Correspondence Between Jewish Community Committees, Iraqi Government, Baghdadi Schools
View interactive document pageThese are archival materials from the Baghdadi Jewish community. Contents and topics include: correspondence between the different community committees, the Iraqi government, schools in Baghdad, and the diaspora community – primarily the Jewish community in Shanghai, China. The Chief Rabbi receives a letter from the head of the American School for Boys in Baghdad rejecting a request for admitting a student on scholarship. There are letters about life insurance and insurance for the community as a whole. Other items include correspondence regarding travel to Iran; a chart with the names of Jewish schools and hospitals and their dates of establishment; a handwritten note requesting proof of service certification from the head of the Reemah Kadoorie Eye Hospital because of the financial hardship of the requester; and a letter from the President of the Jewish community in Baghdad congratulating a member of the Shanghai-Baghdadi diaspora community on receiving the “Order of the Brilliant Jade” award from the Chinese government.
2064 24/3/1932 His Excellency the Deputy Governor of Baghdad Province, Respected Reference to your letter No. 4491 dated 23/3/1932 Due to the scheduled date for the implementation of Article 52 of the Law of Provincial Administration for the year 1927 falling on Saturday, I hope to apologize for not attending at the appointed time - Please accept my highest respects ⟦Acting Hakham Bashi⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ Acting Chief Rabbi Sassoon
Mutasarrifate of Baghdad Liwa Editing Office Number 4491 Date 23 / 3 / 1932 To -- His Eminence the respected Judge of Baghdad " " the respected Ja'fari in Baghdad His Beatitude the respected Patriarchal Vicar of the Chaldean Community " " The respected Acting Hakham Bashi of the Jewish Community The respected Acting Spiritual Head of the Armenian Catholic Community " " " " " " Old " " ⟦His Excellency the Head of the Community⟧ of the Syriacs " " In implementation of the provisions of Article Fifty-Two of the Liwa Administration Law for the year / 927, we request your presence at the office of this Mutasarrifate next Saturday, corresponding to 26 / March / 932, at two o'clock in the afternoon for the purpose of nominating the required number for membership in the Administrative Council of this Liwa. Please accept my highest respects. ⟦signature⟧ Acting Mutasarrif of Baghdad Liwa A copy of it to -- Director of the Baghdad Land Registry Area? ⟦Requesting⟧ your presence at the appointed time. " " Liwa Accountant " " " " " " Liwa Editing Director " " " " Dated
2072 13/4/1932 His Excellency the Consul of the Supreme State of Iran, the Respected Greetings and respect, Rabbi Yosef Hakham Shalom Gabbai, the bearer of this letter, is a resident of Palestine and wishes to travel to Iran for financial matters. Please endorse his passport - and remain with respect. ⟦stamp⟧ Acting Chief Rabbi ⟦signature⟧
2082/2246 27 April 1933 Rent of the Community Administration House To the Chairman of the Property Tax Assessment Committee Baghdad Reference to your letter No. 19 dated 26/4/1933 The rent for the Jewish Community Administration House No. 16 - 118 is 97.500 Dinars annually ⟦On behalf of⟧ President of the Jewish Community ⟦For review⟧
Presidency of the Property Tax Assessment Committee Baghdad Number: 19 Date: 4 / 4 / 947 To the Director of the Jewish Community School Please inform us of the rental value of the house numbered ⟦118/22⟧ located in the neighborhood and alley of Al-Ma'ida which is currently occupied by you Chairman of the Property Tax Assessment Committee Baghdad ?
D 80 / 2223 6691 N for the year 76 Education Committee in the Jewish Community Check No. 12 for the expenses of Rima School Kadoorie 26 / 3 / 6691 and in Letter 91 of the Education Budget for the academic year 75 - 76 in the amount of 310 - 811 and recorded for the expenses of Rima School in the Jewish Community 80 The Education Committee received Check No. 12 ⟦illegible⟧
14 ⟦May⟧ 935 The Honorable Chairman of the Rima Khadoori Hospital Committee, the Honorable I hand over to you herewith the receipt for the amount I usually pay to the hospital, which is a quarter of a gold lira spent in exchange for the price of medicines that were dispensed to me and my family by whoever is sent by you to my house from time to time With highest respect I request your presence to kindly provide me with a certificate confirming my service at Rima Khadoori Hospital and my continuation in service as a clerk until today, and according to the letter of the Health and Municipality Department, it has been decided to cancel my right to treatment free of charge by the hospital at the present time And since I am in dire need of a surgical operation in my right eye as soon as possible Therefore, I request your presence to kindly assist me in this matter as you see fit so that I can consult the Health Department or the competent authorities for the purpose of obtaining the necessary treatment Knowing that I am in a very difficult financial situation at the present time and I do not have enough money to sustain my family This, and please accept my highest respect and appreciation Due to my difficult financial situation at the present time I ask you to kindly accept this request of mine, and to you many thanks and gratitude Sincere ⟦Salman⟧ Clerk At that time Lebanon Hospital Sanatorium Hamlin Doctor Ku⟦...⟧ Doctor ⟦...⟧ Sincere ⟦Salman⟧
To His Eminence, the Head of the Jewish Community in Baghdad, the Respected Greetings and respect, We, the undersigned (the heralds) who live from the blessing of children and women and praying for them, have been informed by the municipal official of the prohibition of practicing our work. It is not hidden from Your Eminence that our aforementioned work does not go beyond the circle of religious prayer and does not involve any medical treatment nor any fortune-telling, and we live on the simple tips provided by this work, and we do not go out to practice it outside the synagogues. Preventing us from it is a definite cutting off of our livelihoods and what causes the destruction of our children. We beg Your Eminence to mediate with the Mayoralty and clarify the truth to them because we, as is not hidden from Your Eminence, are of the spiritual class and do not perform any act that does not comply with religion. To Your Eminence, respect. | May 22, year 932 Yaakov Meir ⟦stamp⟧ | Shlomo ⟦...⟧ ⟦stamp⟧ | Avraham ⟦...⟧ ⟦stamp⟧ Yaqub Meir | Salman ⟦...⟧ | Ibrahim ⟦...⟧ Archived papers
Al-Istiqlal Newspaper Baghdad His Excellency the Head of the Jewish Community The Respected Blessed greetings .. and thereafter: I have ⟦been informed⟧ with great sorrow and regret of the death of one of the members of your community and your subjects ⟦who⟧ passed away ⟦yesterday⟧ night in one of the hospitals in the city of Baghdad. And since the deceased is from your community, this makes me turn to you and present the case to you. Which is that the ⟦family⟧ of the deceased, ⟦including⟧ his father: Have arrived, and you have learned of the death of ⟦the late⟧ ⟦Ezouri⟧ ⟦Isaac⟧, and the deceased is a stranger, in a place far from the cemetery designated for your community, and the family of the late man have rented in the neighborhood where the aforementioned cemetery is located. And we hope from your Excellency and your diligence that you would be so kind as to issue your high order to bury the body of the deceased in the cemetery grounds. This makes me grateful for your kindness, and I also attach herewith a paper ⟦no⟧ from the doctor with an obituary report to state the death In conclusion, please accept my highest regards Management of Al-Istiqlal Newspaper ⟦Owner⟧ ⟦and Dean⟧ ⟦of Al-Istiqlal⟧ ⟦Newspaper⟧ ⟦Qasim⟧ ⟦Al-Alawi⟧ 16
16 May 933 My dear Abdul Ghafour Effendi Greetings and blessings I received your letter today and I am very sorry to inform you that the resolution of this case is within the jurisdiction of the Spiritual Council of the Israelites, to whom I will present the matter and exert all my efforts in this regard On this occasion, I hope you will kindly consider this Presidency as a subscriber to one copy of your esteemed newspaper, so please instruct to send it regularly starting tomorrow, and remain with respect; Sincerely ⟦signature⟧ Head of the Community Portfolio papers
We, the undersigned, pledge that we will not place our hands on the head of anyone who comes to request a blessing (Ashra) before he presents to us a certificate from a doctor stating that he is not ill. May 14, 922 Abdullah Sassoon | Teacher Aziz Eliahou | Yousef Eliahou | Ibrahim Abdullah | Isaac Hakham Haroun ⟦illegible⟧ | Aziz Eliahou | ⟦illegible⟧ | ⟦illegible⟧ | ⟦illegible⟧ | ⟦illegible⟧ | ⟦illegible⟧ | ⟦illegible⟧ | ⟦circular seal⟧ Miscellaneous papers
2109 24 May 1933 The honorable and distinguished Hayyim Effendi Heskel Nathaniel, respected After greetings The bearer of this letter is Reuben Effendi Yehuda, the trustee of Al-Kifl, and he has approached us complaining of the distress prevailing over the finances of Al-Kifl. Considering that the revenues from the visit in the coming weeks are not expected to be good because most of the visitors are from the poor class, he requests that your honor mediate with the Railway Directorate to deduct five or ten fils from the price of each ticket of the visitors' travel tickets to Al-Kifl for the days of Monday and Tuesday, May 29 and 30 current, and what is collected from that shall return to Al-Kifl as revenue. Hoping that you will kindly assist him as much as possible, and remain with respect; ⟦flourish⟧ ⟦Sassoon⟧ Head of the Community 98
November 13, 1932 My dear Naji Chalabi, The bearer of this letter, Mrs. Meyer, is a holder of high degrees and has applied to this presidency regarding her employment in one of our female schools, but given that she arrived late, we were unable to benefit from her services due to the lack of a vacancy in the teaching positions in the aforementioned schools. Therefore, I hope you will kindly assist her as much as possible to register her among the teachers of the official female schools. Thank you. Sincerely, ⟦signature⟧ 98
2631 on 12 Thani ⟦61⟧ Honorable Chairman of the Al-Rawda Committee Based on the information that has reached us that your hand has received an amount of ⟦...⟧ from the tenant of an apartment located on the second floor of the Al-Rawda building for the months of July, August, September, and October according to its receipt dated November 25, ⟦61⟧, we ask you to provide us with the receipt of the aforementioned for this amount as it is recorded in our accounts for the purpose of investing it in covering the expenses of the schools and facilities associated with our aforementioned institution, and accordingly, it was necessary to inform you with our best regards ⟦On behalf of⟧ the Head of the Jewish Community in Baghdad And please accept ⟦Signature⟧ 82
To His Eminence, the Head of the Jewish Community in Baghdad, the Respected The petition - that our daughter Khatoun has been enticed by one of the Muslim youths and fled from our home, and has expressed her desire to convert to the Islamic religion, driven by the enticement of the young man named (Abdul Amir al-Hallaq) in Al-Abkhana Avenue. Since our girl has not reached fifteen years of age, as is established in the records of the Civil Status Department, and since changing religion requires that the girl be brought together with the Head of the Community and the Hakham Bashi as stipulated in Article 12 of the Civil Status Registration Law, and since the girl has not reached eighteen years of age, which is the age of legal majority, and therefore it is not legally valid to change her religion, we ask Your Eminence to mediate with the Iraqi government to return our daughter Khatoun to us, and the matter is yours. Ghazala daughter of Ibrahim Shaqou' The girl's father Khedhouri son of Menashi 11 February 925 98
Ruben Heskel Somekh RUBEN H. SOMEKH ⟦line⟧ 176 Baghdad 26 ⟦illegible⟧ 1922 To the honor of the dear ones The presence of the ministers and the honored ones ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ may God protect them After inquiring of your peace and your welfare as is fitting ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ from this letter that the dear ones ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ letter ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ The young ⟦illegible⟧ The humble servant ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦circular blue stamp⟧ Copy of the letter of Mr. ⟦illegible⟧ Mr. ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ 89
Receipt Fils Dinar 500 only half a dinar and no more I received from the administration of the community the amount noted above, only half a dinar as aid for the marriage of my daughter Ajmal Shamoun 22 / 7 / 9 ⟦fingerprint⟧ 88
2174 July 11, 1933 His Excellency the Vice President of the Lay Council, the respected I wish to draw your Excellency's attention to the text of Article Sixteen of the Community Regulation No. 36 of 1931 and remind you of the necessity to expedite the completion of the general budget for submission to the General Assembly. ⟦Sars⟧ Head of the Community. 98
With the help of the Name, may He be blessed. In the name of the Name we shall act and succeed. For the house of Israel, may He be blessed. ⟦illegible⟧ For David, for generation to generation Pure and clean! School of Midrash A' Nahor in Baghdad. Ohel Rachel ⟦illegible⟧ And Obeid Na'im, servant of the Lord in this good place, and here it was written concerning Their joy and their day and happiness in this, clean in his ⟦illegible⟧ to him honor and glory and this Good luck and great favor to him, may you be blessed forever and ever According to this to tell at the gate until here A'L and a beautiful voice and grace of a free bird With a psalm and song B' peace of the Lord forever and for eternity and peace For to the generation to him you shall be peace, division S"T 98
2178 22 Rabi' al-Awwal 1352 14 July 1933 His Excellency the Honorable Justice of the Peace of Baghdad Reference to the lawsuit numbered 33/3581 being heard by your honorable court I hope to inform you that the current President of the Lay Council in Baghdad is Gurji Effendi Abdullah Mukammal and the Vice President is Heskel Effendi Yaqub Murad. Due to the President's sick leave, the aforementioned Vice President is currently representing the Council in all administrative and financial matters and others as authorized for the Council under Article 7 of the Jewish Community Law No. 77 of 1931 With respect, ⟦signature⟧ Head of the Community Adel 98
2164 12 Rabi' al-Awwal 1352 and 4 July 1933 His Eminence, the learned scholar Sheikh Jawad al-Najafi, Sheikh al-Islam, may his virtue and status endure Amen Furthermore, we have received your noble letter dated 26 Safar 1352, and we have exerted the utmost effort to fulfill your request and find a position for the bearer of your message, Abdul Amir Effendi al-Haj Saeed However, to our great regret, we have not succeeded in that due to the lack of a vacant position; therefore, we apologize to your Eminence and wish you abundant goodness, and may you remain [in peace], Head of the Community Alwan 98
In the name of God, exalted is His status After offering what is befitting to your presence of service to God, His holy greatness is exalted, and human leadership, and making it such that it doubles with the doubling of ranks, the ranks of the prophets and the religion, our great master, the teacher ⟦Sulayman⟧ ⟦Sulayman⟧ ⟦Sulayman⟧, may his highness endure, Amen Peace be upon you, and we have Abdul Aziz, who is at the utmost ⟦master⟧ of individuals and children, that you be an intermediary for him in one of the Lebanese schools Lebanese, as he excels in Arabic calligraphy, the Arabic language, and the ⟦French⟧ language. Your servant Abdul Aziz Even morals, manners, and surroundings, teaching mediation from you in one of the Lebanese schools because he in the present neighborhood finds no one from you. Favor us so that we may mediate in this matter, so the hope from you is that you cast your eyes upon him regarding this matter and make us ⟦thereby⟧ grateful, and may you remain On 5 April 1351 The small servant to you Hussein ⟦Musa⟧ Al-Hanafi ⟦signature⟧ ⟦illegible scribbles⟧
First witness: Matta Sasson Cohen. Second witness: Yousef Aziz Leok Statement: We were present to watch the National Cinema play at the first screening on Friday night, Thursday evening June 15, 1922, and we watched the scenes shown before the play, and we did not see any ugly scene of a human being giving a speech or any scene related to the events that took place in Germany. Matta Sasson Cohen 20 / 6 / 22 ⟦signature⟧ 20 / 6 / 1922
20 / 6 / 133 The Honorable Gentlemen, Secretary of the Al-Sayz and Ra Club " " Laura Kadoorie " " Al-Rafidain After greetings, I would be most grateful if you would kindly attend the administration of the Jewish Community at five o'clock in the afternoon tomorrow (Wednesday the 21st of it) for consultation on some matters. With respect; President of the Community 89
2188 26 March 1933 Case of Ephraim Menashe Shakoori His Eminence, the respected Vice President of the Spiritual Court Please provide us with the decision taken by the esteemed Spiritual Court as a result of the lawsuit that was formed between the person named Ephraim Menashe Shakoori and his wife Serah Yaqub Ishaq approximately six years ago. ⟦For understanding⟧ On behalf of The Head of the Israelite Community 98