AI English Translation, Pages 276-300
⟦illegible⟧
9
12 September 937
Urgent
His Excellency the Director General of Education, respected
Reference to your letter numbered 4869/3/25 dated 12 Muharram 356 and 25
March 937
We hope that the students of the Albert Sassoon and Shamash secondary schools will participate
in military training starting from the beginning of the next school year in accordance with what
was stated in your aforementioned letter, a copy of which we attach herewith;
On behalf of
The Head of the Community
10
5454
17 May 939
24
⟦To⟧ Directorate of General Education
Baghdad
Reference to the communication ending with your letter No. 4869/3/25 dated 12 Muharram
356 and 25 March 937 and a copy of it to the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers and the Directorate of Physical
Education
We request that you order the application of the Futuwwa and Scouting system to our private schools in pursuit of the lofty
goals it aims for and in implementation of the promises you made to us;
⟦illegible⟧
On behalf of
Head of the Community
11
5592
18 July 939
Directorate of General Education
Baghdad
Further to our letter No. 5454 dated 22 May 939
It is important to me to be informed of the final opinion of the esteemed Ministry of Education regarding my request
to apply the Futuwwa and Scouting system to our private schools, and therefore I repeat my request
mentioned in the hope that your answer will reach me soon;
On behalf of
Head of the Community
⟦illegible⟧
Comparison table of Ministry of Education grants
between the years 1920/21 and 1927/28
School | Year 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 | 24/25 | 25/26 | 26/27 | 27/28
| Dinar Fils | Dinar Fils | Dinar Fils | Dinar Fils | Dinar Fils | Dinar Fils | Dinar Fils | Dinar Fils
Al-Briskon | 120 - | 118 500 | 110 - | 110 - | 80 - | - | - | -
Laura Kadoorie | 120 - | 118 500 | 110 - | 110 - | 80 - | - | - | -
Nu'aim | 27 500 | 27 500 | 20 - | 20 - | 60 - | - | - | -
Nuriel | 22 500 | 22 500 | 20 - | 20 - | 20 - | - | - | -
Shamash | 75 - | 75 - | 70 - | 70 - | - | - | - | -
Albert Sassoon | 150 - | 148 500 | 145 - | 145 - | 60 - | 85 - | 65 - | 60 -
Al-Wataniya | 122 750 | 122 - | 120 - | 120 - | 110 - | 85 - | 65 - | 60 -
Madame Kadoorie | 45 - | 45 - | 45 - | 45 - | 40 - | 40 - | 40 - | 35 -
⟦illegible⟧ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -
Menashi Saleh | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -
Sadir Al-Dawash | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | -
Total | 692 750 | 688 500 | 650 - | 645 - | 450 - | 210 - | 170 - | 155 -
December 1, 1941
To His Excellency the Honorable Minister of Education
After greetings and respect.
1) The financial aid paid by your esteemed ministry to the private schools managed by
the community reached about 750 Dinars in the year 1930/31. Although this amount is not proportionate
to the budget of the community's schools, their level of success, and the number of their students, and despite our successive follow-ups
to confirm it and make it proportionate to the services provided by the community for the benefit of education in Iraq,
it began to decrease gradually until it reached 155 Dinars in the last year, distributed among the Rachel
Shahmoon School, the National School, and the Masouda Salman Primary School.
2) The community administration has made great sacrifices during recent years in order to advance
education and raise its level while following the curricula and teaching plans decided by the Ministry of Education.
It recently opened a preparatory school for boys and two intermediate schools, one for boys and another for girls.
It also replaced its teachers who did not meet the necessary conditions required by the General Schools Law
of the last year, and this cost it exorbitant expenses, whether as a result of doubling teachers' salaries or as a result of
giving compensation to teachers whose services were dispensed with after long service.
3) The efficiency of the schools in the community has increased to a degree that no fair person can deny, and the results
they produced. Below is the number of students who participated in the government general examinations for the last
academic year and their success rate:
Study Examination | Number of Examinees | Number of Successful | Success Percentage
Primary | 553 | 469 | 85.2
Intermediate | 178 | 165 | 93.4
Preparatory | 126 | 119 | 94.5
Total | 857 | 753 | 92.4
The eloquence of these figures spares us from commenting on them, just as the success rate in the years
that preceded this year was no less than them in terms of number and percentage.
— 2 —
4) The private schools managed by the community today have reached 14 schools, including preparatory, intermediate,
and primary schools. The total number of students is 8,785, and the number of teachers is 998, of whom 112 are degree
holders. The total annual budget is 27,500 Dinars, and the average cost per student is
3 Dinars annually. This is shown in detail below:
Number | School Level | Number of Students | Total | Total Budget | In Dinars
1 | Secondary | 565 | — | 175 | 735 | 4450
1 | Preparatory | — | — | 270 | 270 | 2450
1 | Intermediate | 75 | — | — | 75 | 750
3 | Intermediates containing primary classes | 1806 | 518 | — | 2324 | 8859
8 | Primaries | 5376 | — | — | 5376 | 11000
14 | Total | 7182 | 1153 | 445 | 8785 | 27550
5) The cost per student in primary schools is 2,055 Fils per year, in intermediate schools
about five Dinars, and in preparatory schools about nine Dinars. It seems to us that this
cost is much lower than the cost per student in official schools, whether in the capital or outside it. This
encourages us to say that the annual cost borne by the Ministry of Education, should it
manage these schools, would be many times the cost to the community. This, of course, does not accept any
comparison with the meager grant it receives, which does not exceed 21 Fils per student annually.
6) The main source of the community's income involves fees on basic needs of
foodstuffs, namely meat. These fees barely cover a portion of the needs, while increasing them
is not possible given the resistance of the residents, as happened on a previous occasion. This is in addition to the fact that such
an increase is considered reprehensible due to its bad impact on living conditions, especially in the current crisis, on
one hand, and on the other hand, because these fees affect the poor on a large scale. It is not possible
to create new fees, and the high fees charged by schools have reached a level where it is impossible
to consider revising them. This is in addition to the necessity of clothing the students who were afflicted in the recent
disaster, who have become in need of assistance, whether educational or personal.
7) The community has useful services and institutions such as hospitals, clinics, and others that share in
the revenues obtained by the community, whether from meat fees or from other miscellaneous revenues.
Despite the importance of the services provided by the mentioned institutions and their connection to society, they do not receive
3
except for a portion of the revenues obtained by the community, while the schools take the largest portion
of these revenues. In this regard, the education budget has diverted the community in
particular and Iraqi society in general from obtaining revenues to which they are more entitled.
8) The recent catastrophe that befell the community has created a class of citizens in the utmost misery
and distress, and these people do not look at the school as an educational institute only, but as a shelter for their youth
and a glimmer of hope for their future. Their number is not small, and it would not be in the interest to neglect their children
and leave them wandering in the alleys and begging in the public streets.
9) Based on the reasons mentioned, we specifically request consideration for settling the budget of the private schools
belonging to the Jewish community and increasing the grant that will be allocated to them by
the Ministry of Education in the current year's budget to a degree commensurate with its services and the expenses
it has incurred. By doing so, the esteemed Ministry will have extended a helping hand to the community administration
to enable it to carry out these arduous tasks in the present and the future.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of our highest respect;
Head of the Community
December 1, 1941
His Excellency the Minister of Education, the Respected
After greetings and respect,
1- The financial aid paid by your esteemed ministry to the private schools
managed by the community reached about 700 Dinars in the year 1930/31. Although this amount
is not proportionate to the budgets of the community's schools, their success rate, and the number of their students, and despite our
successive requests to increase it and make it commensurate with the services provided by the community for the benefit of education
in Iraq, it began to decrease gradually until it reached 155 Dinars in the last year, distributed among
Rachel Shahmoon School, the National School, and Masouda Salman Primary School.
2- The community administration has made great sacrifices during recent years for the sake of advancing
education and raising its level while following the curricula and teaching plans decided by the Ministry of Education. It
recently opened a preparatory school for boys and two intermediate schools, one for boys and another for girls. It
also replaced its teachers who did not meet the necessary conditions required by the recent General Education Law.
This cost it exorbitant expenses, whether as a result of doubling teachers' salaries or as a result of
giving compensation to teachers whose services were dispensed with after long service.
3- The efficiency of the schools in the community has increased to a degree that no fair person can deny, and the
efforts that created it must be appreciated. We have included in the attached table the number of students who participated in
the general examinations for the last academic year and their success rate. The eloquence of the listed figures
spares us from commenting on them, as the success rate in the years preceding this year was not less
than it in terms of number and percentage.
4- The private schools managed by the community today have reached 14 schools, including preparatory,
intermediate, and primary. The total number of their students is 8,780, the number of their teachers is 198, and the total of their annual
budgets is 27,500 Dinars. The average cost per student is three Dinars annually, as shown in detail
in the attached table.
5- The cost per student in primary schools ranges between 3,320 Fils and 1,716 Fils,
and in intermediate schools about six Dinars, and in preparatory schools about ⟦illegible⟧
- 2 -
It seems to us that this cost is much lower than the cost per student in public schools, whether in the capital
or outside it, which encourages us to say that the annual cost borne by the Ministry of Education
if it were to manage these schools itself might be several times the cost to the community, and of course
no ratio is comparable to the meager grant we receive, which does not exceed 21 fils per male or female student annually.
6 - The main source of the community's income involves fees on basic necessities
of food, which is meat. These fees barely meet a fraction of the need, while increasing this
is not possible given the resistance of the residents, as happened on a previous occasion. In addition, such an
increase is considered reprehensible given its bad impact on living conditions, especially in the current crisis, on the one
hand, and on the other hand because these fees include the poor on a wide scale. It is not possible to create
new fees, and the high tuition fees charged by schools have reached a level where it is impossible to think
of reconsidering them. This is in addition to the necessity of clothing the students who were afflicted in the recent disaster and who
now need assistance, whether school-related or personal.
7 - The community has useful services and institutions such as hospitals, clinics, and others that share in
the revenues obtained by the community, whether from meat fees or other miscellaneous revenues. Despite
the importance of the services provided by the mentioned institutions and their connection to society, they only receive a portion
of the revenues obtained by the community, while the schools take the largest portion of these revenues.
In this regard, the education budget has diverted the community in particular and Iraqi society in
general from obtaining revenues that they are more entitled to than others.
8 - The recent disaster that struck the community created a class of residents in extreme
misery and wretchedness, and these people do not look at the school as an educational institute only, but as a shelter for their upbringing and a glimmer
of hope for their future. Their number is not small, and it would not be in the interest to neglect their children and leave them wandering
in the alleys and begging in the public streets.
9 - In view of the reasons mentioned, we specifically request consideration of the issue of the budget for private schools
belonging to the Jewish community, and to increase the grant that the Ministry of Education will allocate to them
in the current year's budget to a degree commensurate with their work and the results they have achieved. By doing so,
the venerable Ministry will have extended a helping hand to the community administration to enable it to carry out its arduous work
in the present and the future.
Head of the Community
1492
18 Sha'ban 357
13 October 38
15
Private Office
Secret
Presidency of the Community
Number 7611
Date 29 / 10 / 938
To the Presidency of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
With reference to your letter numbered 5148 and dated 6 October 38 regarding
the complaint of Jewish students graduating from private schools about the delay
in considering their admission to official secondary and intermediate schools.
1)- We inform you that the admission of students to the aforementioned official schools is conducted
according to the following rule, which is the preference for students graduating from official schools,
followed in rank by graduates of private schools, then foreign schools, if vacancies exist.
2)- The budget of this Ministry cannot bear the opening of new secondary or intermediate schools
at the present time that would be sufficient to accommodate the increasing number of students year after year.
For this reason, it is impossible to accept all applicants, and this is not limited to Jewish students,
but includes children of all other communities, and we agree with you that Muslim students were accepted without
exception.
3)- The official statistics of this Ministry indicate that the number of male and female
Jewish students studying in our official intermediate and secondary schools
within Baghdad only is nearly (900) male and female students, meaning that the percentage of Jewish
students in Baghdad to the total number of students is (27.8%), and the statistics of
the Central Secondary School indicate that the percentage of Jewish students to others is (30%)
for the past academic year, this is in addition to the Jewish students studying
in official schools spread throughout the country.
4)- It is clear to you from the above that there is no injustice against Jewish students and no discrimination in
treatment, and that the Jewish community is in an enviable position due to its benefit from
the fair policy followed by the government in this regard, and we assure
you that the complaint that reached you from the Jewish students is an artificial complaint that does not stand
against the facts and figures that are beyond dispute. With our highest respect.
Minister of Education
4718
13 January 938
17
His Excellency the Director General of Education, Respected
Reference to your letter No. 476 dated 5 January 938
The community's finances have suffered a severe and unusual crisis as a result of the drop in the slaughter tax in
the past year from 20,000 Dinars to 15,000, and its allocation for the current year at a value of
approximately 12,000 Dinars, which has paralyzed the community's administration in all its aspects and due to
the delay in paying salaries in schools and other institutions for several months. Various measures have been taken
to address the situation, but the extent to which their success will reach is not yet clear.
There may be room for solid doubt regarding the ability of this community to bear the heavy
burden required by the administration of its schools, which accommodate 8,245 male and female students, in addition
to other institutions, if its financial situation continues at the low level it has been found in
from time to time until now, and the community does not receive sufficient assistance to run its administration.
It is directly related to this subject to refer to the correspondence that
took place between the community administration and your esteemed ministry regarding the grants allocated to private schools.
The situation you have observed provides sufficient evidence of the urgent need to make the grants
proportionate to the need and the public service provided by the schools, which are at this level
of expansion.
The grants used to amount to (693/750) Dinars in the year 931/30 and dropped
gradually until they became (155) Dinars in the year 938/37. At this rate,
each student receives from the government grants for the community schools an amount of eighteen fils
and eighty centimes annually. If the total budgets of our schools are no less than (19,000) Dinars,
it also appears that the total government assistance to us in this arduous task that we are performing
amounts to about eighty centimes per hundred ⟦i.e., less than one percent⟧ of the total expenses we must provide;
Please accept our highest respect.
Head of the Community
Number
Iraq
Ministry of Education
Date: 10 Rabi' al-Thani 1354 and 11 July 1935
Sh - Kh - - - S
His Excellency the President
I have read the letter from the head of the Jewish community addressed to Your Excellency, which Your Excellency kindly requested my observations
on its contents, and I state the following:
1) The Ministry of Education's policy toward private schools has not changed from the past; it still requires
private schools to pay attention to the Arabic language and the history of the country, and it monitors the movements of teachers who spread harmful
propaganda and works to remove them. Perhaps the Ministry's strictness this year in this monitoring and its cooperation with
the police in removing some teachers who are not citizens of this country and whose dissemination of Zionist propaganda
among the youth of this country has been proven, is a cause for complaint. The Ministry, in cooperation with the police, has indeed discovered this year
some instigators in certain schools that serve as centers for Zionist propaganda and has already worked to purge them. This
intervention may be called opposition to the aforementioned schools, but in reality, it is the removal of a danger within them. The Firdous
al-Atfal school is one of the centers, as is the Shamali school which employs Zionist advocates, and the French Alliance, as well as the Laura
Kadoorie school attached to it. The Ministry intends no harm to these institutions, but rather aims to reform the spirit in
these schools and has expressed its desire to cooperate with the leaders of the Jewish community for this purpose.
2) It was stated in the letter that the Ministry's curriculum is unstable, but the truth is that no
change has occurred in the curricula that can be called a change since the year 1928. The only modification occurred three years ago
in the last two years of secondary education, where the branches of study were diversified. We do not know how the idea leaked into the minds
of the group that the curricula are unstable. The truth is that the entire country is anticipating the expected change, and we do not know of any specialists or
experts in Jewish private schools regarding matters of curriculum and education so that we might benefit from their opinions.
3) Opening official schools in areas inhabited by Jewish residents in the capital - the Ministry has not ceased
opening schools, and it is not permissible to proceed on the basis of favoritism. The Ministry did not intentionally avoid opening schools in
specific areas, but rather opens schools where nearby schools exist. We have begun to take into consideration the distances
between schools and the proximity of residents to them, and the mobilization in the capital, as in all provinces, will be on a single basis. All
schools in the capital are not devoid of Jews, and in some official schools they constitute the majority. They enjoy
in Iraq's official schools many times more than what other communities enjoy in terms of population ratio, should we discuss
the sectarian basis which this Ministry does not consider at all. This is not limited to the capital's schools alone,
but applies to the schools of all provinces. The Mosaic community has its ample share in our official schools in all provinces of
Iraq. We do not concede to them at all in this claim of theirs, just as it is not permissible to proceed with opening schools on a sectarian basis. Jews,
like the rest of the inhabitants of Iraq, have their rights and their duties, and what can be said about Jewish children who are outside
of schools can be said more broadly about the children of the rest of the communities.
4) Financial Aid - Financial aid for private schools was established when official schools
were rare and when private schools were almost everything in providing general culture. Now that they have increased
The number of public schools has increased rapidly and has begun to require massive expenditures, so it is no longer within the capacity of this
Ministry to lend sufficient amounts to private schools. The education budget is buckling under the burdens of the costs of public institutions, so how
can it meet the needs of private schools? Therefore, it agrees with the committee that the aid is insufficient if
the intention is to meet the needs of private schools, but the Ministry does not feel the responsibility of providing for these
schools while it is moving with rapid steps in expanding public schools. Financial aid can be considered as a symbol
of this Ministry's appreciation for the good services performed by private schools in spreading culture. The distribution of
aid was not based on the number of students only, but rather on the basis of spreading the national spirit and serving the country's culture. As for
schools that spread a foreign culture, this Ministry is not obliged to assist them financially. Furthermore, if we looked at this
issue from a sectarian perspective as well, as the group does, we would find that the financial aid received by the
Jewish schools is more than the aid received by members of other sects if the population size is taken into
consideration, let alone that some Jewish schools do not serve the national culture sufficiently.
5) Examination System - The amendment of the examination system cannot be applied to Jewish schools for the following
reasons: (a) most of the teachers are not of the required level, and this Ministry has drawn the attention of the Body
Council to the weakness of the teachers' level and their inadequacy for teaching. The council replied that it would work to remedy that when
sufficient money is available and gradually in the coming years. (b) The teachers in these schools are not subject
to the state employees' discipline law, and it is not possible to punish a teacher in a Jewish school or remove him by the Ministry if
it is found that he manipulates or is lenient in giving grades. (c) These ⟦illegible⟧ schools do not apply our curricula
and systems exactly so that averages can be obtained in them on the same basis as those obtained in our schools. For these reasons
and others, averages in private schools cannot be taken into consideration. Moreover, the nations of the world in their diversity, except for those
that are exceptional and rare, do not give any official status to private school examinations and certificates, so for this reason we do not recommend taking
averages from Jewish private schools into consideration.
6) The status of private schools in the new Education Law draft - The new draft of the
Education Law has not yet been decided upon, and it is still under study in this Ministry. What is important in the new draft that we hope will be established
is the emphasis on national culture in private schools and not considering schools filled with directors appointed by
foreign governments or bodies, or those that receive allocations from foreign governments, as private schools, as they undoubtedly lose
the national character required in a truly private school. It is true that the government employs foreign teachers, but these are subject
to a national authority and have no connection to foreign governments. What matters is the authority that selects and appoints the director, not the director
himself. In this regard, foreign authorities and institutions that appoint directors or grant aid are undoubtedly
driven by apparent or implicit political factors, and in these cases, a school subject to
these influences may not be considered a national private school.
7) Academic Missions - The basic condition for sending a student who is dispatched for study outside Iraq in
the view of this Ministry is not his knowledge of a foreign language or his obtaining an English Matriculation or French Baccalaureate
certificate, but rather his being saturated with national culture and his upbringing being a purely national upbringing. As for private schools that provide
a foreign culture and do not pay sufficient attention to national culture, they should not hope that the Ministry of Education will dispatch any of
their graduates. The important means by which we aim to examine the student's knowledge of national culture is the general ministerial exam.
Whoever passes it and excels among those who pass has the right to the mission, and this Ministry cannot consider any other certificate
besides the official certificates obtained through the general exam as a basis for academic missions. Therefore, we do not favor ⟦line⟧
3
at all to answer the committee's demands in this regard.
(8) Summary. We are at the beginning of a new era in the implementation of national education in the country, and the Israeli schools
had their excuse if they were providing foreign culture alone in the past, but today it is not possible for the Ministry of Education to recognize
these schools unless they gradually change their direction and take a new national direction, and this Ministry is ready to
extend a helping hand to the bodies that manage these schools if they show a readiness to transform their curricula and atmospheres into
national curricula and atmospheres with no foreign character in them.
Fadhil Al-Jamali
Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone Number 531
Number :: 5692
Date :: 27 September 1939
Subject .:
To His Excellency the Respected Prime Minister
Baghdad
After greetings and respect -- duty calls me to present some serious matters to
Your Excellency, with my firm belief that you will handle them with the wisdom and knowledge with which you have steered the ship of
the state in its most critical moments.
A group of young men approached me recently regarding some matters related to their academic achievement, and
I felt that they are suffering under despair and despondency regarding their fate and the future of their academic lives.
The community administration does not have the means to enable it to help them continue their studies,
and it also believes that it is not in the interest for them to remain in this state, which inevitably leads them to
resentment toward the environment in which they live.
All those who have contact with these matters have begun to clearly feel the extent of the difficulties that have begun
to face the Jews, especially regarding their relations with the education authorities. We, as Iraqis,
having the same rights and duties as others, feel that overlooking these matters will inevitably lead to
creating a rift between the sons of one homeland, something which we do not doubt is not in the interest of Iraq at all.
Throughout the past years, we have tried to convince the administration in the Ministry of Education of the necessity of changing this
direction, but we did not succeed in our attempt, and the result was quite the opposite, as matters
began to go from bad to worse year after year. Therefore, we found no choice but to resort to Your Excellency
now, by virtue of what you feel is a duty of cooperation with the government, to create understanding and remove what may
be stuck in minds regarding matters that do not agree with the national goals aspired to by those working for the good of
Iraq.
The matters we wish to present to Your Excellency are:
(1) In addition to the allocations and restrictions existing in the admission of Jewish students to higher
schools and in their participation and benefit from academic missions outside Iraq, the difficulties and obstacles
placed before Jews who want to join other official schools have become
hidden from no one.
A- The enrollment of a Jew now in an official secondary or intermediate school, for example,
Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone Number 531
Number ::
Date :: 2
Subject ::
It requires great efforts, if not impossible, and those who complain about this among the graduates of
primary and intermediate schools are many.
B - Those Israelites who were accepted into intermediate and secondary schools are no longer
confident of remaining in their schools because they often find themselves outside the school
for any reason whatsoever.
C - Among these instances is that when there is a dire need to reduce the number of students in classes in some
official schools to a certain limit, the students who are dismissed from the schools as being in excess of
the prescribed number are Israelites.
D - The latest incident of this kind is that the Israelites, who number fifty in
the intermediate school in Adhamiya, were informed that their remaining in the school is no longer possible due to
its relocation to the building of the House of Religious Sciences (Dar al-Ulum). They were provided with transfer certificates, but they did not benefit
from them because other schools rejected them, and they became threatened with the loss of the years they spent in
intermediate studies in vain.
If the future of these students were of sufficient importance, it would have been possible to find another location
for this school other than the Dar al-Ulum building. Furthermore, we do not know what prevents the
Israelite students from remaining in Dar al-Ulum itself. Whatever the case, we were hoping that the education authorities would instruct
the distribution of the aforementioned students among its various schools to secure their right to study after they were accepted
and spent a portion of their time in intermediate studies.
2) In view of the lack of teachers, building, and furniture necessary to open daytime secondary classes to accept a portion
of the many students whose admission was refused by government secondary schools, the Ministry of
Education permitted us last year to open an evening fourth secondary class in the Shamash School; however, in this
year, it did not agree to open the evening fifth class for these students except on the condition of not re-
opening the fourth class, so that evening studies end at the end of the current academic year.
Thus, the doors have been closed in the faces of the Israelite students from all sides; they are neither accepted in
government schools nor permitted private evening studies, even though we learned that such a permit
Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone Number 531
Number:
Date: 3
Subject:
given to another private school, and thus the grant has become limited to
Jewish schools only.
3) This administration had approached the esteemed Ministry of Education at
various intervals years ago regarding the opening of official schools in neighborhoods inhabited
by Jewish residents, which remained deprived of official schools unlike others.
After much effort, we were able to convince the education authorities in 1929 and in
1936 to open the (Ras al-Qarya) and (Al-Samawal) official schools. Since it was
expected that the majority of students in the two aforementioned schools would be Jewish
due to their proximity to their neighborhoods, the Ministry of Education stipulated that the Community Administration
participate in the expenses of these two schools by paying the rent, the salaries of the religion teacher,
and the furnishing costs. These two schools continued regularly, and we were hoping that
the esteemed Ministry would open other schools of this kind to achieve the dissemination of general culture
according to the official curriculum.
However, we learned with great regret that the education authorities - without seeing a need
to inform this department - have decided to turn these two schools into kindergarten schools
by transferring a portion of their students to other schools and replacing them with child students from
other schools, while it was expected that the esteemed Ministry of Education would expand these two
schools given the dire need for them and the excessive demand for them, and by opening other
schools in nearby Jewish neighborhoods where there is no official school at all,
and which we have often approached the Education Ministry about, and they promised us to open them year after year - they
have, contrary to expectations, turned them into two kindergartens, and thus deprived the Jewish neighborhoods of
two primary schools that were fulfilling a small part of the need.
4) We mention here with great bitterness that the Ministry of Education has remained for three
Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone Number 531
Number ::
Date ::
Subject :: 4
For years we have pledged every year to apply the Futuwwa and Scouting system to our private schools
and the last request of this kind was signed by us on May 22, 1939, and we confirmed this to the Ministry
on July 18, 1939. However, no response has reached us until now.
The purpose of Futuwwa and Scouting is to accustom boys to a rugged life, enduring hardships,
proclaiming and spreading the military spirit, qualities of manhood and chivalry, and the subsequent traits of loving
order and obedience through military training of various kinds. It was expected
that the esteemed Ministry of Education would assist us in spreading these noble goals among our private school students,
but we do not know anything about the reasons that led to the neglect of our request in this manner.
5) The draft of the General Education Law that was submitted to the Parliament for ratification has
contained articles that would prevent our private schools from continuing their progress, and we submitted
our important observations about it to the Ministry of Education on August 15, 1939, but we have not received
a response until now. Attached is a copy of the aforementioned letter for Your Excellency's review.
We fear that these matters and their like are still influenced by factors that are not in
the interest of the country, so we hope that Your Excellency will give these issues your well-known attention to achieve
the interest of the Iraqi homeland, which is now in need of fighting the factors of division more
than at any other time.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of our highest respect.
⟦signature⟧
Head of the Community
A copy to His Excellency the Minister of Education
August 30, 1935
Private
My Dear Excellency,
We have reviewed the statements of the former Director General of Education submitted to Your Excellency in response to our letter
dated July 4, 1935, regarding the Jewish schools.
As we have presented to Your Excellency, the purpose of submitting our aforementioned letter was to remove the injustice that
the community feels exists as a result of the treatment by the education authorities toward the schools under its management.
It pains us greatly to say that the tone of the response and the serious observations contained therein only increase this
feeling and reinforce its weight and disturbance. It began by investigating the reasons for the grumbling and its dissemination, perhaps
in a strange manner intended to disparage the men of the community and their ill intentions, while those reasons are clearly explained
in the report. After this introduction, it depicted the Jewish schools as centers for foreign propaganda that do not serve
the national interest at all. It is necessary that such serious opinions be based on correct information and established
facts, and not on emotion and intuition, especially since they were issued by a responsible authority tasked with planting the seeds
of unity in the youth and spreading the spirit of brotherhood among its members.
We present below our observations on the points mentioned in the response, from which it becomes clear that the
aforementioned opinions are nothing more than abstract statements not based on established facts and that they often
do not agree with the laws and regulations in force.
1) The Jewish schools pay special attention to the Arabic language and history and exert great efforts
to raise their standard. The success rate in public examinations is the greatest evidence of the superiority of the Arabic language
in some Jewish schools over many official schools. As for the Al-Firdaws school, it is a private school
with which the community has no connection; it is managed - or was managed - ⟦by⟧ a man of known
tendencies and characteristics, and if there is responsibility, it falls on the Education Administration which authorized its opening and the continuation
of teaching in it. The Shamash school is directly linked to the community administration and was created through material
sacrifices, the purpose of which was and still is to educate the student according to the education curriculum and at the same time
prepare him to join the ranks of trade and related businesses, and it is very keen on its head
and on the quality of culture in it. We do not know how and from where the alleged Zionist character was fabricated. And if
the Education Administration has serious information about the presence of individuals spreading the Zionist idea in it, why did it not inform
the community of that, in accordance with the spirit of cooperation that it claims it expressed a desire to carry out with the men of the community.
The report described the ⟦Albert Sassoon⟧ school as foreign, and we do not know why and how this description was used. This
school was established 75 years ago and was managed by the Alliance Israélite Universelle, and this charitable association
has a prescribed and known curriculum, and among the foundations on which its curriculum is based are education and spreading the spirit of patriotism
in the country in which it operates. Since its founding, a large group of
men from various classes have graduated from this school, and it is proud to count among its graduates and former teachers a large number of
prominent Jews, including prime ministers, ministers, directors general, and others. Despite the recent introduction of Arabic
instruction in it, it has provided Iraq with a large portion of men of literature and journalism, in addition to those who served
the country with sincere service in public offices, liberal professions, trade, and so on. Furthermore,
the administration of the school was transferred to the community since 1921 and was considered one of its public schools.
2) Teaching Curricula - The fact that no changes were made to the teaching curricula during recent years does
not necessarily imply the stability of the curricula, and on the other hand, it did not occur to us to freeze the curricula as they are
forever. However, we saw that it is possible to involve non-officials when laying down the foundations of teaching and education. We
do not know why this is not permissible in a vital issue, while the laws allowed the involvement of non-officials in issues of less
seriousness and importance. In this regard, we refer to Article 31 of the Regulation of the Ministry of Education, which allowed the invitation of
additional members to the General Education Council from those whose services have enabled them in matters presented to the Council.
As for the presence or absence of specialists among the Jews, the community has managed several schools for
dozens of years with brilliant results, and through this, some of its men have acquired some experience and practice in
local educational affairs that may be of importance if presented to the proponents of modern theories in the arts of
upbringing and education.
3) Opening Schools in Some Neighborhoods - The community does not wish to be autocratic on a sectarian basis in opening schools,
but it noticed that a large area of the capital is devoid of official schools, and the existence of this area is confirmed by
the education map itself. If the excuse for that is the presence of private schools in it, then it is necessary
to assist these schools financially and morally and to amend the general plans followed in education to meet them. It is no secret
that there are approximately fifty official schools in the capital, only two of which are located in neighborhoods
populated by Jewish residents, and that was as a result of the follow-up and persistence of the community's men and their contribution of a portion of its expenses.
Perhaps they are (the official schools) in which the Director General of Education is looking for an Israeli majority.
4) Financial Aid - The expansion in opening official schools does not necessitate withholding aid from
private schools as long as the Education Department has not opened enough official schools to meet the need, but rather as long as the
amount of aid increases for private schools that perform the same service at a very low cost. The law for distributing
aid to private schools specified the foundations that must be relied upon in giving grants, including
the grade of the school, the number of its classes, the level of teaching in it, the number of its teachers, its teaching curriculum, the degree of
its success in general examinations, and the amount of its expenses and revenues. The matter of disposing of grants was not left to
the will of the Education Department based on imaginary theories that cannot be justified. In this regard, it is noted that the budget of
the Education Department has doubled during recent years, while the allocations for private schools have decreased
or remained as they were, despite the noticeable expansion that occurred in their number and in the number of their students.
5) Examination System - The competence of teachers in the primary classes of Israeli schools is not bad;
if there is some weakness, it is in the early grades only. In any case, we do not see a relationship for competence
in giving grades, a matter which depends on the teacher's ethics and the degree of his appreciation for duty. The non-application
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The Officers' Law applied to the community's employees makes determining the authority regarding the mentioned teachers easier and perhaps
stricter than if they were subject to the aforementioned law. As for the alleged anomaly in granting such authority to private
schools, we are told that it is no more of an anomaly than granting schools - whether official or private - the right to add
private examination results to the results of public examinations.
6) Regarding private schools in the Education Bill, we did not find in the response any rebuttal to what was stated in
our previous observations concerning the receipt of financial aid from abroad. As for the appointment of foreign teachers,
we refer to our previous report where we demonstrated that the appointment of foreign teachers in the community's schools
is done directly by the Community Council or with its consultation and approval. We hope you will review our previous
observations and return a copy to the Schools Committee to express its opinion on the texts of the bill pertaining to schools
under its management.
7) Educational Missions - The Director General of Education believes that the community's schools do not send educational missions
and that they serve foreign interests, among other illusory matters that we do not wish to revisit. At the same
time, he says that those who pass the public examinations among students of private schools may be accepted
into educational missions. This participation is in accordance with Article Five of the Educational Missions Regulation
of 1934, but the method of its application does not enable students of private schools to benefit from its
explicit provisions. Article Two stipulated that success in public examinations for the purpose of participating
in educational missions depends on a grade in ethics, and this can only be obtained in official
schools, in accordance with Article One of the Regulation Amending the Public Examinations Regulation No. (14) of 1931
No. 21 of 1935.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest respect.
Sincerely,
⟦illegible signature⟧
Head of the Community
July 4, 935
His Excellency the Respected Prime Minister
After greetings and respect
We list below a copy of the report submitted by the Jewish Schools Committee for your kind
perusal with an eye of sympathy and interest, and to take such measures as you see fit to address the
important points mentioned therein: -
It is no secret that private schools have taken upon themselves the education of a significant portion of
Iraqi youth, and in doing so, they assist the competent authorities in spreading knowledge among the classes of the people.
The opening of private and special schools is not a modern innovation in Iraq.
In many civilized countries, there are private schools established for purposes that differ fundamentally from
the curricula prescribed by the state regarding public education. As for Iraq, some private schools
opened their doors before the establishment of government schools and before the formation of the national government, and for nearly a century
they have prepared a large crowd of men who served the country with their talents in trade, industry, and other liberal professions
and state positions of various grades. No fair person can deny the glorious and commendable impact of these schools
in the expansion and spread of Iraqi trade in the farthest corners of the globe. If there is a slight
difference between the teaching curricula in these schools and the government curricula, it was found to urge students
and encourage them toward middle-class jobs, professions, and occupations, and to alleviate the rush for employment, that disease
which has become one of the problems that must be combated.
As for the religious teachings that the various sects lack and which their children receive in
these schools, there is nothing in them that contradicts the intended goal of the general education curricula in the country, and we
firmly believe that those in charge of managing the Jewish private schools are no less keen on securing the goals
aimed at by the state in its educational policy than the responsible education officials. If there is
any doubt or suspicion, the competent authorities can discuss the matter with those responsible for managing these
schools and take all possible measures to combat points of weakness, if any exist.
There is no doubt that charitable institutions such as these are worthy of being treated by the education authorities
with the spirit of sympathy, loyalty, and fairness with which schools engaged in educating a significant group
of Iraqi youth should be treated.
However, the first thing our committee noticed is that the education authorities did not take these facts
into consideration when deciding their plan toward private schools, a plan which we believe was not decided
as a result of studying and scrutinizing the real needs of the country and the services provided by private schools to Iraq
in general and to education in particular.
Therefore, we hope that the esteemed government will study this issue thoroughly while discussing it with the men
( 2 )
the community if it sees a necessity for that, and it will adjust its plan towards private schools in the near future.
We have a observation regarding the curricula of the Ministry of Education, as we see that these curricula are unstable and have
undergone many modifications and changes. We do not wish to discuss this subject in terms of its branches,
but we believe that one of the reasons for the weakness is the Ministry's reliance solely on the opinions of its own men without consulting those who have had
long service in education, whether in public education or private education. In our view,
it is the duty of the Ministry to take the opinion of specialists of various tendencies when establishing the foundations that
affect the fate and future of the youth.
After stating our observations about private schools in general, we present below our observations
on some issues that concern private schools in particular.
1 - Opening official schools in neighborhoods inhabited by Jewish residents in the capital:
The Ministry of Education has not fulfilled its duty toward the Jewish community in terms of opening sufficient schools in the neighborhoods
where they reside, especially after adopting an unfriendly plan toward private schools. The Ministry's map
indicates a large area devoid of official schools, and we do not know the reasons that justify depriving this area
of its share of education. If the excuse is the existence of private schools, it was first necessary to encourage those
schools and secondly to ensure their adequacy to meet the need. It pains us to say that in the capital of the country, a
large portion of the youth still receives their education in private kuttabs (traditional schools) that seek livelihoods in the public streets
in various ways.
2 - Inadequacy of the financial aid allocated to Jewish schools: - The schools of
the Jewish community in the capital contain about eight thousand male and female students, and the total of their budgets exceeds
17,000 Dinars, while the grants allocated to them do not exceed 450 Dinars, or about 2.5 percent of the total.
Thus, the student's share is 561 Fils per year and no more. We do not know how this amount compares with the cost per student
in government schools, even the primary ones. These figures do not include private school students
who number 2,200 students, nor other charitable institutes that contain approximately 800 male and female
students.
3 - The Examination System: - The examination system that was recently issued regarding the addition of
the average grades in monthly and mid-year exams in order to help the student overcome the difficulty of
the general examinations. The students of private schools were deprived of this assistance for reasons we do not know.
If the Ministry of Education does not rely on private school teachers, ⟦graduates⟧ from among the teachers, whether they are
in government or private schools, are very keen on the success of their students, and there is no distinction between them from
this perspective. If the reason is the Ministry's supervision of examination procedures in its schools, we see no
reason for not conducting the same supervision in private schools after reaching an agreement with school boards on its type
and how to conduct it. Placing the student in private schools in a position of weakness relative to his peer in government
schools is a matter that fairness and logic do not justify, and its purpose can only be to complicate the situation of private schools.
( 3 )
4) - The status of private schools in the Education Law draft: - It has come to our attention that
the Ministry of Education has drafted a new education law, and among its provisions is the classification of private schools that
have a foreign principal or that receive financial aid from outside Iraq as foreign schools that do not enjoy
the rights granted to private schools. We do not know the nature of the rights granted to private schools in
the aforementioned draft, and no opinion was requested in this regard from those responsible for the Jewish schools, but we
consider these provisions—if they are true—a fatal blow to many schools that have previously provided
great services to the Iraqi youth and the Iraqi homeland in general over several decades. We do not know the purpose of this
nor the reasons justifying it, for many teachers in official schools and some of their principals are foreigners, in addition to the foreigners
present in state departments of various ranks. If education is in need of outsiders despite
the existence of teacher training colleges for men and women, then this need is even greater in private schools, especially if
the teacher has trained abroad to serve in Eastern countries and is usually one of their sons. It is no secret
that the management of Jewish schools—despite the presence of a principal for each school—is entrusted to the Lay Council
by virtue of Article 7 of the Jewish Community Law No. 77 of 1931, and the Council has exercised this authority
for more than ten years before the law was issued. As for considering grants coming from abroad as reasons that diminish
the status of the school, we do not know how to justify that. Financial aid comes specifically from Iraqis
abroad or from foreigners who have a close or relative relationship in Iraq, or from charitable institutions
that assist schools by virtue of their established curriculum. In many cases, cash aid is provided
in exchange for endowment properties entrusted to them by Iraqis themselves, some of which are collected in Iraq
itself. In any case, whatever the amount of that aid, it constitutes only a small part of the budgets of the
Jewish schools.
5 - Participation of sectarian schools in scientific missions: - We do not wish to refer here to the
idea that arose as a result of the non-participation of some young men in scientific missions in past years,
knowing that the government well appreciates the country's need for reassurance and the individual's sense of enjoying his
public rights without any discrimination. However, we would like to draw the authorities' attention to the principle of accepting some students from
private schools who have special aptitude or special knowledge for the required mission, and that they should not be deprived
merely because they graduated from private schools. If the need arises in the future to send a student to
French or English institutes, one who has obtained a Matriculation or Baccalaureate degree in private schools
should not be deprived if he meets the required conditions, as the government would have saved the preparatory expenses
while selecting from among the young men those who have a great chance of entering the teaching institute and succeeding in it.
With highest respect and honor to Your Excellency.
Head of the Community
⟦4710⟧
13 January 938
His Excellency the Director General of Education, respected
Reference to your letter numbered 476 dated 5 January 938
The community's finances have suffered a severe and unusual crisis as a result of the drop in the Gabella fee in
the past year from 20,000 Dinars to 15,000, and its granting for the current year for a sum of
approximately 12,000 Dinars, a matter which paralyzed the community's administration in all its aspects and due to
the delay in paying salaries in schools and other institutions for several months. Various attempts have been made
to address the situation, however, the extent to which their success will reach is not yet clear.
There may be room for strong doubt regarding the ability of this community to bear the heavy
burden required by the administration of its schools, which gather 8,245 male and female students, as well
as other institutions, if the financial situation continues at the reduction it has been found in
from time to time until now, and the community does not receive sufficient assistance to run its administration.
It is directly related to this subject to point out the correspondence that
took place between the community administration and your esteemed Ministry regarding the grants allocated to private schools.
The situation you have observed provides sufficient evidence of the urgent need to make the grants
proportionate to the need and the public service provided by the schools, which are at this level
of expansion.
The grants used to amount to (750/693) Dinars in the year 30/931 and dropped
gradually until they became a mere (155) Dinars in the year 37/938. At this rate,
each student's share of the government grants for the community's schools is an amount of eighteen fils
and eighty centimes annually. If the total budgets of our schools are no less than (19,000) Dinars,
it also appears that the total government assistance to us in this difficult year we are currently
undergoing amounts to about eighty centimes per hundred of the total expenses we must provide.
Please accept the highest respect
On behalf of
The Head of the Community