AI en Translation, Pages 51-75
Page 51
Subject: The Register
Number: 922
Date: 12/18/50
⟦illegible⟧
The rest of returning to religion and reviving its teachings
Alongside these efforts, official efforts have emerged,
even if they are not directly related to religion,
yet they connect to religion from other aspects.
Among these are some bodies affiliated with the
United Nations, such as the Economic and Social Council,
which recently held a meeting in Geneva.
One of the most important topics included in its agenda
was the study of the issue of forced labor.
This is a diabolical innovation invented by the Nazis
and inherited by the Communists.
Credit for raising this issue goes to the United Kingdom delegate,
who provided the Council with evidence supported by proofs
and reinforced by official documents regarding Russia's -
and communist countries' in general - degradation
in exploiting state rights to utilize what they termed
"Correctional Disciplinary Labor" as a means to punish
anyone they were angry with. What is this
"Correctional Disciplinary Labor" but hard labor in its
most hideous forms, devoid of the simplest rules
of humanity.
Communism realized from its inception
that a person's adherence to their religion creates many
difficulties and obstacles in the path it had drawn
for itself. Thus, its first concern was to resist
religious teachings and beliefs deeply rooted in the
souls of Russians. When it saw it was unable to do so,
it turned to arbitrariness and imposed the strictest
restrictions on religious bodies and organizations,
squeezing the performance of rituals into the narrowest
possible scope. It even resorted, in some regions of the
Soviet Union, to banning the performance of religious
rituals and closing mosques and churches.
However, it failed to do so in regions inhabited by
ancient tribes clinging to their beliefs and culture,
as happened in the republics and states inhabited by
Muslim Tatar, Mongol, and Turkmen tribes.
The people of these tribes are known for their strong
adherence to their religion.
Examples of the restrictions imposed by the government
of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
include what was stated in Article 353 of the
Code of Laws No. 35, issued in April 1929:
17 - Religious bodies and organizations are prohibited from:
(a) Collecting subscriptions for mutual aid, or establishing
cooperative funds, or forming producers' unions.
In general, they are prohibited from using any of their
property for purposes beyond essential religious needs.
(b) Providing their members with material assistance.
(c) Organizing special prayers, or meetings for children,
youth, or women; or organizing meetings, circles,
or classes to impart religious teachings through
reading religious or literary books, or during
vocational and professional training.
Similarly, it is prohibited to establish playgrounds,
children's play areas, open libraries, reading rooms,
or organize sanatoriums or medical aid. Books are not
permitted to be kept in buildings designated for prayer,
except those necessary for the performance of rituals.
18 - Teaching any religious doctrine is not permitted in
state, social, or private educational institutions.
Organizing spiritual studies may be permitted if approved
by the responsible authorities or the Central Executive
Committee in autonomous republics.
As the Russian authorities intensified their fever of exploiting
"Disciplinary Labor" - the name they usurped for forced
labor - to serve their economic and political purposes
until it became forced labor and slavery, they turned to
pouring their wrath upon the heads of followers of
faiths and religions. Article 122 of Chapter Four of the
Penal Code issued by the Minister of Justice of the
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic - in 1948 -
is an example to be followed by the rest of the
Soviet Union republics and communist states.
To be continued
"Two Arrows" Clocks
The famous German brand
Sealed, dust never enters
With two bells
German ⟦table⟧ clocks have arrived to us
Page 55
Date: December 29, 1927
His Excellency, the Respected President of the Bodily Council.
Greetings and respect, further to what I know of your Excellency's noble character and support for your employees,
it has encouraged me to write to your Excellency the following:
The respected Council entrusted me with the bookkeeping of the Midrash in exchange for a monthly allowance of forty rupees, and since a
person must protect his efforts from going without significant benefit, I submit this petition of mine, explaining to your Excellency
that the mentioned salary is not proportionate to the labor I exert in performing this duty, the duty of managing the bookkeeping of
the Midrash administration.
I wish to point out to the respected Council the ledgers that I must manage in the aforementioned school,
which are:
Draft ledger, daily ledger, general ledger of debts, debt ledger for Muslims, expenses and
revenues ledger, and the property ledger.
All of this demonstrates the importance of the bookkeeping that I am currently performing for an allocation of forty rupees,
while the clerk who was recording them previously used to receive a monthly salary of two hundred rupees.
I had sincerely hoped not to demand such an increase from your Excellency, but rather to leave that
to the estimation of my diligence over time; however, the financial hardship currently gripping us, especially as I am the head of a large family
as everyone knows, forced me to submit this petition, asking your Excellency to look into this matter
with favor, explaining to the venerable Council that the situation and the labor exerted merit an allocation that should not
be forty rupees.
I have firm hope that you and the honorable members of the Council will look upon my matter with kindness.
To your Excellency, my great thanks in advance,
and increased respect in any case.
Sincerely,
⟦Yosef Levi⟧
Page 56
The Israeli Corporeal Council
Accounting Department
828
1 - 4 - 28
Subject: Report on the request to transfer all promissory notes to the bank
His Excellency, the respected President of the Corporeal Council
Greetings and respect. In view of the necessity of conducting accounting affairs on a consistent and sound basis, I
suggest that all promissory notes belonging to the esteemed Council be transferred to the Imperial Bank, which manages our
daily accounts.
Since the administration's safe contains promissory notes from the revenues of the Nuriel endowments amounting to two thousand one hundred and forty
rupees (2140) and others belonging to the Council in the amount of three thousand five hundred rupees (3500), I request a decision be issued to transfer them
to the aforementioned bank.
With all respect to Your Excellency;
⟦signature⟧
S. D.
Page 58
Baghdad, June 21, 1928
His Excellency, the Esteemed President of the Spiritual Council
My Lord:
With love and honor for service under the management of your esteemed council, I had agreed at the time to the monthly
salary allocated to me, which is (80) Rupees, awaiting your grand appreciation for the efforts I demonstrate
in the transactions and duties placed upon my shoulders. Praise be to God, in the period of nearly a year of my service,
I believe I have gained your good satisfaction in all matters. The aforementioned position requires time
and continuous effort, namely: organizing ledgers and records, bank reconciliations in various matters,
and overseeing the collection of revenues for the Nuriel endowments and collecting them myself. The salary allocated to me
does not cover my many needs. No doubt, given the experience and appreciation I know your Excel⟦lency⟧ to possess,
you see it as disproportionate to the tasks entrusted to me, which I carry out as my job requires. Today,
I am in a situation that needs the extension of your noble sympathy toward me. Therefore, I submit this petition to you, requesting
careful consideration for an increase in my salary.
I have firm hope that you and the honorable council members will look upon my matter with an eye of kindness and
and to your lordships, my deepest thanks in advance
and further respect in any case.
My Lord
Sincerely
⟦Yosef Levi⟧
Page 59
28 June 1928
His Excellency, the President of the Honorable Corporal Council
After greetings and respect
On June 13, 1928, I received from the Assistant Director of Schools
attached to one of the following instructional lists:
• Mark it in your records regarding the termination of the position of Said Effendi, the teacher in schools, as of the end
of May 1928.
And we have performed as required the explanation in the special ledger according to these instructions
Then, on June 26, I received a second note and this is its text:
• Two days after I wrote to you regarding the interruption of Said Effendi's salary from the school, the
President of the Corporal Council summoned the aforementioned Said Effendi and ordered him to continue; for that reason I have written
this paper so that his name remains in the ledger as it was. Sincerely.
Therefore, it has become necessary that I inquire of Your Excellency regarding what must be done regarding this matter
And it is for Your Excellency to command,
Mahdi
The Accountant
⟦illegible⟧
Page 61
Continued
Statement of the contents of the safe of the Communal Council
Number |
1 | Receipt for 214/1 Rupee from the Director of the Alliance to the Communal Council regarding the rent of the shop located on Bank Street adjacent to the Al-Shatt Cafe from the Nuriel endowments
4 | Recent documents: lease contract for the two Al-Taawun khans numbered 152/154 to Abdul Razzaq al-Mulla ⟦Laqdo⟧ and a lease agreement for the khan numbered 158/158 to Ibrahim 112 Isaac Aboudi, and the current commitment paper for Al-Nayila along with the bidding paper
Baghdad July 22, 1929
Accountant
⟦signature⟧
Page 62
Bringing an Israeli Butcher
And Accusing Him of Selling Non-Kosher Meat
(The London Times Newspaper on 10/29/37)
Yesterday, the North London Police Court heard a case involving a Jewish butcher who sold meat that was found
not to have been slaughtered according to Jewish rituals and may not be called (Kosher)
Mrs. Esther Hockman, residing on Northwold Road, claimed that David Cohen, the butcher
on Cazenove Road, sold her a pound and a quarter of veal and two pounds of lamb, whereas
this meat was not of the requested type, but the defendant described it with false descriptions and tried to
obtain from her by fraud one shilling and five and a half pence. With the exception of the last charge,
the case was consistent with the Food and Drugs Act and the Trade Marks Act
Mr. Roland Oliver, the court counselor, said the case raises another question as to whether it is permissible for a butcher
from a legal and honesty point of view to sell as Kosher meat regular meat sold in Smith-
field, slaughtered in the ordinary way and not according to Israeli law
A Permit from a Deceased Rabbi
Evidence was presented that the defendant was not licensed by the Shechita Committee, but rather presented a permit ⟦...⟧
from Rabbi Joseph Shapotshnik, who was called the Chief Rabbi of the Association of Rabbis ⟦...⟧
at the court that it is a sham body.
Rabbi Harris Lazarus, a member of the religious court and a member of ⟦...⟧ said
Under Article 1 of the Slaughter of Animals Act: that the ⟦...⟧ body
authorized the right to grant permits to sell Kosher meat slaughtered for ⟦...⟧
the Israeli.
Rabbi Lazarus answered the cross-examination of Mr. ⟦...⟧
The literal [meaning] for the word Kosher is: "Consistent with the law" ⟦...⟧
It is said that the word Kosher means for ⟦...⟧ and ⟦...⟧
Rabbi Shapotshnik as a witness for ⟦...⟧
The defendant said in his state⟦ment...⟧
(The meat that was in ⟦...⟧
More than three days have passed since ⟦...⟧
And the judge Mr. R⟦...⟧ said
The ⟦...⟧
⟦London⟧
Page 63
( 2 )
The Case of Kosher Meat
Fining a Jewish Butcher
(From The Times, November 4, 1937)
Mr. Walter Hedley, the Magistrate in the capital, gave his decision yesterday at Clerkenwell Police Court
in the case of meat sold as kosher meat. The trial had been transferred from the
North London Police Court to be settled on certain legal points.
David Cohen, a butcher in Cazenove Road, was accused of selling veal and mutton as kosher meat
when it was found to be non-kosher and not slaughtered according to the rituals of Orthodox Jews.
Mr. Hedley said that Cohen was unable to obtain a license from the Shechita
Board, which is the body authorized to license and supervise slaughtering and the conditions of meat intended for consumption
by Jews in London. Therefore, he resorted to obtaining a license from Rabbi Shaposhnik to sell
meat that the aforementioned Rabbi said was kosher. The Magistrate said, "I am fully convinced
that Rabbi Shaposhnik has no followers among Orthodox Jews and that the defendant knows this,
and that he sold the meat as kosher intentionally, knowing that Orthodox Jews could not accept it."
Magistrate Mr. Hedley fined him on the charge of exploitation by fraud in the description of goods
the sum of 10 pounds and also ordered him to pay the sum of 4 pounds as damages. As for the charge of selling meat
not of the type requested, it was not considered separately.
⟦line⟧
D
Page 65
Names of the slaughterers authorized to slaughter by the Spiritual Council
Moshe Meir Elias | <del>Nunu Nassim</del>
Shaul Yehuda Shohet | Eliyahu Surani
Isaac Saleh Shammash | Daoud Salman Sabih
The Hacham Isaac Mukammal | Ezra Daoud Benhari
Saleh Shlomo Shohet | Daoud Hacham Sassoon Ishaq
Muslih Eliezer | Isaac Faraj
Ezra Isaac Mukammal | Shalom Moshe Rahim
Ezra Mordechai | Ezekiel Yosef Kirkukli
Abraham Ezra Ben Shalom | Isaac Eliyahu
Elisha Isaac Shohet | Yosef Shmouli
Moshe Hacham Sassoon Ishaq |
Yosef Hacham Nassim Levi |
Isaac Moshe Rahim |
Moshe Aaron Al-Sayegh |
Ezra Yehuda Shohet |
Levi Shalom |
Roniel Hankawi |
Moshe Sion Dafafa |
Yosef Al-Mansher |
Jacob Ben Yosef Naqqash |
Jacob Ezekiel Masfi |
Moshe Darwish |
Murad Batta |
Elisha Shohet |
Selim Mattam |
Mahdi Ezra Sion |
⟦...⟧ Hacham Eliyahu |
⟦...⟧ Hacham Ezra Bikhor |
⟦...⟧ Rahim Naqqar |
⟦...⟧ Ben Shalom |
Yosef Hayyim Moallem Ezra |
Murad Naqqar |
Daoud Salman Naqqar |
Saleh Khazam |
Page 66
Slaughtering sheep outside the slaughterhouses
Urgent
Secret
4598
October 29, 1937
His Excellency the Governor of Baghdad District, Respected
It is not hidden from your Excellency that slaughtering sheep outside the slaughterhouses is a matter
contrary to the laws in force due to its relation to public health and because it also leads to
the smuggling of municipal fees and the Fabella fees collected by the Community Administration
supported by law. Most of these smuggled sheep, if not
all of them, are pregnant ewes whose slaughter is prohibited by the government authorities
with the intention of profiting from the trade in unborn lamb skins.
And in view of the fact that slaughtering sheep outside the Jewish slaughterhouse with the intent of smuggling
the Fabella and trust fees and seizing unborn lamb skins has increased in recent
days to the point that it has become a threat to the depletion of the community's revenues, upon which
its many institutions of schools, hospitals, and charitable aids depend, I saw it as
my duty to draw your Excellency's attention to this to take decisive action to restrict the
hands of smugglers, an matter in which we expect your Excellency to cooperate with us with the
necessary assistance.
The proposals of this presidency which it offers in this regard can
be summarized as follows:-
1) The officials in the police stations and the guards should be alerted to the necessity of tightening supervision
over the houses and suspected persons permanently, given that slaughtering occurs at
different times of the night and day. Furthermore, we hope that the possible strictness be implemented
in the Sabaghia area because most slaughter incidents occur in the mentioned area.
2) The slaughterers authorized to slaughter by the Spiritual Council, whose
names are shown in the attached table, as well as the persons suspected of being
smugglers, should be bound by cash bails in which the guarantors pledge to pay the bail amount in case
the guaranteed person slaughters outside the slaughterhouse (except under the permit mentioned
⟦The President⟧
Page 67
Continuation
2
In the third paragraph) and these guarantees do not clear the guaranteed individuals from other
legal consequences that may be incurred against them under the
observed laws.
3) It is not permitted to slaughter vows outside the slaughterhouse except by virtue of a permit obtained
from the Head of the Sect. Any vow slaughtered without a permit is considered contraband
and what was stated in the previous paragraph shall be followed regarding it.
Sincerely,
On behalf of
The Head of the Sect
A copy to:
The Capital Secretariat, in view of its relevance to the matter regarding the smuggling of the
municipal fee and the damage to its finances
Directorate of Health <del>the Capital</del> Baghdad Province
as the matter pertains to it from the standpoint of public health
regarding the absence of veterinary inspection of
smuggled sheep and the failure to disinfect slaughter sites
from blood and the possibility of rot spreading to the outside
Page 70
Kingdom of Iraq
Ministry of Justice
Legal Codification
1/19/1/18
12/18/1937
Please refer to the number above
Head of the Community
December 21, 937
18 Shawwal 1356
December 21, 1937
The Respectable Presidency of the Ministry of Justice
Baghdad
Reference to your letter No. 1/19/1/18 dated November 22, 936
In view of the practical difficulties encountered in increasing the slaughter fees to 15 fils
per kilogram of Kosher meat, the General Council decided in its two meetings
No. 6 held on December 2 and 17, 937, to cancel this increase and reinstate the slaughter fee
⟦to what it was⟧, which is 10 fils per kilogram, starting from December 19, 937.
To settle the financial liability that arose as a result of this decision, the General Council has decided
to resort to opening a subscription for members of the Israelite community in Baghdad, and the necessary
formal measures will be taken to carry this out.
Head of the Community
⟦28⟧
Page 71
Iraqi Government
Ministry of Justice
Please refer to the general number
Section: ⟦...⟧
No: 18 / 1 / 19
Telegraph: Adliya
Date: 14 Dhu al-Qi'dah / 1356
Date: 16 January / 1938
Subject Summary: Reduction of Gabelle fees
To:-
Presidency of the Jewish Community
In Baghdad
With reference to the correspondence ending with your letter No. 4693 dated 3 / 1 / 1938
In view of the reasons you provided in your letter No. 4678 dated 21 / 12 / 1937
And to the decision taken by the ⟦Spiritual⟧ Council, we approve the reduction of the Gabelle fees
To (10) Fils per kilogram as it was before the increase.
⟦signature⟧
Minister of Justice
Presidency of the Jewish Community
Incoming No. 7748
Date 18 / 1 / 1938
S. M.
13
Page 73
The Chief Rabbi of the Holy Community
In Baghdad, may God protect it
Chief Rabbi of Baghdad Benjamin Hakham Moshi
CHIEF RABBI
BENJAMIN H. MOSHI
Baghdad
Number: <del>542</del>
Date: 22 / <del>December</del> / 97
Our honorable trustee Mr. A. Haskiel A. Ezra A. Nahum
Honor of our faithful A.
Following our previous letters dated 20/5/97 and 21/10/97 and 20/12/97
Those who were detained in the Hebrew School last Thursday in Baghdad during the day
22/8/97 for the sheep butchers in Baghdad on 20/11/97 and in Baghdad one and two
Individual and otherwise and all the amounts they paid
Under the supervision at the Hebrew School in Baghdad and all the amounts that
Individual and otherwise and all the amounts they paid and all the amounts that
⟦illegible⟧
A. Haskiel A. Ezra A. Nahum
⟦Ahmed⟧
Page 74
1 / 9 / 937
4528
To
Accountant of the Communal Council
I have received the sum of eight Dinars from the Spiritual Council regarding chicken slaughter tax revenues
to be recorded on the expense account from the aforementioned chicken slaughter tax revenues;
On behalf of
Head of the Community
⟦illegible⟧
Page 75
Rabbi Sassoon Khedouri
President of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
Number: 4269
Date: April 19, 1937
Telephone Number: 531
Names of the Butchers
Respected Gentlemen
Isaac Kahil ⟦line⟧
David Salman Aslan
Filfil ⟦line⟧ Sona
Ezra Abdul-Nabi
Shasha Murad Hakham Daoud
Jacob Kahil ⟦line⟧
Please be kind enough to attend the Community Administration at three o'clock in the afternoon
on the afternoon of next Wednesday, April 21, 1937. Thank you.
Sassoon Khedouri
President of the Community