jewish Community Private Number 1105 Date 7 / 12 / 933 To be registered first Filed 20/12/1933 With us
Telephone No. Jewish Hospital Company - Baghdad Telephone No. JEWISH HOSPITALS COMMITTEE ( Meir Elias Hospital, Rimah Khedouri Eyes Hospital & Dar-el-Shifa Pharmacy. ) BAGHDAD. Established 1884: No.: 94 Date: 22 December 933 Subject: His Excellency the President of the Jewish Community, Respected After greetings Reference to your letter numbered 2503 and dated 20 / 12 / 933 The number of examinations for the past year starting from April 33 until the end of March 933 is 390 in number, and the total revenue reached 824.114 Dinars With respect Secretary Ibrahim ⟦Nahoum⟧ Chairman of the Hospitals Committee To be registered and filed Presidency of the Jewish Community Baghdad Special Number 1144 Date 25 / 12 / 933
2012 x 2447 x December 19, 1933 Your acceptance as a physician in the community hospital To Dr. Meyer Iskharovich The respected specialist in bladder diseases (urologist) After greetings and respect, I would like to inform you that after we have reviewed the high certificates that you hold, which speak of your specialization in diseases that our country is still completely lacking in treating, we have become fully prepared to accept you as a physician in our Jewish community hospital in Baghdad if the government permits us to do so. With respect, ⟦signature⟧ Head of the Community x The number 2447 appeared in this letter by mistake 50
2570 1 January 934 To the honorable and distinguished Haim Effendi Nathaniel, After greetings and respect, I hope to remind you of what you promised in the oral conversation that took place between your Excellency and the members of the fundraising committee for the Meir Elias Hospital a few weeks ago. The hospital's need for spending at the present time to complete the building and pay the value of the surgical instruments that arrived recently, and our strong confidence in your sympathy for this charitable institution, all of this prompted us to write this memorandum, which we hope to receive a reply to at the earliest opportunity. I thank you in advance on behalf of the sick and the poor; may you remain a help to charitable institutions. Head of the Community ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ 50
c o c a 4 January 934 To the honorable and virtuous notable, Khedhouri Effendi Abboudi Zilkha, respected After greetings and respect, With great honor, I present to you with this letter a copy of the annual report recently issued by the Community Hospitals Committee, in which you will see the many reforms that have taken place in the Meir Elias Hospital and others intended to be completed quickly. These reforms, which include the appointment of specialist doctors and the construction of wards, maternity rooms, and operating theaters, and equipping them with modern technical means, have made the Hospitals Committee in dire need at the present time for the assistance of people of generosity and bounty known for their sympathy towards charitable institutions like yourselves. Our hope is very firm that you will not deprive this institution of your renowned generosity. I thank you in advance on behalf of the miserable patients; may you remain a support for charitable projects; ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ Head of the Community
Ministry of Interior Directorate of Public Health Baghdad - Iraq Number S 14245 Date 25 Rajab Year 1352 14 / 11 / 1933 Telegraphic Address: Public Health Telephone Number: 509 Baghdad To the Presidency of the Jewish Community in Baghdad. In response to your letter No. 3439 dated November 13, 933. Based on your request and the approval of the Ministry of Interior, we have agreed to register Dr. Sustman to practice his profession in Meir Elias Hospital only, and we have issued the necessary instructions accordingly to the Registration Department in this General Directorate. We also inform you that we will take the earliest opportunity to visit Meir Elias Hospital and observe its work and the reforms that you will be carrying out, for which the agreement was reached and the aforementioned hospital was allowed to employ the referred doctor. !! ⟦signature⟧ Director of Public Health. Presidency of the Jewish Community Baghdad Private Number 1172 Date 18 / 11 / 933 To be filed and referenced ⟦To be filed⟧ A. S.
Ministry of Interior Directorate of Public Health Baghdad - Iraq Telegraphic Address: Public Health Telephone Number: 509 Baghdad Ref No: ⟦14648⟧ Date: 13 Rajab Year 1352 1 / 11 / 1933 To the Presidency of the Jewish Community In Baghdad. In response to your letter No. 2390 dated October 22, 1933. This Directorate General has audited the regulations of Meir Elias Hospital established in the year 1929 and the proposed new staff for the mentioned hospital, and we list below our observations regarding each of them: 1 - Hospital Regulations: Article 1 - We suggest that the minimum and maximum number of beds prepared for admitting patients to the hospital be stated in this article. Article 8 - It is not explicit and unclear; therefore, we suggest deleting it from the regulations. Article 13 - We suggest adding the following sentence at the end of this article: "And possesses the scientific and moral qualifications, etc., that qualify him to manage the hospital." Article 19 - We believe that the distribution of technical work is the specialty of the doctor and not the manager. In any case, the doctor must approve what the manager decides in this regard, so we request adding the necessary phrase for that to the mentioned article. Article 24 - What is meant by the duty of visitors? Because it is more correct for visitors to maintain the hospital's order during their visits to the patients. Article 29 - Since the fees for treating the wealthy are taken by the doctor, he must also sign the revenue book to verify that they were received for treating patients he treated himself or under his direction. Article 36 - Upon appointing the hospital manager, the Directorate of Public Health must be notified so that it can contact him when necessary regarding the provisions of this article. General Observations: 1 - We draw the hospital administration's attention to the fact that the pharmacy records and its management will be in accordance with the provisions of the Iraqi Pharmacy Law. Since the pharmacy is exclusive to the hospital only, it is not permissible for it to prepare any treatment whatsoever for anyone other than the patients admitted to the hospital. ⟦illegible⟧ Full approval Approved ⟦illegible⟧ Approved Explicit. But do we have the right to stipulate the approval of the Director General considering that the hospital belongs to the responsible manager and he is the one responsible for the hospital, and since we ⟦illegible⟧ explicit. ⟦illegible⟧
- 2 - 2. We noticed that no mention was made in the section regarding financial matters in the bylaws about auditing the hospital's accounts. Since we believe that the hospital's accounts will be organized in special books and records, we see the necessity of auditing the accounts by an expert accountant at least once every three months, and the auditor shall submit a detailed report on any discrepancies he observes in the accounts. The auditor shall be sent by the sect's administration, and we prefer that he has no connection to the hospital administration. 3. We suggest that a special article be placed in the bylaws regarding the necessity of making the patients' food good and appropriate for the patient's health, provided that the matter of bringing food is under the supervision of the doctor. Thus, you will be able to include another article we suggest adding to the bylaws prohibiting the acceptance of food, whether cooked or uncooked, brought to patients in the hospital by their relatives in an absolute manner. 2 - Staffing: (a) We noticed that the dresser's salary was set at six dinars in the new staffing list, and we see that this salary is high compared to the salaries paid by the Iraqi Health Service to its dressers in Baghdad or in clinics abroad; therefore, we request a reconsideration of this salary. (b) We do not see a need to employ the two janitors for whom the appropriation was set at a salary of (3.750) dinars each, and we recommend removing them from the staffing list. One or two servants can be employed instead at a salary of (2) dinars each. (c) The servant's salary of (3.375) dinars is high, and we see that a salary of two dinars only per month would be sufficient. (d) Two guards were placed in the staffing list, one with a salary of (3.300) dinars and the second with a salary of (2.700) dinars. We suggest making the first one's salary three dinars and the second two dinars only per month. We hope you take our observations mentioned above into consideration, instruct their implementation, and inform us of the result. ⟦signature⟧ Director General of Health. Sent to ⟦illegible⟧ For observation ⟦illegible⟧ Upcoming accounts ⟦illegible⟧ 5 dinars Existing approval We do not see ⟦illegible⟧ Only it has importance ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ Reduced to 2 dinars 500 is reduced from the first and 700 The second on his salary A. S.
Meir Elias Hospital Regulations Article 1- The number of patients to be admitted to Meir Elias Hospital is determined by a special decision of the Committee. Article 2- The hospital's administrative functions are divided into three sections: technical matters, administrative matters, and financial matters. Article 3- Technical matters are managed by the doctors, each according to their specialization. At the end of each month, the doctors organize a report containing their observations regarding technical deficiencies they observe and proposing measures to be taken to complete those deficiencies. Article 4- Monitoring the work of pharmacists, male and female dressers, midwives, and nurses from a technical perspective, as well as their training and the division of their work, is the responsibility of the doctors who head them. Article 5- When admitting patients to the hospital, the patient's general condition is taken into consideration. When there is a shortage of vacant beds, preference is given to admitting patients whose lives are in greater danger than others and those who are poor and in greater need than others. Article 6- It is not permissible to admit patients suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis, cholera, plague, malignant skin diseases, diphtheria, and glanders to the hospital, nor patients suffering from chronic diseases whose treatment is technically impossible, such as chronic paralysis, chronic spinal lesions, and the like. Article 7- Patients suffering from a permanent disability may not be admitted on the basis of their disability, but they are admitted if they are suffering from acute accidental diseases of a limited duration. Article 8- It is not permissible to admit patients who can run and walk on foot and attend to their own needs, and for whom the occurrence of complications is a remote possibility. Article 9- The hospital doctor must take care to maintain the patient registration book, recording in the aforementioned book all the details required by it. Article 10- Patient progress sheets shall be under the supervision of the doctors and contain the necessary details. Article 11- Every patient who has achieved health that enables them to run and walk on foot and visit the doctor at his clinic, and who is safe from complications, shall be discharged from the hospital. Article 12- The chief physician has the right to monitor the work of administrative employees in general.
- 2 - Administrative Matters Article 13 — Administrative matters shall be carried out by whoever holds the title of "Responsible Manager" by a decision of the Committee. Article 14 — Administrative matters are divided into three sections: the first relates to the patients themselves, the second to the service, which includes the guard and the farmer, and the third relates to the management of movable and immovable property belonging to the hospital, including provisions, their preservation, and their distribution according to the orders of the doctor. It also includes the kitchen and its supplies, clothing, and all furniture belonging to the hospital. Article 15 — The manager must take care of the cleanliness of the patients in all respects, inspect their interactions with the service, listen to their complaints, and manage their living conditions. Article 16 — No patient is allowed to leave the hospital temporarily except with the doctor's permission. Article 17 — Visitors are accepted for patients from ten o'clock in the morning until one o'clock before sunset, only on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. This applies to poor patients; as for patients who pay daily fees, their visitors may be accepted at the aforementioned designated time every day of the week. Visitors may not be accepted on days and times other than those mentioned in this article. Article 18 — One of the patient's relatives may enter and stay at any time based on the doctor's indication to that effect. As for paying patients, no more than one permanent person is allowed to stay beside each one of them. Article 19 — The manager must oversee the cleanliness and purity of the service, their good conduct and treatment, and the division of their work. He may issue special instructions for the division of duties and their fair distribution among the employees under his management. He also issues instructions regarding the attendance of nurses in their duties and everything related to them from an administrative perspective — and he sends a copy of those instructions for approval by the Committee. Article 20 — The hospital must not remain any night without a responsible doctor and one of the nurses or orderlies. Article 21 — The hospital must not remain at any time without a responsible official. Article 22 — The manager must implement the arrangement he deems appropriate for serving patients at night.
⟦line⟧ 3 ⟦line⟧ Article 23 - Matters of cleanliness and purity of all hospital rooms and their belongings, and the preservation and maintenance of furniture from loss, and the organization of food distribution times, its proper cooking, and the verification of its quantity are entrusted to the Director. Article 24 - The Director must receive visitors and fulfill his duties toward them. Article 25 - The Director has the authority to apply fines to servants who neglect to perform their duties, however, he must inform the Committee of this at the first opportunity after imposing the fine. Article 26 - The Director must submit a monthly report to the Committee regarding the hospital's administrative affairs along with his personal observations. Article 27 - The responsible Director may delegate anyone he deems competent to handle administrative matters after obtaining the Committee's approval for that. Financial Matters Article 28 - No amount whatsoever may be spent from the hospital administration fund without permission or a decision from the Committee, except in exceptional cases determined by the Committee by decision. Article 29 - All money received in the name of the Hospitals Committee, whether it be allocations from the Spiritual Council or otherwise, and whether it be tips or hospital fees or others, is first received by the clerk, who issues a receipt for it, signs it, and delivers it to the payer of that money, and records that amount in the ledger according to the rules. Then he delivers the money collected by him weekly to the Treasurer of the Committee, and the latter also signs the second copy of the receipt as proof of his receipt of the amount from the clerk. Article 30 - The hospital director is given an advance of 25 Dinars to enable him to purchase the necessary daily requirements for the subsistence of patients only. Before this amount is exhausted, he submits the account for it according to the rules to the accountant, who certifies that the expenditure was carried out according to its rules, and submits the account to the Committee, which decides to give the Director an amount equal to the amount he spent and submitted the account for. ⟦Except for the case mentioned in the previous article⟧ Article 31 - / Permission is requested from the President to spend any amount up to four Dinars, and if the amount required to be spent exceeds four Dinars, a decision must be obtained from the Committee to spend it. Article 32 - Every amount exceeding one hundred Fils which is spent from the hospital administration fund must have a printed receipt taken for it from its recipient.
- 4 - Article 33 - The committee treasurer shall not pay any amount to any person without a transfer addressed to him from the President. Article 34 - All revenues, regardless of their types, shall be paid to the committee treasurer as stated in Article (29) of this regulation, and they may not be disposed of in any way whatsoever before being paid to the treasurer. Article 35 - A patient who pays the fee shall not be discharged from the hospital before the accountant signs his medical progress sheet confirming receipt of the fee. Miscellaneous Article 36 - Except for the responsible manager, no hospital employee whatsoever is permitted to communicate directly on matters relating to the hospital administration. Rather, all communications must be through the committee. ⟦line⟧
Directorate of Public Health In response to your letter No. S 12648 dated 11/22/34 We first thank you for your interest in the issue of Mar Elias Hospital and the matter of its renovation And we secondly state that the ⟦committee⟧ of the mentioned hospital management is very interested in carrying out the required repairs according to your wishes and instructions. And we ⟦saw⟧ it ⟦appropriate⟧ to present to your Excellency ⟦what⟧ we answer you regarding the noted points mentioned in your aforementioned letter. Article - 1 The maximum number of beds prepared for admitting patients in the hospital will be one hundred. Article - 8 It is intended that it is not permissible to admit ⟦free⟧ patients to the hospital if ⟦they were⟧ of the outpatient type, meaning they can visit the Dar Al-Shifa clinic for treatment. Article - 12 We agree to add the following sentence at the end of this article "And based on what the hospital management sees as interest and conviction" Article - 19 ⟦This⟧ article pertains to the distribution of administrative duties only. As for the distribution of medical duty, it is a matter entrusted to the doctor as stated clearly in Article 4 of the regulations. Article - 24 Visitors in this article refers to visitors who intend to visit the hospital to view it or inspect it, for example, and it does not pertain to the visiting of relatives or friends of patients by their relatives or friends. Article - 29 We agree to your proposal for this paragraph, and this paragraph becomes for example.
Announcement - 26 - <del>⟦illegible⟧</del> that the responsible director ⟦now⟧ is Doctor - Sushman as stated in your letter dated And when any change occurs, ⟦he⟧ is the one who will inform us about any And it must ⟦mention⟧ . General Notes . 1 - Agree to what was stated in your letter regarding the rights and this is according to what is followed now and will remain so . 2 - We have a special committee to audit the accounts of all institutions sectarian, including the hospital, and this is called the ⟦Committee⟧ of Audit Accounts" and it has a special system approved by the Community Council in the same ⟦requirement⟧ and none of the members of this committee has any relation to the hospital management. And this committee audits the accounts from time to time and submits its reports to the Community Council in all cases . The following article has been placed in the system Announcement 27 "The patients' food shall be good and appropriate for the health of the patient, provided that the matter of bringing and preparing it is under the supervision of the doctor. It is not permissible to accept food cooked or uncooked brought to patients in the hospital by their relatives in an absolute manner. " 3 - The Staff :
⟦E. S.⟧ Manasseh Esq. D'Almeida Street Singapore ~ R. M. Meyer Esq. c/o Meyer Brothers. Singapore. D. E. J. Abraham Esq. Peking Street. Shanghai. (China) N. E. B. Ezra Esq. 6 Pacific Gardens Shanghai (China)
General Appeal To the sons of the honorable Israelite community There is no one among the sons of the Israelite community in Iraq who has not heard the name of the hospital of the late Meir Elias, which was founded twenty-four years ago, and there is no one among them who does not testify to the services of this institution toward the poor sick throughout this period. As it is not hidden from our brothers, the aforementioned hospital has today become one of the hospitals of the old style and is in need of great and important technical improvements so that it may become a modern technical hospital providing the required services to both the rich and the poor. These improvements include the recruitment of highly qualified doctors and capable nurses, and modern and diverse medical instruments, starting from the sterilization machine which no hospital should be without, and the renewal of its building and its restoration, and the addition of some departments to it and its furnishing, and many other modern necessities. The committee has brought in a German operator, an examiner of internal and external diseases, and he has indeed arrived and been appointed to the position of responsible director of the hospital from both the administrative and technical aspects, staying there night and day. He has begun his work, assisted by a German nurse for the treatment of women's diseases. The committee has brought a large portion of the necessary surgical instruments for the hospital. The committee has built in the hospital a special place for the childbirth of the rich and the poor, and its other reforms are in full swing. Everyone can well appreciate that it is very difficult for the community fund to undertake the costs required by these important improvements, in view of the severe financial distress prevailing over it, the matter of which is known to all. Everyone agrees with us that the neglect of this hospital is not at all fitting for a large community like ours, nor does it agree with our great need for care for our health affairs, especially since its remaining in its current state targets heavy losses without returning any mentionable benefit to the community. The committee itself has exerted all its efforts to find a way to obtain the necessary funds for these projects, but its efforts have not borne fruit, unfortunately. After long discussion and deliberation that took place in the meetings it held with the members of the Lay Council and some of the community's notables, everyone agreed that in this situation nothing remains but to seek help from the zeal of the sons of the community who are known for their fervor and generosity, by their initiative to support charitable projects, especially important vital projects. It is our humanitarian duty, "O honorable brothers," which dictates that we contribute by providing the necessary help and assistance to organize this hospital and introduce the necessary improvements to it, so that the means of comfort are provided for the poor patients who are unable to pay for the treatment of diseases and pains. What we want to emphasize to the sons of our honorable community in this haste is that this required assistance is very necessary and urgent at the same time. You will soon see, God willing, the ripe fruit that will be produced by your assistance and your efforts in this charitable hospital. May God grant us and you success in deeds of righteousness and charity, and the Almighty does not waste the reward of a noble benefactor. The Israelite Hospitals Committee In Baghdad G. Al-Kuwayt Israelite Press * Baghdad
General Appeal To the sons of the honorable Israelite community ⟦v⟧ There is no one among the sons of the Israelite community in Iraq who has not heard the name of the hospital of the late Meir Elias, which was founded twenty-four years ago, and there is no one among them who does not witness the services of this institution toward the poor patients throughout this period. As it is not hidden from our sons, the aforementioned hospital has today become one of the hospitals of the old style, and it requires great and important technical improvements so that it becomes a modern technical hospital that provides the services required of it for the rich and the poor alike. These improvements include the employment of competent doctors and capable nurses, and many diverse medical instruments, including sterilization equipment which no hospital should be without, and renewal in its building and its restoration, and the addition of some new departments and their furnishing, and many other modern necessities. The committee has brought a German specialist who is expert in internal and external diseases, and he has actually arrived and been appointed to the position of director responsible for the hospital from both the administrative and technical aspects, and he stays in it night and day and has begun his work. A German specialist is assisting him in treating women's diseases, and the committee has brought a large portion of the necessary surgical instruments for the hospital. The committee has built in the hospital a special place for the births of the rich and the poor, and other reforms are in full swing. Everyone can well appreciate that it is very difficult for the community fund to undertake the costs required by these important improvements in view of the severe financial distress prevailing over it, the matter of which is known to all. Everyone agrees with us that the neglect of this hospital is not at all fitting for a large community like ours, nor does it agree with our great need for care for our health affairs, besides the fact that its remaining in its current state targets massive sums without returning any mentionable benefit to the community. The committee itself has exerted all its efforts to find a way to obtain the necessary sums for these projects, but its efforts have not borne fruit, unfortunately. After the long discussion and deliberation that took place in the meetings held with the members of the Lay Council and some notables of the community, everyone agreed that there remains no way in this case except to seek help from the zeal of the sons of the community who are known for their fervor and generosity, by their initiative to support charitable projects, especially the urgent vital projects. It is our humanitarian duty, O honorable brothers, which dictates that we contribute to providing the help and necessary assistance to organize this hospital and introduce the necessary improvements to it so that the means of comfort are facilitated for the poor patients who are unable to pay the fees for diseases and pains. What we want to emphasize to the sons of our honorable community in this brief note is that this requested assistance is very small and urgent at the same time. You will soon see, God willing, the ripe fruit that your assistance and efforts will produce in this charitable hospital. May God grant us and you success in deeds of righteousness and charity, and God, Glory be to Him, does not waste the reward of a generous benefactor. The Israelite Hospitals Committee in Baghdad ⟦illegible⟧ G. Al-Kuwait Israelite Press * Baghdad
Presidency of the Jewish Community Presidency of the Jewish Community - Baghdad PRESIDENT OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY - BAGHDAD Baghdad Number:: Date:: June 20, 94 Subject: NO:: DATE:: SUBJECT: The company in charge of the Ezra and Sofer building by the executive committee in the Holy City May the blessings of heaven from heaven come upon you, for the blessings of the righteous of the generations before us and the work of the hands of those appointed who deal with the needs of the public and who need the handiwork of those who deal with the needs of the public Those who deal with the needs of the public in faith, the Holy One, Blessed be He, shall pay their reward and heal their whole body and forgive all their iniquity and send blessing and success in the work of their hands with all Israel their brothers, Amen. And we hereby inform you that according to your honorable request sent to us in our last letter, and so that the joy and gladness of the poor and the needy who have now come from abroad to here may be increased. And since these poor people are without a table, we decided that all visitors and the poor receive a double portion on the Sabbath day from the hot meal, and so that each of them receives a large portion of the meat and also a loaf of bread for his relatives who cannot come. And so that the poor of our city will not feel a difference and discrimination because the poor of our city are decreasing and many of them, the honorable ones, will almost not receive from the enlarged portion and received a regular portion because the regular portion is sufficient for them, the regular poor, the regular ones, because the regular ones, the regular ones, the regular ones will receive their reward and will not be deprived of the regular portion. And may it be the will of the Creator, Blessed be He, that the portion will grant us that our lot be among those who merit from the holiness of the blessed heaven forever and ever, for your kindness, the managers and the directors and the assistants is always among the blessings of the community in the blessed Baghdad May He prolong your days and years Sasson Kadoori President of the Jewish Community - Baghdad Sasson Kadoori President of the Jewish Community in Baghdad SASSON KADOORI BAGHDAD 1933 PRESIDENT OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY William Abdullah Peace be upon Israel and upon Jerusalem In Baghdad 50
20 Adar 5695 L.H.V To the Honorable Religious Council of the Jewish Community in Baghdad, may God protect them Dear Honorable Gentlemen According to a contract dated June 10, 1933, I was appointed as the Director of the Community Hospital for a period of four years starting from September 15, 1933, at an annual salary of 580.000 Dinars plus an apartment and service at the hospital And after almost half of my work period has passed, and considering my immense efforts to raise the level of service in the hospital and its reorganization in a way that meets modern requirements, and considering the general economic situation and the high cost of living, I applied on 11/1/1935 to the Hospital Committee and requested to increase my salary starting from April 1, 1935. The Hospital Committee, in its meeting on February 16, 1935, decided to recommend to your honors to increase my salary starting from April 1, 1935 by the amount of 120.000 Dinars per year, so that my salary will be 700.000 Dinars per year instead of 580.000 Dinars per year. And on February 20, 1935, I received a notice from the Hospital Committee that its recommendation was forwarded to you for your approval. I am turning to you with a request to approve the recommendation of the Hospital Committee and to inform me as soon as possible so that I can continue my work with peace of mind and with dedication for the sake of this important institution. I thank you in advance for your prompt handling of this request and await your reply. With great respect and thanks in advance Dr. Isaac Cohen Dr. Isaac Cohen Director of the Community Hospital Copy To the Hospital Committee ⟦illegible stamp⟧
⟦2574⟧ 2 February 934 The Honorable and Distinguished Haim Effendi Nathaniel, Respectfully After greetings and respect I wrote to you on January 2, 934, reminding you of what you promised during the oral conversation that took place between you and the members of the fundraising committee for the hospital Meir Elias. I wish to emphasize to you the hospital's urgent need for your expected assistance, with the firm hope that I will receive your reply as soon as possible. With highest respect and thanks to you ⟦L.G.⟧ ⟦Sassoon⟧ Head of the Community P 0
Telephone No. ⟦line⟧ Founders of the Medical House Company - Baghdad ⟦line⟧ Telephone No. JEWISH HOSPITALS COMMITTEE ( Meir Elias Hospital, Rimah Khedouri Eyes Hospital & Dar-el-Shifa Pharmacy. ) BAGHDAD. Established 1884 No.: 104 Date: Baghdad, February 5, 1934 Subject: To:- His Excellency, the Respected President of the Jewish Community Baghdad. Subject: Subsidies and Donations. After greetings. Your Excellency is aware that the community's hospitals have reached a deplorable state of ruin and destruction, especially the Meir Elias Hospital. This situation has persisted for several years due to the financial distress strangling the Hospitals Committee, which has prevented the necessary repairs and renovations as required by other hospitals in the country. Your Excellency must have seen what the Directorate of General Health recommended in this regard, which is clear evidence of what we have mentioned. Therefore, the Committee found no choice but to extend its hand to charitable people, asking them to assist in this vital project. Some funds have been collected, and work has immediately begun on the necessary repairs and renovations. However, the amounts collected so far, and those likely to be collected from within the country, are not sufficient to cover the expenses required for the necessary renovations and repairs for this hospital. Accordingly, the Committee decided in its session held on February 1, 1934, to send letters requesting financial aid from Iraqis living abroad. Therefore, we hope you will order the writing as soon as possible to the persons whose names are listed in the attached list to donate what their hands can offer for this important vital project. With our deepest respect to Your Excellency. ⟦illegible⟧ Chairman of the Hospitals Committee Secretary
Telephone No. ⟦line⟧ Medical Institution Company - Baghdad ⟦line⟧ Telephone No. JEWISH HOSPITALS COMMITTEE (Meir Elias Hospital, Rimah Khedouri Eyes Hospital & Dar-el-Shifa Pharmacy.) BAGHDAD ⟦line⟧ Established 1884: No.: Date: Subject: Address request from Nasib Effendi Alexandria ⟦illegible⟧ Morning leave ⟦illegible⟧ 1 - Ezra Effendi Sassoon Ezra Sassoon 2 - Isaac Effendi Yehuda 3 - Yehuda Effendi Heskel Yehuda 4 - Benjamin Effendi Shlomo Shamash 5 - Joseph Effendi Smouha 6 - Moshe Effendi Sassoon Sahaiq 7 - Samuel Effendi Jacob Shashoua 8 - Saleh Effendi Elia Shahmoun 9 - Shaul Effendi Hakham Heskel 10 - Isaac and Habib Hakham Heskel 11 - Al-Sardar David Ezra Bahr 12 - Joseph Effendi Moshe Shasha 13 - Zion Effendi Eliahu Gurji 14 - Children of Abdullah Elias 15 - Gurji Effendi Shaul Shamash 16 - Farha Salman Sassoon 17 - Jacob Saleh Heskel (Address requested from Meir Effendi Nassim Hakkak) 18 - Some persons in Rangoon (their names and addresses are requested from Eliahu Effendi Habib Tawfiq) 19 - David Eliahu ⟦illegible⟧ 20 - Menashi Shehadeh Najib 21 - Hanina Sassoon ⟦illegible⟧ Permanent and peaceful Synagogues
8 March 1934 His Excellency the virtuous notable Shaul Effendi Hakham Heskel, the respected After greetings and honors You will find enclosed for Your Excellency two letters addressed to your respected brothers Isaac Effendi and Hayyim Effendi. We would be very grateful to Your Excellency if you would kindly deliver them to them, as we do not know their current residence. Furthermore, I hope to inform you that this administration has addressed similar letters to a number of Jewish notables residing outside Iraq, in which we requested them to extend a helping hand to the hospital, as Your Excellency will see from reading one of the two letters and the appeal attached to them. It is our hope that these notables will extend their hands with the required assistance. With highest respect to Your Excellency, and may you remain well. Harun President of the Community 5 - ⟦illegible⟧ President of the Jewish Community in Baghdad PRESIDENT ⟦JEWISH COMMUNITY⟧ BAGHDAD