AI English Translation, Pages 176-200
Iraq
Ministry of Education
Directorate of Secondary Education
Please refer to the full number
Number 15/3 ⟦2958⟧
Date 6 Muharram 355
29 March 936
Subject ⟦line⟧
To the Presidency of the Jewish Community
Reference to your letter numbered 3653 and dated 25 March 936
We hope you note that the existing official schools are open to all communities
Furthermore, the Jewish students present in official schools in Baghdad reach one thousand
Therefore, we do not see any justification for opening official schools in addition to the existing ones as stated in paragraph
(1) of your aforementioned letter.
⟦signature⟧
On behalf of the Director General of Education
Presidency of the Jewish Community
Number 2844
Date ⟦...⟧
A. Q
Iraq
Ministry of Education
Directorate of Secondary Education
Please refer to the full number
Number 15/3 ⟦2958⟧
Date 6 Muharram 355
29 March 936
Subject ⟦line⟧
To the Presidency of the Jewish Community
Reference to your letter numbered 3653 and dated 25 March 936
We hope you note that the existing public schools are open to all communities
Also, the Jewish students present in public schools in Baghdad reach one thousand
Therefore, we do not see any justification for opening public schools in addition to the existing ones as stated in paragraph
(1) of your aforementioned letter
On behalf of the Director General of Education
Presidency of the Jewish Community
In Baghdad
Number ⟦2844⟧
Date ⟦...⟧
A. Q
June 2, 936
Directorate of General Education
We refer to your letter No. 3509/5/1 dated February 27, 936, addressed to the Directorate
of the Alliance, and to the letter from the Baghdad District Education Directorate to the directorates of both the Rachel
Shahmoon and Al-Wataniya schools, No. 16/6/2932 dated 2/29/936, in which you promised
the aforementioned schools to reconsider the issue of financial aid upon the arrival of the coming
year, as you were unable to consider it at the present time due to the lack of sufficient
allocations in the current year's budget.
There is no doubt that the esteemed Ministry of Education has been convinced of the fairness of the reasons presented by
the aforementioned schools to your Ministry on one hand, and on the other hand, has taken into account the considerations
in our letter No. 3653 dated March 25, 936, regarding the small total of grants provided
by your Ministry to our private schools, which does not exceed 210 Dinars annually, and that this
meager amount cannot have any impact in assisting schools whose number of students reaches
8,000 and whose total budgets for the year 35/936 reached (19,682 Dinars), of which the
Lay Council fund pays approximately half.
Added to all this is that the Lay Council, in view of the financial deficit existing in the
community fund, has not found anything to pay its employees, including teachers, for a period of three full
months, which led it to think about increasing communal taxes that burden the Israelite taxpayer
in addition to general taxes.
The great services provided by our private schools in assisting the education authorities
to spread education in the country are worthy of receiving attention and assistance from your
esteemed Ministry, especially at this time when it is difficult for the community administration to remedy the financial situation
it is suffering from.
Therefore, we have firm hope that Your Excellency will undertake to reconsider the issue of financial aid
provided by the Ministry to our schools, in view of the approaching submission of the esteemed Ministry of Education's budget.
With respect to Your Excellency.
L.H.
A.S.
Head of the Community
Original to the Minister of Education <del>⟦illegible⟧</del>
Copy to the Prime Minister
1. Nothing was mentioned about the <del>the</del> reasons that prompted the Ministry to liquidate the royal female teachers
of this grade, even though <del>the plans</del> most schools follow the Ministry of Education curriculum
and their level and success rate are not less than the <del>level</del> grade and success of the
official schools, as is established in the Examinations Department. <del>Rather</del> And if <del>we took</del> and we nominate <del>from</del> then what
<del>deserves</del> the percentage of appreciation <del>per hundred</del> for schools <del>for schools</del> of the same level as the sect's assessment compared to the schools
2. It is possible that the fewer students mentioned in the letter of the Directorate of Secondary
Education are <del>the number</del> those present in the Ras al-Qarya and
Hadiya <del>from</del> Salih schools, along with the amount in the rest of the official schools, except
that this number is very small if it is taken into account that the Muslims
or the official sect reach about a quarter of the capital's population, and that
the sect bears the costs of educating 8,000 students, and that in the capital
there are about 50 primary schools distributed across all neighborhoods
due to the difficulty of <del>reaching</del> moving young children from their neighborhoods
to places far from them. If it were not for the non-Muslim areas, there would be only
ten neighborhoods in the capital deprived of <del>official</del> official schools
except in the part inhabited by the Musawis. And <del>this</del> the continuation of
liquidating the royal female teachers on one hand, and the large number of students who
apply for admission to schools, will force the schools <del>to allocate</del>
<del>to accept teachers who graduated from the Teachers' Training College or high school</del>
His Excellency, the Most Honorable Prime Minister
Your Excellency,
We, the students who were previously accepted by the Ministry of Economy and Communications into the School of Engineering,
and whose acceptance was officially announced in the local newspapers, submit this petition to Your Excellency for your consideration
regarding the injustice that has recently befallen us.
We approached the school administration at the beginning of this month to start our studies, and at that time we were surprised
by news we never dreamed of. We were informed that the school could not accommodate more than thirty students,
so we were expelled from the school and returned to our homes desperate and miserable, completely ignorant of the reasons necessitating
our rejection after we had been finally accepted, especially since we saw the opposite of what we heard, as the school's inability to accommodate
more than thirty students, as claimed by the director, was not a real reason for our rejection, since we saw the school accepting
two new students, and its doors remain open to accept other students, even if their academic grades were much lower
than our grades recorded in the school administration's registers. What then is the reason, Your Excellency? Is it possible
for us to attribute this to the fact that we are Israelites, as all the rejected students are Jews without exception, and those
who were recently accepted are non-Jews? Or are we mistaken in this reasoning of ours, given that it contradicts the most important pillar
of our Basic Law, which is: There is no difference between Iraqis in rights before the law, even if they differ
in nationality, religion, and language (Article 6). We have consulted His Excellency the Minister of Economy and Communications, but we obtained
nothing. Therefore, we seek your mercy regarding this case of ours, so that you may lift the injustice that has befallen us, especially since it has become
difficult for us to resort to other schools given the time that has passed since their opening.
In view of what we know of Your Excellency's kindness and parental affection for those like us,
we have full hope that Your Excellency will look upon this plea of ours with eyes of mercy and compassion and decide our fate. To Your Excellency,
with highest respect.
12/10/1935
⟦illegible⟧
for those who do not hold a certificate and of course with less efficiency if it was
why was I forced into one of the schools where most of its classes contain a section
of 70 and 80 students, and we see no justification for what necessitates not
satisfying the inhabited areas in Al-Musawiya and applying the curriculum of the Ministry of Education
during the scheduled hours ⟦line⟧ for the creation
for the creation of official schools
<del>⟦illegible⟧</del>
<del>⟦illegible⟧</del>
We place before your kindness this vital issue, and it has a serious image
<del>⟦illegible⟧</del>
Ministry of Interior
General Police Directorate
Division
Telephone Number: 552 Baghdad
Baghdad on ⟦2 November 940⟧
Number 2040/⟦...⟧
To
The Honorable Head of the Jewish Community.
Baghdad.
Greetings.
Dr. Kalay Ali has claimed that the police had mistreated him while
he was detained, and since I intend to ascertain the truth of ⟦...⟧ I request you inform me of the names of relatives or
friends of the doctor in question who visited him in detention at the police station and those
who sent him his belongings by car to Fallujah after he left Baghdad so that I may proceed
with the investigation.
⟦Signature⟧
Major
Inspector General.
His Eminence the Head of the Community, Rabbi Sassoon Khedouri, met with His Excellency the Minister of Economy and Transportation, Muhammad Amin Zaki
Bey, on Wednesday morning, October 2, 1940, regarding what was stated in the petition submitted to His Excellency the Minister. He replied
denying that the Ministry had any involvement in the admission of 41 students who ⟦passed⟧ the previous exam, and added ⟦...⟧ of course, confirming that the successful candidates were
about 41 students, of whom 22 were selected because the class cannot accommodate more than this number. He also confirms that there was no involvement
of the influences mentioned by the students in removing the names of those eligible for the school; rather, this was done on a purely scientific basis. Given that he was
going to go himself in his car to the Mayor's office, he could send the sword to the student of the file issued in the department. As for the announcement
published in the newspapers, this does not change at all that reliance must be placed on the Ministry's decision, and students can, in case
they believe there is any transgression by the Director, appeal to the Governor.
As for the second part of the petition, the Minister completely denied that any other student had been accepted because of
the aforementioned Ministry decision.
When the case was presented again to the Director of Schools, he wanted to question students affiliated with the school to find out the truth, and through
His Eminence the President, regarding the case of the aforementioned group, which includes one of the students who signed the petition and
one of the school's students. From the latter's questioning regarding the work, he fully provided the Director's explanations and further clarified
that one of the students who had signed the petition claiming he was accepted after the Ministry's decision had actually been accepted into the Nursing School,
and the three others were only late in attending school due to the delay of their certificates in their province. Other than that, the rest mentioned
confirm the good treatment of the students by the school director.
2427
7 November 1935
To the Major Senior Inspector
In the Directorate of General Police - Baghdad
After greetings
Reference to your letter No. 235 dated 3 November 1935 ⟦...⟧
I have no knowledge of any visits by anyone to the doctor in custody. Based on a
telephone request from the doctor while he was in Ramadi, I sent him his belongings, including the passport and the money
owed to him by the school fund, in the company of the person named Isaac Sassoon Makhal and his brother (the latter being one
of the doctor's students) in a car transporting him to Al-Shalam, and that occurred after consulting the police.
For
On behalf of
Head of the Community
⟦24 September 1935⟧
2825
24 September 1936
Secret
⟦line⟧
His Excellency the Respected Minister of Interior
After greetings and respect, I submit to Your Excellency, attached to this letter, a copy
of the first issue of the magazine (Al-Raya) which was issued instead of (Al-Kifah), which was suspended
today (Thursday 8 Rajab 1355), drawing Your Excellency's attention to what appeared in various places
in it, and especially on pages 19 and 20 under the title (A Bit of History), which incites
feelings of hatred and animosity towards the Jews in Iraq in a manner that cannot be reconciled in any
way with the interest of the country.
On behalf of
The Head of the Community
2879
7 October 1936
His Excellency the Respected Minister of Interior
After greetings and respect, the General Council of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad, in its session held on 6 October 1936, instructed me to issue the
attached statement, in view of the reasons listed therein.
Therefore, I request Your Excellency to kindly issue the order to the Directorate of Propaganda
and Publication to publish it in the local newspapers.
With highest respect to Your Excellency,
On behalf of
The Head of the Community
Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone Number 531
Presidency of the Jewish Community * Baghdad
PRESIDENT
Of The Jewish Community - Baghdad
TELEPHONE NO. 531
Number :: 2879
Date :: October 7, 1936
Subject Summary ::
Declaration
In order to dispel the doubts and suspicions that have clung to minds regarding the Jews in
Iraq concerning the Zionist movement, and to reveal the pure truth, I saw it as
a duty to make the following declaration in the name of the Jewish community in Iraq:-
The Jewish community in Iraq absolutely has no connection of any kind
to the Zionist movement and has no involvement with its institutions, activities, or organizations at all,
nor does it provide assistance to this movement in any way, neither in Palestine nor
outside Palestine. Rather, the Jews in Iraq are Iraqis, intimately linked to the Iraqi
homeland, fully sharing with their Iraqi brothers in prosperity and adversity, feeling
what they feel, sharing their pains, and participating in their emotions.
Therefore, I have issued this declaration to clarify the truth.
⟦illegible⟧
President of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Statement
To dispel the doubts and suspicions that have stuck in people's minds towards the Israelites in
Iraq regarding the Zionist movement, and to reveal the pure truth, I saw it as
a duty to make the following statement on behalf of the Israelite community in Iraq: -
The Israelite community in Iraq absolutely has no connection
to the Zionist movement and has no involvement with its institutions, activities, or formations
at all, and does not provide assistance to this movement in any way, neither in Palestine
nor outside Palestine. Rather, the Israelites in Iraq are Iraqis who are
deeply connected to the Iraqi homeland and are full participants with their Iraqi brothers in prosperity
and adversity, feeling what they feel, sharing their pains, and participating in their emotions.
For this reason, I have issued this statement to clarify the truth.
⟦Ezra Khedouri⟧
Head of the Israelite Community
in Baghdad
The General Council of the Jewish Community in Baghdad, in its session
held on the date of 1936, has instructed the issuance of the enclosed statement
in view of the reasons contained therein. Therefore, I request Your Excellency to kindly
issue the order to the Directorate of Propaganda and Publication to publish it in the local newspapers.
With highest respect to Your Excellency;
Alwan
To dispel the doubts and suspicions that have ⟦stuck⟧ in minds towards the Israelites in Iraq
regarding the Zionist movement, and to reveal the pure truth, I saw it as a duty to make
the following statement on behalf of the Israelite community in Iraq -
The Israelite community in Iraq has absolutely no connection of any kind to the
Zionist movement and has no involvement in its institutions, activities, or formations ⟦at⟧ all, nor does it provide
assistance to this movement in any way, whether in Palestine or outside
Palestine. Rather, the Israelites in Iraq are Iraqis, deeply connected to the Iraqi
homeland, and fully sharing with their Iraqi brothers in prosperity and adversity,
feeling what they feel, sharing their pains, and participating in their emotions. For this reason,
I have issued this statement as a clarification of the truth.
Issue No. 223 of (Al-Sirat al-Mustaqim)
4052
6 December 1936
Secret
⟦line⟧
His Excellency the Respected Minister of Interior
Greetings and respect,
With reference to our oral conversation with Your Excellency, I submit herewith a copy
of issue No. 223 of Al-Sirat al-Mustaqim magazine, issued last Thursday,
and I wish to draw Your Excellency's attention to what was stated on pages
2, 5, 10, 21, and 24 thereof, marked in red.
With respect to Your Excellency;
⟦signature⟧
Head of the Community
Issue 224 of Al-Sirat al-Mustaqim
14 December 1936
20
Secret
His Excellency the Respected Minister of Interior
Further to our letter No. 4053 dated 8 / 12 / 936
I submit to Your Excellency herewith a copy of issue 224 of Al-Sirat al-Mustaqim magazine
Issued on 25 Ramadan 1355, drawing Your Excellency's attention to what appeared on pages
8, 12, 17, 21, and 23 thereof;
⟦illegible⟧
Head of the Community
⟦illegible⟧
4042
24/11/936
The Honorable Ministry of Education
Further to our numerous letters regarding the subject of financial aid provided by
your honorable ministry to our private schools, the last of which was our letter No. 3766 dated
June 20, 936, we hope to draw your attention to this matter once again.
In view of its importance to us, the matter of the Ministry of Education's aid to our schools, besides
the fact that it concerns us from a material standpoint due to the financial constraints of the community fund and its inability to nourish
these educational institutions, it concerns us even more from a moral standpoint because the reduction
of aid for some schools and its termination for others is a discouragement of the efforts exerted
by us in assisting the education authorities in spreading education in the country; these efforts
which we always hoped would receive all sympathy and encouragement from the honorable Ministry.
The total aid currently provided to our schools does not exceed 210
dinars paid to only three schools as follows: 85 dinars to the Rachel Shahmoon School,
85 to the National School, and 40 to the Masouda Salman School. These schools contain
only 1648 students, while the total number of our schools is 11, and they contain 8332
students (year 936/937).
The Jewish community incurs heavy expenses for the sake of spreading education, and these
expenses are collected from members of the community in the form of taxes. Nevertheless, the fund's revenues
have become insufficient, which recently forced the General Council to request a tax increase
to address the large deficit that has dominated the community fund for several years, a matter which
has always prevented the payment of teachers' salaries in a regular manner.
We reiterate our great hope that your ministry will reconsider the issue of financial aid
that it provides to our schools and raise it to an amount appropriate to the level of service
that our schools provide to public education.
On behalf of
The President of the Community
Note: We attach with this letter some brief information about our schools.
Iraq
Ministry of Education
Directorate of Primary Education
Number S / 97
Date 2 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1355
14 January 1937
⟦illegible stamp⟧
Subject: Jewish Religion Lessons
⟦line⟧
To the Presidency of the Jewish Community
The primary school curriculum text stipulates the allocation of seven hours in each class for teaching religion
And Article Six of the Primary Schools Regulation No. 19 of 1930 stipulated that the Arabic
language is the language of instruction in all official schools, and accordingly, and in the interest of educating school
students from the children of the Jewish community with religious culture, we hope that you will instruct those
clerics you rely upon to author books on the Jewish religion in the Arabic language
provided they are submitted to us for consideration for approval as stated in Article 14 of the same regulation
for teaching in official schools where the majority of students are Jewish. This is with the knowledge that
the Holy Torah is translated into the Arabic language and we will refuse the matter of its approval for the mentioned schools
rather, it was necessary to author them in the Arabic language considering that Arabic is the language of instruction and the
impermissibility of using any book not approved by the Ministry of Education. We hope you will kindly expedite the preparation of the
required books and submit them so that it will be possible to teach the Jewish religion in schools
where the majority of students are Jewish.
Director General of Education
A copy of it to: -
Directorate of the Baghdad Education Zone
Reference to its letter numbered S/ 477 and dated 19 / 12 / 1936
Iraq
Ministry of Education
Directorate of Primary Education
Secret
⟦line⟧
Please refer to the full number
Number ⟦line⟧
Date 2 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1355
14 January 1937
Subject: Israeli Religion Lessons.
To the Presidency of the Israeli Community
The text of the primary school curriculum stipulated the allocation of a few hours in each class for teaching
religion, and Article Six of the Primary Schools Regulation No. 19 of 1930 stipulated
that the Arabic language is the language of instruction in all official schools. Accordingly, and out of keenness
to educate school students from the members of the Israeli community with religious culture, we hope that -
you will instruct those spiritual leaders you rely on to author books on the Israeli religion in the Arabic
language, provided they are submitted to us for consideration for approval as stated in Article 14 of the same
regulation for teaching in official schools where the majority of students are Israelis. This is with
the knowledge that the Holy Torah is translated into the Arabic language and we will consider the matter of its approval -
for the aforementioned schools. Since it is necessary to apply the text of the regulation considering the Arabic language
as the language of instruction and the impermissibility of using any book not approved by the Ministry of Education, we kindly request
expediting the preparation and submission of the required books so that it will be possible to teach the Israeli -
religion in schools where the majority of students are Israelis.
⟦signature⟧
Director General of Education
A copy to -
Directorate of Baghdad Education Zone
Reference to its letter No. S/477 dated 12/19/1936.
Presidency of the Israeli Community
Special Number 2068
Date 25 / 1 / 937
P
2162
7 February 937
⟦Incoming⟧
Directorate of General Education
Reference to your letter numbered S/97 dated 24 January 937
The religious study for the children of this community in primary schools is limited
to the texts of various prayers and the reading of the Holy Bible, considering that parts
of it are also included in prayers at specific times and circumstances.
It is a requirement of the Israelite religion that all its worship rituals be performed
in the Hebrew language, and therefore the aforementioned subjects must be taught in this language.
We do not find a conflict between this and Article Eight of the Primary Schools Regulation
No. 19 of 1930. If you see something of that sort there, we hope that the
necessary measures will be taken to amend the article by adding the following phrase to it: "And it is permissible to teach
the Holy Books and teach prayers in the language in which worship is conducted."
⟦illegible⟧
Head of the Community
Incoming
<del>762 ⟦Research⟧ file</del>
Accounting Department for the Daily Press
762 on the second of July 36 and in letter 72 you sent us a link of such messages
We have investigated those mentioned by name in this book and from it it appears they did not receive what was said since
the institution absolutely does not have ⟦completely sufficient father⟧ and by the nature of its business requirements it is of the rank
these are in fact the profits of its business fall into ⟦nonsense⟧ and until these
years, the mentioned amounts are correct, that it is nothing but less than in reality that
• For example, these people have received the amounts from the hand of such-and-such company or have been sold, for example
And from the names and those before us, as for what they said we sell so-and-so, he may be sent a print of copies
For example, these so-and-so from a third gold lira that 0621 fils 21 in the mentioned entry
Accordingly, it is correct "perhaps there is a race for the mentioned amounts because we cannot at the time perform such
in the mentioned amounts and where ⟦it is followed⟧ the merit of our business and reached an innovative amount
Please
Accounting Department
Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone Number 531
Subject Summary ::
Number :: 2205
Date :: 8 March 937
For Filing
His Excellency the Respected Prime Minister
After greetings and respect
For a long time, we have been reviewing with the venerable Ministry of Education regarding the reconsideration
of the matter of financial aid granted to our private schools, but to no
avail.
We have repeatedly demanded our share of this aid according to the law of distributing
financial aid to private schools, but our request was unfortunately not taken into
consideration. On the contrary, the aid for some schools was reduced and cut off from Shamash School,
Albert Sassoon, and Nouriel School (for boys), and from Laura Kadoorie School and
Noom School (for girls), for no reason other than that these schools care about foreign languages
in addition to their care in implementing the education curricula and presenting a large number of
male and female students every year for the primary and intermediate study examinations.
Thus, this aid diminished little by little until it became in the
35 / 936 school year no more than 210 Dinars paid to three schools containing
approximately 1600 students, even though the total of our schools is 11 and they contain
approximately 8500 students. The last promise we received to increase the grants was in this
year, but the result was the opposite, as the grants were reduced once again and became
only 170 Dinars.
For example, the Rachel Shahmoon Jewish Primary School, which has a number of
605 students, now receives only 65 Dinars from the Ministry of Education, even though the scientific
education in it and the examination results were always the subject of admiration in the reports
Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone Number 531
Subject Summary:
Number:
Date:
( 2 )
inspectors of education, while there is a private primary school containing fewer pupils
than this number, yet it receives a larger share of assistance from the Ministry of Education.
Therefore, we saw fit to resort to Your Excellency in view of the importance of the subject to us,
for the matter of the Ministry of Education's assistance to our schools concerns us from a financial perspective
due to the narrowness of the community fund's finances, and concerns us more from a moral perspective, as
the reduction of assistance to some of our schools, its cutting off from others, and the non-implementation
of the promises given to us regarding its reconsideration is nothing but a discouragement of the efforts
exerted by us in assisting the government to spread education in the country, these
efforts which we always hoped would receive from the venerable Ministry the encouragement
it deserves.
⟦illegible⟧
President of the Community
Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone Number 531
Number :: 4206
Date :: 8 March 937
Subject Summary ::
His Excellency the Distinguished Prime Minister
Greetings and Respect
Last year, we requested the Honorable Ministry of Education to involve the students of
our two schools, Shamash and Albert Sassoon, in military training, just like their brothers, the students of
the official schools, but we have not succeeded in achieving our request until now. Our last letter in
this regard was on 20 November 936, and the Ministry's response to it was that it
would look into the matter when a sufficient number of trainers became available. Therefore, we have come to petition
Your Excellency to include our private schools in your kindness so that they are not deprived of these
valuable lessons that nurture the sense of patriotism and the qualities of manhood and sacrifice in the souls of
the students.
⟦Sassoon Khedhouri⟧
Head of the Community