AI en Translation, Pages 51-75
Page 51
Presidency of the Israelite Community
Basra
Basra 25 / 7 / 944
The required certificate
was sent in two copies
on 28 / 7 / 44 by mail
⟦illegible⟧
To the respected Mr. Salim Khabbaza
After greetings and respect.
I hope you are in good health and well-being. Enclosed is a copy of a birth
certificate for the lawyer Ibrahim Shaoul Bekki, Vice President of this
⟦Mosaic⟧ community and one of the members of the current General Council.
He has requested me to ask you to mediate with His Eminence
the Hakham Bashi, President of the esteemed Israelite Community in
Baghdad, to issue him a birth certificate printed on
stationery with the letterhead of the Israelite Community in Baghdad, considering
that his birth was in Baghdad, according to the census book
issued by the Basra Census Department under number 4995
and dated 16 / 1 / 1921, which we have indeed reviewed, because
he wishes to submit this certificate to the American Consulate. I have
enclosed a certificate from the Chief Rabbi in Basra confirming
The minimum requirement for the head of the family to return to his work
Number of killed, wounded, or captives and their identity
Note :-
If there are several families in the house, one of these forms is used for each family, and the forms for a single
house shall be sequential
Page 52
458
10/8/1947
The Honorable Professor Daoud Jeshayat, the respected
Secretary of the Israelite Community
Basra
Reference to your letter dated 7/25/1947 regarding your inquiry about the Real Estate
Rent Law and the Religious Courts Organization Law.
First - There is no explicit mention in the Real Estate Rent Law regarding its inclusion of
community endowments as well, and I personally do not believe it can include our endowments, as some
lawyers have supported me in this opinion.
Second - Attached herewith is a copy of the new Religious Courts Law No. (32) of the year
1947, noting that the General Council of the community held a meeting and prepared the list of nominations
stipulated in the eighth paragraph of Article Six on one hand, and on the
other hand, His Eminence the Head of the Community has formed a committee of four rabbis and two lawyers
for the purpose of codifying the rulings and jurisprudential rules in the Arabic language as required by Article Nineteen
of the aforementioned law. This is what has been done regarding the mentioned law so far.
I hope my explanations are sufficient for the purpose, and please accept my respects, with the request
to convey my greetings to His Eminence the Rabbi.
⟦illegible⟧
Sincerely,
⟦illegible⟧
Secretary
A.
⟦Communities in Iraq⟧
⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧
⟦...⟧ the aforementioned recently in Baghdad as you have learned, it is possible
to inquire about him in the mentioned members from His Eminence
the head of the Jewish community in Baghdad. I have also attached
herewith a copy of the ⟦file⟧ in addition to the mentioned
material. As for the mentioned activities, they require the passport
⟦illegible⟧ ⟦illegible⟧
I also hope to emphasize sending the required certificate at
its time to whoever requests it as such.
And please inform me if you have any studies
and amendments regarding the Endowment (Awqaf) Rent Law, and does it include
the community's endowments? And if not, and it is not so, is it in
your intention to coordinate to review the competent authorities regarding the inclusion of
the community's endowments? Please be so kind as to inform us of
your observations and suggestions related to the Jewish religious
provisions and the community.
In conclusion, my highest regards to His Eminence the Rabbi
and the members of the Council, as I also offer you my sincere greetings
and I pray for your success and prosperity. Sincerely yours,
⟦MB⟧
Page 53
Basra 15 / 10 / 47
My dear respected Professor Salim Khabbaza
Baghdad
After greetings and much respect.
I received with much gratitude your letter dated the 10th of this month along with your second letter
I have referred the first one to the leadership of the community and here I am sending you the certificate
required regarding the engagement contract of Nour Saleh Zulekha to Yusuf Sion. And I ask
forgiveness for its delay as I have resigned from the secretariat of
the community since the first of September 47 and I am now working at Khedouri
and Ezra Meir Levy Company Limited in Basra. Therefore I was not able to
send you the attached certificate quickly.
Please convey my best regards to His Eminence Rabbi Alwan
Khedouri. And I offer you my abundant greetings and respect and I pray
for your continued success.
Sincerely
Daoud Jalal Hasanat
⟦signature⟧
For filing
The Mosaic Community
Baghdad
20 / 10
Page 54
Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Number ⟦illegible⟧
Date 7 / 10 / 947
His Excellency, the Honorable District Governor of Samarra
After greetings and respect
I hope to request your Excellency to kindly provide your valuable assistance
regarding the prevention of encroachment by one of the neighbors on the synagogue (Torah) belonging
to the Jewish community in Samarra
Please accept my wishes to your Excellency for success and prosperity
Sincerely
⟦signature⟧
Head of the Community
For the file
The Iraqi Community
⟦signature⟧
⟦illegible⟧
Page 55
Administration of the Jewish Community
in Nasiriyah
Administration of the Jewish Community
in Nasiriyah
Nasiriyah, November 2, 1947
His Eminence Rabbi Sassoon Khedhouri, Respected President of the Jewish Community
Baghdad
Greetings and respect,
We request that you inform us how long Teacher Khudaira will remain in your service
until he obtains his certificate upon which he can be relied and his slaughtering can be eaten.
We also hope that the answer will not be vague, as we have seen the previous answer from
Loder Shaul to Teacher ⟦Al-Mousa⟧ Saleh in our area, in which he says - it is not known -
This answer means from two days to two years and more, and what has come to us now in his answer
is to know a limited time, even approximately, so that we can reach an agreement with someone else
for this period. We request to be informed of his answer upon which we can rely, as we
await your Excellency's reply as soon as possible. Please accept our respect.
Sincerely,
President of the Jewish Community
in Nasiriyah
⟦Khedhouri Mashi⟧
Address:-
Adib Khedhouri Mashi Baghdad
Presidency of the Jewish Community:
Baghdad:
Private Number: 442
Date: 5 / 11 / 1947
Page 56
11/⟦...⟧/1947
The Honorable Mr. Khedhouri Moshi Balbool, Respectfully
Head of the Jewish Community in Nasiriyah
After greetings,
Reference to your letter dated November 2, 1947.
I have learned from His Eminence Rabbi Daoud Ezra Musfi, Head of the Jewish
Slaughterhouse in Baghdad, that a Hanafi Muslim requires no less than three months
or more in order to obtain the certificate according to our law.
Please accept my respects,
Head of the Community
Copy
⟦To the Community⟧ in Iraq
⟦illegible⟧
Page 57
To His Eminence, the Head of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
After greetings and much respect
Some neighboring farmers had encroached upon the cemetery belonging
to the community in Erbil and set up their threshing floors on it. For our part, we were able
to obtain an administrative order from the Governor of the Province, and we removed them immediately
from the cemetery land by order of the Governor. Following that, they filed a lawsuit
with the Settlement Department and became our disputants over the land
claiming that the community had usurped the mentioned land from them
⟦noting that⟧ they do not possess a document proving their ownership
just as the community also does not possess a document for the land
other than long-term possession exceeding one hundred years
And now the matter is pending trial in the Land Settlement Department
of Erbil, and I am the person being sued in my capacity as
Head of the Jewish Community in Erbil. Since the matter
requires that I present an official power of attorney from the Presidency of
the Jewish Community in Baghdad for this purpose so that I may succeed
⟦in representing⟧ in the name of the community in Erbil, we hope that
you will kindly send the power of attorney from the headquarters of the Presidency of
the respected Jewish Community in Baghdad
And you shall consider me an agent for the properties
in Erbil so that I may be able to establish
This is for your sound judgment
Note: Please hasten the preparation
of this power of attorney so that it is not
Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Private Number ⟦...⟧
Date ⟦...⟧
Saleh ⟦...⟧
⟦...⟧
Page 58
Number: 74
Received: ⟦illegible⟧
Paid to: ⟦Sabih Yusuf⟧
Fils:
Dinar:
Affixed stamp duty (if mandatory):
Date: ⟦illegible⟧
This "letter" is a bundle or
"package" as the case requires
Baghdad ⟦illegible⟧
Erbil
Page 59
By Registered Mail
11/17/1947
The Honorable Mr. Saleh Yusuf Nuri, Respectfully
Representative of the Jewish Community in Erbil
After greetings,
With reference to your letter dated 11/12/1947 regarding providing you
with an official power of attorney so that you may litigate in the lawsuit filed against the Jewish
community in Erbil regarding the encroachment on the cemetery.
According to Regulation No. 34 of 1947, an amendment to the Jewish Community
Regulation No. 36 of 1931, the Erbil Governorate follows the jurisdiction of the Jewish
Community in Mosul; accordingly, the required power of attorney must be issued
by the Head of the Jewish Community in Mosul.
Please accept our respects;
Sincerely,
Head of the Community
M. A.
⟦illegible⟧
⟦For filing⟧
⟦illegible⟧
Page 60
His Excellency the President of the Jewish Community, Rabbi Sassoon Khedhouri, the respected
Baghdad
Greetings and respect
The bearer of this paper is named Rabbi Yusuf bin Barbania, a resident of
Rawanduz. His financial situation was very good, but time betrayed him and he became in a
pitiable state and does not possess a single penny. Therefore, I ask your Excellency to kindly provide him
with a paper that allows him to collect a sum from the rest of the provinces of Iraq, and by doing so you will do
a favor. May you remain for guidance and virtues for a long time, and may you remain successful.
President of the Jewish Community Administration Committee
in Kirkuk
Jewish Community Administration Committee in Kirkuk
Committee of the Hebrew Community in Kirkuk
23-11-47
And remain forever for good
⟦illegible⟧
Incomings and Requests
Page 61
Baghdad on 5 / 1 / 1948
To the President of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
Presented to your presence:
I am the teacher Salman Yaqub. I had moved from the town of Musayyib to the town of Baqubah
based on the desire of the Jewish committee in Baqubah and the desire of the teacher Yusuf Shmuel, whom
I replaced. I resided in the endowment house adjacent to the Torah (synagogue) designated for the residence of the
teacher's family and for teaching the Talmud Torah therein. This house contained only one room, so I was forced
to build an additional room that cost me twenty dinars, after the President's approval of that.
The President informed me, without warning, of the necessity to leave work and leave the house immediately, so I opposed
the President in that and asked her to grant me a period of time for the following reasons:
1- The approach of the winter season, as the cold and rain are at the doors, so it was difficult for me to move my family,
my pregnant wife, and my children numbering eight, to another place in such a season.
2- A long time has passed since the opening date of the schools, so it was very difficult to transfer them to other
schools after the study time had passed.
3- Houses in Baqubah are few and very expensive, so it was difficult to find a house to live in.
Accordingly, I requested from the President to grant me a short period to enable me to find a house and work in the President's community,
but she warned me through the notary public of the necessity to vacate the house immediately. She did not stop at that, but cut my
monthly salary amounting to twenty dinars. I was forced to move to Kirkuk, but I could not take my family
with me for the aforementioned reasons, and I was forced to put all the house furniture in one room; however,
I lost much of it and I still live outside Kirkuk because of that.
I demanded from the President in Baqubah my monthly salary first, and to give me the costs of the room I built at my own
expense second, but the President did not agree to the two requests, as she considered my salary as rent for the house. In addition to that,
she moved all my furniture located in the Torah (synagogue), and what remained of the utensils from this furniture was broken.
These actions are the ultimate treachery and aggression, as I am a poor person and I was treated by her
in the manner of humiliated school students. Therefore, I have come with this petition of mine asking you to do me justice
and take my rights from this President who decided to consume my labor for a month. It is not hidden from
your presence that living in these times is very expensive and matters are difficult, especially for poor heads of families like me.
I have come appealing to you to look at my case with an eye of sympathy and appreciation, and I inform you that I will be forced
to submit the case to the court if I do not obtain my rights. This is for your command.
⟦illegible stamp⟧
The Petitioner
Teacher Salman Yaqub
Page 63
It is true that the wise Isaac Habib is now in Baghdad and in his possession
is a marriage certificate from the year 5689 from the Rabbinate of Kirkuk and in his possession
is a judgment from the Rabbinical Court of Baghdad from the day 5 Adar 5698 confirming
his aforementioned marriage and in his possession is a confirmation from the local government
of Kirkuk confirming the aforementioned marriage certificate and in his possession also
is a birth certificate of his son (Isaac) from the government hospital
in Baghdad from the day 11 Adar 5698. Please confirm all of this
in your handwriting.
7.3.38
⟦illegible signature⟧
To be filed
The Mosaic Community
⟦illegible signature⟧
7/3/38
Page 64
2/ /1948
His Excellency the District Governor of Mandali, the respected
After greetings and respect
I present to your Excellency Mr. Gurji Ibrahim Sayegh, and
I have entrusted him with my fragrant greetings to you
Mr. Gurji is managing the affairs of the Jewish community
in the Mandali district, so I would be most grateful if your Excellency would be so kind as to provide the assistance
that he needs in managing the affairs of the community in your district.
With my thanks in advance, please accept the assurance of my highest respect;
Sincerely
Head of the Community
⟦Head⟧ of the ⟦Mosaic⟧ Community
⟦Head of the Community⟧
A
Page 65
⟦illegible⟧
No: 2
Number:
Outgoing Internal Telegram:
Inland Telegram "A":
Telegram Type:
Sent to:
Time:
Hour:
Minute:
Issuing Department:
Signature of Sending Official:
Administrative Instructions ::
Word Count:
Fee:
Post, Telegraph and Telephone Administration
Nothing is to be written by the sender above this line
Nothing to be written by sender : ⟦illegible⟧
To :-: Head of the Community
To: Mosul
The sender of the telegram must observe the three
conditions written on the back of this form
Tawfiq Abdullah Salman and his children died while fleeing from Basra and today
we received news of the completion of the burial of Rassam Salman in Bashura, Basra
Rabbi Sassoon Khedhouri
Not to be telegraphed
This telegram is sent according to conditions on reverse.
Name: Name Rabbi Sassoon Khedhouri
Signature: ⟦signature⟧
Signature:
Address: Head of the Jewish Community Baghdad
Address:
On the back of this form
Conditions for sending the telegram
Do not telegraph
For filing
Correct: Al-Kawafa
Page 66
Mr. Hayyim Ezra Agam
Baqubah
We confirm our previous letter regarding Salman Al-Shuhet, requesting a reply
Rabbi Sassoon Khedouri
Rabbi Sassoon Khedouri
President of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
⟦signature⟧
⟦illegible stamp⟧
Summary of the conditions under which internal telegrams are accepted
1 - This telegram is delivered in accordance with the internal telegraph regulations published in the Iraqi Post and Telegraph Guide.
2 - The Iraqi Post and Telegraph Administration shall not be responsible for compensation, error, loss, or damage that may occur to the telegram as a result of its closure, non-delivery, non-transmission, or loss.
3 - The sender of the telegram must write in the space provided on the left side of the address on the face of the form the indication under which he wishes to send the telegram, such as "Urgent" or that the fee for its reply is paid in advance. If the telegram is in the interest of the Iraqi government, the word (Official) is written.
4 - The Iraqi Post and Telegraph Administration has the right to refuse to accept the telegram, and it also has the right not to send it even if it has been registered, and in such a case, the fees paid shall be returned to the sender upon his submission of a request for that.
5 - Requests related to the recovery of fees and all complaints about telegrams are submitted to the General Directorate of Posts and Telegraphs in Baghdad.
6 - To prevent errors, this telegram should be written in clear and neat handwriting.
Conditions on which Inland Telegrams are accepted.
1 This telegram shall be forwarded in accordance with the Inland Telegraph Rules, published in the 'Iraq Post and Telegraph Guide.
2 The Administration of Posts and Telegraphs, 'Iraq, shall not be liable to make compensation for any delay, error, loss, injury or damage arising from omission, non-transmission or non-delivery of the telegram.
3 The sender may write the instructions in the space provided at the left side of the address, on the face of this form, such as Urgent, Reply Paid, or State of on 'Iraq Government Service.
4 The Administration of Posts and Telegraphs 'Iraq, may decline to accept the telegram. It may also decline to forward it although it has been booked. In such case the amount paid for transmission shall be refunded to the sender on application.
5 Complaints and applications for refund should be addressed to the Directorate of Posts and Telegraphs Baghdad.
6 To prevent mistakes this telegram must be legibly written.
Page 67
The Honorable Rabbi Sassoon Khedouri
Greetings and longings
I hope you are in good health, which I ⟦wish⟧ for your Excellency, hoping
I received your mail today, which included the letter of the teacher Abdiya Sassoon and Abida
And my request is to inform Lulu'a immediately and transfer them from Al-Dhakiya as of today
Corresponding to 29 - 2 - 48 and the letter of cancellation for teacher Sassoon and teacher ⟦Nazhat⟧
I hope you will take over the mission of Al-Dhakiya from today, and for this I have explained to your Excellency
the situation for information, and in this regard I thank you very much for
the valuable assistance that your Excellency provided towards me when my father was
in the hospital. May God increase people like you and grant you success in all your humanitarian goals
And may you remain successful
Sincerely
With the approval of the current administration
And the President ⟦Zaki⟧
And please accept my greetings
Presidency of the Israelite Community
Baghdad
No. P ⟦illegible⟧
Date ⟦illegible⟧ / ⟦illegible⟧ / 1948
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
They have returned our children to our schools
And now they ⟦are absent⟧
They must attend school
Page 68
Department Copy
69
3/8/1948
The Honorable Mr. Daniel Isaac Ephraim,
President of the Jewish Community Management Committee
Kirkuk
After greetings,
I have received with thanks your letter regarding the slaughterers Abdullah Salman and Abdullah
Mordechai and their suspension from slaughtering as of 2/29/1948.
I wish to inform you that the Jewish Spiritual Council in Baghdad
has decided to re-examine the aforementioned slaughterers and they will be allowed to continue
slaughtering if they demonstrate the necessary competence in the said examination, and we will
inform you of the result of the examination in due course.
Please accept my respect, with my wishes for your community's prosperity and happiness.
Sincerely,
⟦Sassoon⟧
Head of the Community
For filing
The Community and the Liwa
A.
Page 69
Department Copy
622
20 / 3 / 1948
The Honorable Mr. Daniel Isaac Ephraim,
President of the Administrative Committee of the Jewish Community
Kirkuk
Greetings,
Further to my letter No. 609 dated 8 / 3 / 1948 regarding
the slaughterers Abdullah Salman and Abdullah Mordechai.
The Spiritual Council has informed us that the aforementioned slaughterers have passed
the examination results, and therefore they can now practice their work with you.
The aforementioned slaughterers have promised the Spiritual Council not to
repeat what happened previously in the future, and therefore please consider assisting them
and paying their salaries for the period they spent in Baghdad for the purpose of taking the exam.
Please accept our respects;
Sincerely,
⟦Sassoon⟧
Head of the Community
For filing
The ⟦...⟧ Community
Page 70
⟦illegible⟧ 10 August 951
To the Honorable Committee of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
We received your letter dated 27/7/51 regarding the salaries of the teachers and employees in our school
And we hereby inform you that the salaries of the teachers and employees for the month of July 1951 were paid to them
from the community funds because we have no money left in the treasury and also the collection for the month of July was very small
Therefore we request your honor to send us the salary for the month of July 1951
in the amount of approximately 40 Dinars so that we can pay the salary for the month of August 1951
With great respect and thanks in advance
The Jewish Community Committee in Sulaymaniyah
Nissim Moalem
Committee Secretary
Ezra Isaac
Committee Member
Salim Hacham
Committee Member
Isaac
Nissim
Honorable
Hanoch
Baruch Sasson
Levi Hanoch
Zadok Menachem
Ezra Noni
For filing
The Mosaic Community
Number
131/8/304
The Honorable President of the Jewish Community
Mosul - Still in the safety of the Creator
Kind greetings
We hope that our letter No. ⟦304⟧ dated 8/6/1931 has reached you in due time
Accordingly, we hope you will kindly inform us of what has been done regarding
the religious school to state our viewpoint on how to manage it so that we can
based on our initial questions from you regarding the aforementioned institute
and the Rabbi Shimon institution to state our viewpoint on how to manage it so that we can
approve it, and accordingly, please provide us with the information at the earliest possible opportunity
Please accept our highest respect, and may you remain in God's care and protection
With highest respect
Sincerely
President
Schools Committee
To be filed
⟦16/8/31⟧
Page 71
Baqubah 7 - 3 / 48
His Eminence Rabbi Sassoon Khedhouri, President of the Jewish Community in Baghdad, the Respected
After kissing your noble hands
Your telegram arrived and we have been informed, and I ask for forgiveness for the delay in responding because I am busy
Sir, regarding Salman Shahit, the Jewish teacher who was with us in Baqubah, there remains
no claim for him against the community since he left us in Baqubah and has not worked
after that at all, and the amount he claims is false and he is not entitled to it from the community
due to bad character, to the point that we were forced to file a lawsuit against him in the region, but
out of concern for the reputation of the religion, we did not complain against him. One of his crimes is that he stole the telephone
and the reeds belonging to teacher Yusuf Juli and our companion specifically to teacher Yusuf Ghaiba Zanati
and the second is that for his own sake he went to the Consumption Department and agitated against the butcher, intending him
under the pretext that he was stealing fees from the Consumption Department
And there are many other issues that he committed against the community which I cannot clarify
in this letter, and God willing, on Tuesday, corresponding to 9 / 3, I will come for a humble visit
to your presence and present them to your eminence, and the protected [community] cannot help
such a person, and long live the seeker of truths
Adam Ayad
⟦illegible signature⟧
Ibrahim
Bazzaz
Abdullah Saleh
⟦illegible signature⟧
Salim Meir
⟦illegible signature⟧
Khedhouri Huki
Khedhouri Huki
Eliyahu Rahamin
⟦illegible signature⟧
⟦The humble Moshe⟧
⟦Abadi⟧
⟦S.T.⟧
For filing
Laws and Relations
Correct
Page 72
His Eminence, His Excellency Rabbi Sassoon Khedouri, President of the Israelite Community in Baghdad
Presented to your position: -
We, the undersigned Jews of the Ana district, whose majority profession is "coppersmithing"
Since this profession is not centered within the district, but rather outside the district
meaning in the desert, and on the occasion of the incidents of ⟦smuggling⟧ Palestine, the mobile police
in the desert prevent us from continuing our journey, but rather arrest us and send us
to the nearby authority office and accuse us of fleeing to
Palestine, whereas we are innocent of that, and we do not have, O Excellency
President of the Community, any profession other than that, as our remaining without work
leads us to the ruin of our families
We have submitted, Your Excellency, on this occasion several petitions to
the District Governor of the aforementioned district, who refers us to the Assistant Authority and the Assistant Police
Our petitions are set aside and not attended to, even though in these petitions
we provided a guarantor, yet they refused to certify such petitions.
Assaults also occur against us by school students inside the district, as they pelt us
with stones and insult us with bad words, while the government offices only
observe that and do nothing toward us. Therefore, we submit the matter to
Your Excellency to look into this so that the departments allow us to work outside the mentioned
district and maintain order in it. This is for Your Eminence to command, O respected
Excellency
29 / 2 / 948
Ezra Yusuf Maqbul Shalom Baruch Shalom Mu'allim Dawud Murad
Ezra Yusuf Maqbul Shalom ⟦Signature⟧ Mu'allim Dawud Murad
Maqbul Shalom Rahim Shalom Meir Ezra Aqeel
Maqbul Shalom Rahim Shalom Meir Ezra Aqeel
Bashir Al-Mushi Dawud Eliyahu Ezra Eliyahu Yusuf
Bashir Al-Mushi Dawud Eliyahu Ezra Eliyahu Yusuf
Bashir Mushi Isaac Abraham Abraham Dawud
Bashir Mushi Isaac Abraham Abraham Dawud
For filing
Stamps
⟦2 Lists⟧
Kingdom of Iraq
Revenue
20 Fils
Naji Kasha
⟦Signature⟧
Page 73
The Israeli Religious Court
Basra
Number ::
Date :: 12 / 2 / 48
To the Honorable Committee of the Jewish Community in Baghdad, may God protect it, Amen
Honorable and Exalted
The pleasant letter from the 17th of the past Shevat we received in its time, and in it was mentioned the matter of
the woman Mrs. Ruhama daughter of Salman son of Menachem son of Abraham son of Isaac son of Moses son of Abraham son of Isaac
whose name was mentioned as daughter of Salman son of Menachem and it is written there that she was daughter of Menachem son of Abraham son of Isaac
and we did not know the letter from the Community Committee of Baghdad and we sent according to the request of
the woman daughter of Ruhama daughter of Salman son of Menachem son of Abraham son of Isaac son of Moses son of Abraham son of Isaac
and this matter is of the family of Salman Menachem and the matter of Baghdad of Abraham son of Isaac
as we saw in our books of the year 1925 and we also sent in the name of Ruhama daughter of
Salman son of Menachem and this is the truth
The writer by order of the Committee
Moshe Levi
The President
Page 74
Presidency of the Jewish Community
Basra
Telephone Number 05-395
Number: -
Date: - February 17 / 1948
His Excellency the Respected President of the Jewish Community
Baghdad
Greetings and respect,
I enclose herewith the letter of His Eminence the Chief Rabbi in Basra; I request you kindly to review it
and guide us on what is done in similar occurrences in Baghdad; and whether your Excellency has made
efforts in matters such as those mentioned in the letter of His Eminence the Chief Rabbi, and is it possible for your Excellency
to contact the esteemed Ministry of Social Affairs to instruct the competent health authorities to bury
the deceased in the manner mentioned in the referred letter in the Jewish cemeteries or by burying them in
a special cemetery for the community located at a far distance from the hospital and inhabited areas, provided that we apply
the instructions of the Health Presidency if they request so.
In conclusion, please accept my deepest respect.
⟦Abdul Nabi⟧
President of the Jewish Community in Basra
Presidency of the Jewish Community: Baghdad
Incoming Number: 250
Date: 20 / 2 / 1948
Page 75
Presidency of the Jewish Community
Basra
Telephone Number 395 - 05
Number :-: 16
Date :-: 20 / 2 / 1948
Presidency of the Jewish Community
Baghdad
P.O. Box ⟦illegible⟧
Date 22 / 2 / 948
His Excellency, the Respected President of the Jewish Community
Baghdad
Greetings and respect
We contacted His Excellency the Governor of Basra Province in our letter dated 25 / 1 / 948 regarding supplying the community
with wheat for the purpose of grinding it and selling it to its members by the community before the arrival of Passover, but the response
of His Excellency came as a refusal in his letter numbered 808 and dated 17 / 2 / 948, referring to the letter of the Directorate
of General Local Products numbered 1357 and dated 10 / 2 / 948, stating that the supply request did not occur in
previous years, so the community must procure the quantity from the free market, while the fact is that the Governorate has supplied
the community throughout the past years. It is clear from the copy of its letter addressed to the Directorate of Local Products
in Basra numbered 1486 and dated 10 / 3 / 946, and a copy of it to the presidency of this community, that this
supply occurred and 30 tons of wheat were received after its prices were paid to the Basra Warehouse Directorate according to
the receipt numbered Volume 4918, Sequence 47, dated 7 / 4 / 946, and likewise this procedure was followed in
recent years, given that the Jewish bakers who are supplied with wheat or flour close their bakeries
during the seven days of the holiday, and since wheat is difficult to obtain from the supply department, naturally we are awaiting
the issuance of Your Excellency's order to take some measures in this regard.
We hope you will guide us on what was done there, and if it is not possible to benefit from the follow-up, then the community
will be forced to procure that quantity from the market.
This, and I hope for forgiveness for these disturbances, and please accept my utmost glorification and sincere respect, sir.
⟦handwritten signature⟧
Acting President of the Jewish Community in Basra