AI English Translation, Pages 351-375
Ministry of Interior
Directorate of Public Health
Baghdad - Iraq
Number S - 22594
Date 6 / 9 / 1357 AH
30 / 10 / 1938 AD
11 / 1
Telegraphic Address: Saham
Telephone Number: 509 Baghdad
"Administration Division"
To the Presidency of the Jewish Community, Baghdad.
With reference to your letter numbered 5124 and dated 20 / 9 / 1938.
The Regulation for the Administration of Government Hospitals and Health Institutes No. (8) for the year
1933 authorized the exemption of poor patients admitted to the wards of government hospitals
only; therefore, there is no scope for accepting the certificate of the treating physician at Meir Elias Hospital stating
the poverty of the patients of the aforementioned hospital unless it is accompanied by a certificate of poverty from the Liwa Governorate or
the Secretariat of the Capital in accordance with the provisions of the regulation.
⟦signature⟧
Director of Public Health
Presidency of the Jewish Community
Baghdad
Private Number 7618
Date 8 / 11 / 938
F. M.
5187
8 November 938
Directorate of Meir Elias Hospital
Baghdad
We transmit to you below a copy of the letter from the Directorate of General Health No. S/2359 dated
1 / 11 / 938 for information;
⟦illegible⟧
Head of the Community
⟦line⟧
Directorate of General Health
Baghdad
(Copy)
Number S/2359
Date 1 / 11 / 938
To the Presidency of the Jewish Community, Baghdad.
With reference to your letter No. 5124 dated 20 / 9 / 938.
The Regulation for the Management of Government Hospitals and Health Institutes No. (8) of 1933 authorized
giving to poor patients admitted to government hospital wards only, and therefore there is no scope
for accepting the certificate of the treating physician at the Meir Elias Hospital of the community regarding the poverty of the patients
of the aforementioned hospital unless it is accompanied by a certificate of poverty from the Provincial Governorate or the Secretariat of the Capital
in accordance with the provisions of the regulation.
For / Director of General Health
True Copy
⟦signature⟧
Baghdad February 17,1939
The Chief-Rabbi
The Jewish Community
Baghdad
Your Eminence:
enclosed, we have the honour to send you copy
of a letter addressed to the Jewish Hospitals Committee
for the information of Your Eminence.
We remain
Yours Faithfully
⟦illegible signature⟧
⟦illegible signature⟧
⟦illegible signature⟧
⟦illegible signature⟧
17/2/1939
The Translation
To the Head of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
Your Eminence
We are honored to send a copy of our letter to the Jewish Hospitals Committee for your information
Hoping to remain faithful
Rosenfeld
Katz
Tohar
Sustman
For filing
Baghdad, February 17, 1939
824 / 803
19
9
The Jewish Hospitals Committee
Baghdad
Dear Sirs,
we regret to state that in spite of many oral demands
we have not been paid again for almost four months. Therefore we
beg to ask you to pay us immediately the total sum of the
arrears.
Owing to the serious and deplorable events of which the Com-
mittee is well aware we have to insist this time on full payment
without any delay. We have to send to our nearest relations regu-
lar financial supports for their living.
We are sure that the Committee will recognize the full impor-
tance of our request.
Yours faithfully
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
Dr. Postmann
⟦illegible⟧
Translation 2/17/1939
The Jewish Hospitals Committee in Baghdad
Gentlemen: Despite our many oral requests, we have unfortunately not received payment again for four months. Therefore, we ask you
to pay us immediately all the accumulated amounts due to us. In view of the sad events which are not hidden from the committee ⟦illegible⟧, we insist
under these circumstances on requesting payment of all claims without delay. We are obliged to send regular financial assistance
to our closest relatives to help them with their living expenses.
We are confident that the committee will appreciate the importance of this request of ours.
Faithfully yours,
Postmann, Ganz, Kotar, Roseno
Iraqi Government
Directorate of Baghdad Endowments
Properties Division:
Number: 824 / 802
Date / Dhu al-Hijjah /: 7 / 1359
/ February /: 9 / 1941
Telephone Number
486
Urgent
⟦line⟧
To the Head of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
We refer to the letter from the Baghdad Execution Presidency No. 37557 dated 1 / 12 /
936 addressed to you, a copy of which was sent to us, regarding the delivery of 18 Dinars and 777 Fils
adjudicated to the Endowments Department for the expenses of the Meir Elias Hospital lawsuit. We request
you inform us whether you have paid the aforementioned amount to the Execution Department as soon as
possible.
⟦signature⟧
Director of Baghdad Endowments Area
To be settled and filed
2/9
Presidency of the Jewish Community
Number 7685
Date 9 / 2 / 941
N 01 H
Baghdad, February 17, 1939
867 / 806
P /
P
The Jewish Hospital Committee
Baghdad
Dear Sirs,
We regret to state that in spite of many oral demands
we have not been paid since almost four months. Therefore we
beg to ask you to pay us immediately the total sum of the
arrears.
Owing to the serious and deplorable events of which the Com-
mittee is well aware we have to insist this time on full payment
without any delay. We have to send to our nearest relations regular
financial supports for their living.
We are sure that the Committee will recognize the full reper-
tance of our request.
Yours faithfully
⟦signature⟧
⟦signature⟧
⟦signature⟧
Number 537 / M
The Honorable Chairman of the Jewish Hospital Committee
In view of our lack of funds, we request you to kindly approve the payment of the amounts due to us from you for the past four months
so that we can send them to our families abroad. The financial situation and current circumstances necessitate that we demand
the payment of the mentioned amounts without any delay. We hope that you will not ignore this request of ours and agree to pay the amounts
due to us so that we can send them to our relatives abroad to enable them to live.
Thank you very much in advance, with highest respect.
17/2/1939
Signature
5254
14 March 939
Baghdad Awqaf Regional Directorate
Reference to your letter No. 834 / 803 dated 9 February 939
We had paid to the Execution Department the amount of four dinars and nine hundred fils only according to
Execution receipt No. 18666 dated 16 / 1 / 938 and this amount is all that we were required
to pay for the expenses of the Mir Elias Hospital lawsuit because the amount of 18 dinars and 777 fils
which the Execution Department demanded from us according to its letter No. 37557 dated 1 / 12 / 1936
was not correct and was corrected as a result of the review;
On behalf of
⟦signature⟧
Head of the Community
Salman Shina
Lawyer
Baghdad
⟦line⟧
On: 10 / 7
Year: 1939
My dear Salim Effendi
I have called you several times by telephone but did not find you, and now
I inform you about the Education case resolved by his grace, which is
that we paid the Execution Department the fee adjudged as a price
according to the notifications and the matter is concluded. This paid
fee is the previous legal fee for your attorney along with
the notification fee or stamp. As for the difference occurring between the
Awqaf Department and yourselves, it is that the mentioned department believes
it is entitled not to take the lawsuit fees that we paid,
and we argued that we were plaintiffs in the lawsuit
and when it was dismissed, the fee was gone for good and there is no
conviction. This is all, and may you remain for your sincere friend
⟦signature⟧
Secretary
Administration of the Israelite Community * Baghdad
⟦line⟧
My brother Salman Effendi
Fragrant greetings. The Execution Department had requested us to pay <del>18/777</del>
dinars for the expenses of the lawsuit formed between Meir Elias Hospital
and the Awqaf recently, according to its letter dated
924/585
12/1/926
At that time, we presented the mentioned letter to you, so you consulted the Execution
and corrected the amount from 18/777 to 4/900 dinars, which we paid
according to the attached receipt
And now the attached letter has come to us from the Awqaf
demanding from us the original amount of 18/777. Since I
want to answer them that we have settled the request, I wanted
to clarify from your presence the reason for the difference between the two amounts
Thank you
Sincerely
⟦signature⟧
The Secretary
2/9/1929
55 59
11 July 939
⟦illegible⟧
His Excellency the Respected Director of General Health
Regarding our consultation with your Excellency concerning the recruitment of Dr. Alfred Boris (from Budapest)
the radiology specialist, to be employed at Mar Elias Hospital, and after your review of the certificates
belonging to the aforementioned person and your approval to bring him and employ him in the hospital, we request your Excellency
to inform us of this approval in writing so that we may be able to bring him to Iraq. Respectfully yours;
Head of the Community
⟦illegible⟧
5220
August 20, 1939
His Excellency the Honorable Minister of Interior
Baghdad
After greetings and respect - we had consulted the Directorate of General Health regarding the recruitment of two foreigners
to replace Professor George Rosenow for internal diseases and Dr. Kanz for radiology, whose
term of service at Mir Elias Hospital has ended, and they granted us permission for that.
The prominent deficiency in the technical staff of the hospital, which contains 135 beds, is the absence of
a specialist doctor in obstetrics and gynecology, covering pre-natal and post-natal care, as well as
directly handling difficult births and performing cesarean sections and the like, which causes
losses in the lives of women and children at a high rate.
The female doctor currently performing the duties of obstetrics and gynecology does not hold a specialization in this
branch and does not have the required technical competence; it is intended for her to remain in the hospital to assist the
specialist doctor intended to be brought in to examine the women. Therefore, recruiting a foreign specialist
for this purpose is very necessary to avoid the damages resulting from the hospital remaining without one.
We beg Your Excellency's approval for this.
The second matter in which we seek Your Excellency's assistance is the recruitment of several capable foreign nurses
to organize the nursing process in the hospital. We have not succeeded in obtaining the necessary permission for that.
It is of utmost necessity, for example, to assign the head of nurses at Mir Elias Hospital to a foreign nurse with
experience, as is the case in the Royal Hospital in Baghdad. Also, nursing in the operating rooms requires
nurses with experience and practice, as the nurses currently occupying these positions find it difficult
even to know the names of the surgical instruments. Thus, the assistance that Your Excellency will graciously
provide us in this regard will have a great impact on upgrading the technical competence in this charitable hospital
established to serve the poor.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of our respect;
On behalf of
The Head of the Community
522
26 / 3 / 52
Financial Settlement Association for Employees
Baghdad
We hereby wish to inform you that we have withdrawn on the day of ⟦...⟧ of this month an amount of ⟦...⟧ Dinars
from your current account with us, in payment of the amount of the promissory note due from you on the mentioned date
which we had previously discounted for your account.
Accordingly, and pursuant to Article 561 of the Commercial Law, you have become indebted to us for the amount mentioned above
in addition to the discount expenses and legal interest accrued thereon starting from the maturity date of the promissory note
until the date of its actual payment. Therefore, please visit the Association to settle this account at the earliest
possible opportunity to avoid any legal measures that the Association may be forced to take in this regard.
Your failure to visit the Association within a maximum period of 7 days from the date of this letter will be considered a refusal
to pay, which will force us to take all necessary legal measures to collect the mentioned amount, its interest,
its expenses, lawsuit costs, and other fees. The Association has the right to seize your movable
and immovable property and place a seizure notice on your salaries and allowances at your official or semi-official departments
in accordance with the provisions of the law and the internal regulations of the Association.
We hope that you will not force us to take such measures and that you will initiate payment immediately.
Note: The Association has informed your department of the necessity to seize the amounts due from your salaries starting
from next month in case you do not visit us within the period mentioned above. We would also like to inform you that we
have issued a final warning in this regard to your guarantor, Mr. ⟦...⟧, for the purpose of urging you to pay
and to avoid the legal embarrassments that may result from that. The Association is very keen on the interest of
its employee members, but at the same time, it is obliged to preserve the Association's funds and the rights of its
contributing members. Therefore, we reiterate our request for the necessity of speeding up the settlement of this account to avoid any
legal measures that may harm your professional or personal interest. Thanking you for your kind cooperation and understanding of the matter.
Please accept our highest appreciation and respect.
On behalf of the Association's Business Liquidation Committee
A copy to:
Financial Liquidation Committee
5920
March 7, 939
Directorate of Travel, Residence and Nationality Baghdad
Since Meir Elias Hospital is in dire need of capable nurses, we have decided to bring in
the nurses whose names are listed below from Vienna to perform nursing duties in the aforementioned hospital.
We kindly request you to grant them the necessary permits to come to Iraq.
Miss. Doris Schulhof
Miss. Nelly Butzke
Miss. Boris Fischer
Miss. Elfe Heilig
c/o Rothschild Hospital (Rothschild-Spital)
Wahringer Gurtel 97
Vienna 18
On behalf of
Head of the Community
Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone No. 531
Number :: 5660
Date :: 30 August 1939
Subject ::
His Excellency the Minister of Interior, the Respected
Baghdad
After greetings and respect - we had consulted the Directorate of General Health regarding the recruitment of two foreigners
to replace Professor Georg Rosenow for internal diseases and Dr. Katz for radiology, whose
term of service at Meir Elias Hospital has ended, and they granted us permission for that.
The prominent deficiency in the technical staff of the hospital, which contains 135 beds, is the absence of
a specialist doctor in obstetrics and gynecology who handles pre-natal and post-natal cases, as well as
managing difficult births and performing cesarean sections and the like, which causes the occurrence of
losses in the lives of women and children at a high rate.
The female doctor who is currently performing the task of obstetrics and gynecology does not hold a specialization in this
branch and does not have the required technical competence, and it is intended for her to remain in the hospital to assist the
specialist doctor intended to be brought in to examine women. Therefore, the recruitment of a foreign specialist
for this purpose is very necessary to avoid the damages resulting from the hospital remaining without one.
We request from Your Excellency the approval for that.
The second matter in which we seek Your Excellency's assistance is the recruitment of a few capable foreign nurses
to organize the nursing process in the hospital. We have not succeeded in obtaining the necessary permission for that.
It is of utmost necessity, for example, to assign the head of nurses at Meir Elias Hospital to a foreign nurse with
experience, as is the case in the Royal Hospital in Baghdad. Also, nursing in the operating rooms requires
nurses with experience and practice, as the nurses who occupy these positions now find it difficult
even to know the names of surgical instruments. Thus, the assistance that Your Excellency will kindly
provide to us in this regard will have a great impact on upgrading the technical competence in this charitable hospital
established to serve the poor.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of our respect;
IRAQ POSTAGE
40 FILS
⟦signature⟧
President of the Community
To be filed
Urgent
⟦illegible⟧
Urgent
16 April 940
Secretariat of the Capital
Baghdad
The individual named Hawki Yusuf Ishaq, owner of the house numbered 43 - 137, has encroached upon
the shared wall between him and the house numbered 35 - 137 Tawrat, belonging to the endowments
of Meir Elias Hospital, as well as upon the endowment land. We request you to issue orders to stop the sale
regarding the construction of the partition wall between the two houses so that we may pursue legal channels to remove the encroachment.
⟦illegible⟧
Head of the Community
5912
9 April 940
Secretariat of the Capital
Baghdad
The Khan numbered 32 A - 242 Kawlat is part of the endowments of Meir Elias Hospital and has been prepared
for many years to shelter the poor for free, and on this basis, the Secretariat of the Capital has not
demanded guard fees for the aforementioned Khan since ancient times. But now, the collector has begun to follow up
demanding these fees. Since the Khan does not yield any revenue for the hospital as we have explained,
we request you to order the exemption of the hospital from paying guard fees for this Khan, which is used
as a shelter for the poor;
On behalf of
The Head of the Community
5824
19
7 February 940
His Excellency the Respected Mayor of the Capital
After greetings and respect,
With reference to your letter No. 196 dated 10 January 939 to the Director of Meir
Elias Hospital, which was referred to us.
Since the kitchen in question has been in its current location since ancient times and is an ordinary kitchen
like any other kitchen, and since the intention is to prevent the spread of smoke over the neighboring houses, we
have taken all possible measures to remove this harm by repairing and raising the chimney, and thus
the causes of complaint have actually ceased. In any case, we are ready to carry out any technical repair
that you may suggest to us.
With all respect to Your Excellency,
Sassoon
Head of the Community
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible blue stamp⟧
Based on the invitation addressed by the President of the Lay Council to the members of the Council and the Hospitals Committee, there attended at
the house on the evening of Sunday, February 18, 1940, Messrs. Eliyahu Hayyim ⟦Tweig⟧, ⟦Rashid⟧ Dangour, Ezra Elia,
and Salman Hakim. In the presence of His Eminence the Head of the Community, the letter of the Hospitals Committee dated January 7, 1940, was read.
A deliberation took place regarding it, and it was consequently decided to conduct a subscription drive for the amount of two thousand five hundred dinars through a
special committee, in order to alleviate the financial distress of the Hospitals Fund and the Community Fund, provided that its
proceeds are divided as follows: fifty percent to the Community Fund as additional income, and fifty percent to the
Hospitals Fund, to be taken by the Hospitals Committee from all amounts received according to ⟦the manner⟧ in the
subscription collection schedule, provided that these amounts are not counted as part of its allocations. Furthermore, if donors contribute amounts
during the subscription year, these donated amounts shall be divided in the same proportion and under the same conditions.
Khedouri
Ezra M. Da | Shua Samuel | ⟦Ibrahim⟧
Daoud | ⟦Ibrahim⟧
Filing
2/26
Baghdad
To the Chairman of the Committee for Jewish Hospitals, Meir Effendi Danon
The Respected
Greetings and respect, thereafter.
It is not hidden from you that an official who leaves his position, whether of his own accord
and especially in the manner in which I was removed, which I do not wish to repeat, the superior or the association must pay
the salaries of that official immediately; however, unfortunately ⟦nothing⟧ of this sort happened. Then, upon leaving the position,
I met His Eminence the Head of the Community, Rabbi Sassoon Khedhouri, inquiring for him to inform me on how to collect
my salaries. He answered me to write to the Chairman of the Committee, and indeed I submitted to you an official letter dated April 3,
940. At the same time and date, I submitted to you another private letter, requesting you to pay me my salaries. And since
my official letter mentioned the manner of my terrible separation, you summoned me to the office of the Community Presidency. After back and forth,
I found you disgusted by my official letter because I stated the truth. At that point, I tore up my official letter out of courtesy and settled
for my private letter and your promises to pay the following week. After this meeting, I received your letter dated April 8,
940, in which you thank me on behalf of the Committee for my work during the period I served, without mentioning anything
about the salaries. Then I waited for two weeks without seeing anything from you, so I was forced to send Ezra Menashi to ⟦your side⟧,
and it was on April 18, 940. The aforementioned informed me that the requirements would be sent to me on Sunday,
meaning April 21, 940, before the holiday. I waited for this period and more without seeing anything worth mentioning from you except
silence, until I was forced to send you another private letter dated May 8, 940, asking you to inform me
if it was not your intention to conclude this matter so that I do not repeat my demands for something useless. The
answer came to me via Ezra Menashi as well, that the requirements would be sent to us in the coming week. Then on May 19, ⟦94⟧,
I contacted you by telephone and your answer was "thank you, thank you." Now it has been about two months without me seeing anything from you except
stalling from one week to another. Therefore, I have come with this letter of mine, hoping that you will look closely at my letter and at the stalling
from one week to another. I also ask you to turn your attention to whether this treatment of yours is fitting for a person like me,
to treat him with this stalling. As if you were not satisfied with the treatment of my terrible departure, you began with promises from one day to another.
If you had informed me frankly that you cannot pay these salaries except after six months or a year or two years,
it would have been more honorable than promising me from one day to another, knocking on the door to no avail. If you looked closely at your letter dated
March 8, 938, signed under your signature, when I requested my resignation due to the salaries, you informed me that I should not take
your promises as procrastination and stalling, given the critical situation the hospitals are going through in terms of financial
distress, and you asked me to persevere in my work. Yielding to your wish, I persevered in my work, thinking that with the passage of time
this injustice and fate would disappear. However, unfortunately, the longer the time, the more the injustice increased until I am now owed
134 / 204 Dinars for a salary of approximately 14 months. In addition to my silence, I was removed in the manner that you
5981
24 June 1940
His Excellency the Director of General Health, Respected
The Mir Elias Hospital is in need of a specialist doctor in pediatrics. There is
currently in Baghdad the specialist doctor (Wilhelm Strauss) who was previously granted
a license by the health authorities to open a clinic in Kirkuk. We have reached an agreement with him as
follows:
1) The aforementioned doctor shall practice medicine at Mir Elias Hospital in the pediatric department.
2) He is not permitted to open a private clinic or partner with another doctor in a clinic outside
the hospital or in his residence.
3) The aforementioned person is permitted to visit patients in their homes only.
Please kindly issue the authorization for the mentioned doctor Wilhelm Strauss to practice medicine
at Mir Elias Hospital in accordance with what is stated above;
On behalf of
The Head of the Community
Ministry of Social Affairs
Directorate of Public Health
Baghdad - Iraq
Telegraphic Address: Sahham:
Telephone Number: 509 Baghdad:
Registration Department:
Reference No.: 14897
Date: 18 / 5 / 1359 AH
24 / 6 / 1940 AD
To the Presidency of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
Subject - Dr. Wilhelm Strauss
⟦line⟧
With reference to your letter No. 5981 dated June 24, 1940.
We approve the employment of Dr. Wilhelm Strauss, a specialist in pediatrics,
at Meir Elias Hospital in Baghdad according to the conditions set out in your letter referred to
above, provided that the aforementioned doctor is not allowed to visit patients in their homes
except for medical consultation only, by a written letter from the treating physician.
⟦signature⟧
Director of Public Health
Copy to the Presidency of Health of the Baghdad Province for information.
Copy to the Registration Department for notation.
Presidency of the Jewish Community
Reference No. 7654
Date 28 / 6 / 940
⟦signature⟧
Badi'
2004
2 July 940
His Excellency the Minister of Finance, the Respected
After greetings and respect
The Meir Elias Charitable Hospital was in dire need of a technical operating table and we have now
imported the required table from the ⟦illegible⟧ shop in America for the value of -/906
dollars (at a rate of 4/025 dollars per one dinar) for 225/105 dinars
And considering that Meir Elias Hospital is one of the charitable hospitals, we request Your Excellency to kindly
issue the decision to exempt this table from customs duties, and to Your Excellency all respect
Hilla
⟦Sassoon⟧
Head of the Community
2122
30 September 940
His Excellency the Minister of Social Affairs, the respected
After greetings and respect,
The Meir Elias Hospital is in dire need of a specialist doctor to manage the Roentgen
X-ray Institute, which has remained idle for some time due to the lack of a specialist to manage it.
We have previously consulted the Directorate of Public Health, and they authorized the recruitment of a doctor from abroad
for this purpose. We have now found the specialist doctor, Ibrahim Oppenheim, who is of German
nationality and has served at the American University of Beirut for eight years. The aforementioned
person is currently in Beirut, so please grant us the necessary authorization to bring him and appoint him
at Meir Elias Hospital. To Your Excellency, much gratitude and respect;
Sassoon
Head of the Community
⟦illegible circular stamp⟧
⟦illegible circular stamp⟧
⟦illegible handwritten note in Hebrew script⟧
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
With the help of Heaven, Zakho, 2nd of Tammuz 5694
To the excellence of the Rabbi, the Gaon, the Pious, Humble and Honored of God, the Jewish Community in Baghdad, may God protect it and establish it,
Great and fresh peace.
After asking of your excellence's welfare, to inform you that there came before us the wise, pious Mr. Shapir bin Shabbat,
And he is resting and old, a poor man and God-fearing who trusts in his Creator, and he is now [in] matters and secrets and desired
that we send him to Baghdad; here he did not find anyone to help him, and we thought in your spirit we did not leave him.
He stands here and every single day prays Mincha and Arvit with us, the honor of our Rock to protect all Israel.
Your good eye, behold he is a judge with us and not to tire and go, but as you see, and he has the merit of the blessing.
It was written for him, may God give him in the heart until here, for we left with us as dust and we wrote in his name here, eternal guardian.
The young Moshe
H. Ezra, may he live
The young Yosef
Amram HaLevi
The servant of God, Yitzhak ⟦...⟧
Tzadka, may his light shine
The servant of God, Avraham
Binyamin ⟦...⟧
The servant of God, Avraham
ben Shimon HaLevi
May he live
The servant of God, Yitzhak
Shlomo
The Righteous Court of the Congregation of Zakho, may God protect it
The Israelite Spiritual Presidency
Jewish Religious Court of Zakho
5694 1934
Ritual Slaughterer and Examiner of the city of Zakho, may God protect it
Teachers of the Jewish Slaughterers
in Zakho
Jewish Slaughterer Zaco
⟦...⟧ here Zakho, Mr. Shamash Hasin, may his light shine, and we sent
from us this letter here in which we heard that he is a God-fearing man, a master of good deeds.
In a place where there is no man, strive to be a man, and his merit shall protect us and all Israel, Amen.
The young
Avraham Shamash Varsh
The Jewish Community
In Amara
Number:
Date: 16 August 940
Subject: - A serious wound requiring surgical care in a
hurried manner before the opportunity is lost
His Eminence, the Head of the Jewish Community in Baghdad, the Respected
Greetings and respect
The bearer of this letter, named Yaqub Nassim Taqqu, is from the people of Amara and resides
in (⟦Duri⟧ Quarter). He has suffered a serious wound in his foot and requires surgical care, so please
order his admission to the late Meir Elias Hospital free of charge because the aforementioned is very poor
and has great merit over the people of Amara. This matter is very dangerous, so we request your Eminence to
take interest in his admission in an urgent manner. May you remain in respect.
On behalf of the Head of the Jewish Community in Amara
Doctor
Yaqub
JEWISH COMMUNITY
AMARA
The Jewish Community in Amara
⟦illegible⟧