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IJA 2720

Correspondence between the Ministry of Justice and the President of the Jewish Community; School Materials

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Description

These documents contain correspondence between the Iraqi Ministry of Justice and the President of the Jewish Community in Baghdad regarding Jewish community laws and administrative committee members. Other documents pertain to the Jewish schools in Baghdad. Also included is an Iraqi Government request for a copy of the Torah from the Jewish Community for a court in Basra. These documents reflect the Baghdadi Jewish community's name change to the Mosaic community.

Metadata

Archive Reference
IJA 2720
Item Number
11977
Date
Approx. January 1, 1951 to December 31, 1960
Languages
Arabic
Keywords
Financial, Shamash Secondary School, State Crest, Ministry of Justice, File Folder, Legal, Ministry of Education, Ink Stamp, Torah, Hakham Sassoon Khedouri, Letterhead, President of the Jewish Community, Court of Iraq, Frank Iny School, Ministry of Health, Basra, Correspondence, Office of Identification Affairs, Annotation, Handwritten, Education, Students

AI English Translation, Pages 1-25

Archival unit 1

Iraqi Government
Ministry of Justice
Accounting Department
Number ⟦line⟧
Date / / 195
Subject Summary: The Torahs
Presidency of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
Please provide us with one copy of the Torah to be supplied to the
Settlement Court of Appeal in Basra and inform us of the value so that we may pay you.
On behalf of the Director General of Justice
⟦Presidency of the Jewish Community⟧
Al-Shati

Archival unit 2

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Archival unit 3

Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone No. { 3531 President
5452 Secretary
Number: T/ ⟦illegible⟧ / 56
Subject: ⟦line⟧
Date: ⟦illegible⟧ / 3 / 1956
His Excellency the Director General of Justice, Respected
After greetings,
With reference to your letter numbered J 17/62 and dated 11/2/956, we present the Holy Book
(The Torah) in the Hebrew language to be supplied to the Settlement Court of Appeal in Basra, and its value with
its cover is 750 fils ⟦line⟧ .
Please accept our highest respect
Rabbi Sassoon Khedouri
Acting President of the Community

Archival unit 4

Presidency of the Israelite Community
in Baghdad
Telephone Number | 3531 President
5452 Secretary
Number: T/ 56
Subject:
Date: 2 / 2 / 1956
Excellency, Director General of Justice, Respected
After greetings
Reference to your letter numbered J 17/62 and dated 11/2/56, we present the Holy Bible
(the Torah) in the Hebrew language to be provided to the Settlement Court of Appeal in Basra, and its value is
750 fils.
Please accept the highest expressions of respect
Rabbi Sassoon Khedhouri
Acting President of the Community

Archival unit 5

Presidency of the Jewish Community
In Baghdad
Telephone Number 3531
5452
Number T/
Date / / 18
Subject:
His Excellency the Honorable Minister of Justice
Greetings and Respect,
I submit to your position the petition dated 1 / 6 / 956 and signed by the notables of the Mosaic community in Basra
They requested my mediation by presenting its contents to your Excellency's attention. It is no secret that in the city of Basra there are about ⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧ Mosaics and their religious and cultural affairs are dissolved, as is the management of their endowments, so I ask Your Excellency to look upon them with kindness and to please
⟦illegible⟧ your authority under Article 17 of the Jewish Community Law No. 77 of 1931 by appointing an acting head of the community and a committee
Administrative to act in place of the Lay Council, similar to the method you kindly followed in Baghdad, so that they can ⟦illegible⟧
their religious and cultural affairs and the management and supervision of their endowments.
This, and please accept the highest respect.
⟦illegible signature⟧
Rabbi Sassoon Khadduri
Acting President of the Community

Archival unit 6

Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone Number ⟦line⟧ 3531
5452
Number: 15
Date:
Subject: Appointment of a member
His Excellency the Honorable Minister of Justice
After greetings
On 3 / 2 / 956, the late Mr. Menashi Ibrahim Kashi, a member of the Administrative Committee of the ⟦illegible⟧
Jewish [Community] in Baghdad, passed away. Therefore, I suggest appointing Mr. Shaul Soudai as a member of the mentioned committee in ⟦illegible⟧
the deceased member ⟦line⟧
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest respect
Rabbi Sassoon Khedouri
Acting President of the Community

Archival unit 7

Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone No. 3531 / 5452
Number: T / 2625
Date: 21 / 2 / 1956
Subject:
The Honorable Mr. Heskel Shaul Soudai, Respectfully
After greetings,
We convey below a copy of the administrative order of the esteemed Ministry of Justice No. 294 dated 21 / 2 / 1956 appointing you
as a member of the Administrative Committee of the Jewish Community in Baghdad. On this occasion, we offer you our congratulations and pray to the Lord
to grant you success in performing the work entrusted to you ⟦line⟧ .
Please accept our highest respect ⟦line⟧
Rabbi Sassoon Khedhouri
Acting President of the Community
A copy to:-
The esteemed Ministry of Justice, with reference to its administrative order No. 294 dated 21 / 2 / 1956
Presidency of the Administrative Committee ⟦line⟧
⟦line⟧ Copy of the Letter ⟦line⟧
Iraqi Government
Ministry of Justice
Personnel Affairs Division
Date: 21 / 2 / 1956
Ministry of Justice Order No. ( 294 ) .
Based on our ministerial order No. 1944 dated 24 / 11 / 1953, and following the death of Mr. Menashi Ibrahim Kashi, a member
of the committee formed by our order referred to above for the purpose of managing what was entrusted to the Lay Council to perform in accordance with the
Jewish Community Law No. 77 of 1933, we have decided to appoint Mr. Heskel Shaul Soudai as a member of the aforementioned committee
instead of the deceased, effective from the date of this order ⟦line⟧ .
Minister of Justice ⟦line⟧

Archival unit 8

Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone Number { 3531
5452
Number: T / 3665 / ⟦illegible⟧
Date: 21 / 2 / 56
Subject:
To the Honorable Mr. Heskel Shaul Sodaee
Greetings,
We convey below a copy of the administrative order of the venerable Ministry of Justice No. 294 dated 21 / 2 / 956 appointing you
as a member of the Administrative Committee of the Jewish Community in Baghdad. On this occasion, we offer you our congratulations and pray to the Lord
to grant you success in carrying out the work entrusted to you.
Please accept our highest respect,
Rabbi Sassoon Khadhuri
Acting President of the Community
Copy to:-
The venerable Ministry of Justice, with reference to its administrative order No. 294 dated 21 / 2 / 956
Presidency of the Administrative Committee
⟦line⟧ Copy of the Letter ⟦line⟧
Iraqi Government
Ministry of Justice
Personnel Affairs Division
Date 21 / 2 / ⟦illegible⟧
Ministry of Justice Order No. (294).
With reference to our Ministerial Order No. 1944 dated 24 / 11 / 953, and following the death of Mr. Menashi Ibrahim Kashi, member of
the committee formed under our above-mentioned order for the purpose of managing what was entrusted to the Secular Council to perform according to the Law
of the Jewish Community No. 77 of 1933, we have decided to appoint Mr. Heskel Shaul Sodaee as a member of the said committee
instead of the aforementioned person, effective from the date of this order.
Minister of Justice

Archival unit 9

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⟦line⟧

Archival unit 10

Presidency of the Jewish Community
in Baghdad
Telephone Number: 3531 / 5452
Number: T / 56 /
Date: 8 / 3 / 1956
Subject:
His Excellency the Minister of Education, the Respected
After greetings,
We present to Your Excellency that the students of our schools have begun to consult this Presidency regarding the following points:
1- These students have consulted the Directorate of Education regarding providing them with primary, intermediate,
and secondary school certificates after they successfully passed the examinations for these studies, and they claimed that they were unable to receive
their certificates, noting that our school administration has not received such certificates from the respected Ministry of Education until now.
2- It has happened in the past that our school administration provided some students with school documents addressed to the Education [Ministry] for the purpose of
translating them into the English language and certifying them, in order to send them to some colleges abroad with the aim of obtaining
the necessary acceptance papers from those colleges before the student joins them. Some of these students claimed at the
time that it was not possible for them to obtain such documents certified by the Ministry of Education.
3- The Directorate of Education of the Baghdad Province recently requested from the administration of the Frank Iny and Shamash School (affiliated with this Presidency)
in its letter numbered 5823 and dated 25 / 2 / 1956, not to provide students with school documents for certification
by the Education [Ministry] for the purpose of presenting them to the recruitment departments except after obtaining confirmation of the request from these departments.
In view of the time and follow-ups such transactions require, it is requested to order the certification of such documents
without the need for confirmation of the request from the specialized departments, as was the practice in the past.
4- Some of our school students have two names written in their census books and non-revocation IDs instead of one name.
They had been registered with one name upon joining our schools by mistake. The administration of these schools will organize
corrected lists with the names of these students after verifying their full names. It is requested to order the facilitation of completing
the transaction of correcting these names when submitted to prevent discrepancies in the future.
5- The Ministry of Education's regulations stipulate the holding of mid-year exams and final school exams
for the first and second sessions at specific times of the academic year. Since our schools are late in opening their doors
to students at the beginning of each academic year by approximately a month or three weeks compared to other schools, and that is
due to religious holidays. It is requested to approve in principle the delay of these exams in our schools
in the future, provided that it is sufficient to inform the Ministry of Education of the dates of these exams in our schools a
suitable period before they are held. This is with the knowledge that the Ministry of Education has previously approved such a postponement
on various occasions in the past.
6- Also, the college graduates from the members of our community have not yet received the certificates from their colleges. We ask
Your Excellency to kindly look into these issues.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the expression of highest respect,,
Rabbi Sassoon Khedhouri
Acting President of the Community

Archival unit 11

Iraqi Government
Ministry of Justice
Directorate of Personnel Affairs
Date - 21 / 2 / 1956
Ministerial Order No. (294).
Reference to our Ministerial Order No. 1944 dated 11/24/1953
Based on the death of Mr. Munshi Ibrahim Kashi, member of the committee formed by our order
referred to above for the purpose of managing what was entrusted to the Lay Council to perform
in accordance with the Law of the Jewish Community No. 77 of 1931, we have decided to appoint Mr.
Heskel Shaul Soudayi as a member of the aforementioned committee instead of the person referred to, effective
from the date of this order.
⟦illegible⟧
Minister of Justice
A copy to:-
Presidency of the Legal Drafting Bureau
Directorate of General Police
Governorate of Baghdad Province
Directorate of General Guidance and Broadcasting - for publication in the Official Gazette
Administration of the Jewish Community in Baghdad - your letter No. T/3658/56 dated
2/17/1956
Rabbi Sassoon Khidhouri - Acting Head of the Community
Ministry Accounts Directorate

Archival unit 12

Iraqi Government
Ministry of Justice
Division of Personnel Matters
Date - 21 / 2 / 1956
Ministry of Justice Order No. (294).
Reference to our ministerial order No. 1144 dated 24 / 11 / 1953
Based on the death of Mr. Menashi Ibrahim Kashi, member of the committee formed by our order
referred to above for the purpose of managing what was entrusted to the Lay Council to perform
in accordance with the Law of the Jewish Community No. 77 of 1931, we have decided to appoint Mr.
Heskel Shaul Soda'i as a member of the mentioned committee instead of the aforementioned person, effective
from the date of this order.
⟦signature stamp⟧
Minister of Justice
A copy to:-
Presidency of the Legal Codification Bureau
General Police Directorate
Governorate of Baghdad Province
Directorate of Guidance and General Broadcasting - for publication in the Official Gazette
Administration of the Jewish Community in Baghdad - your letter No. T / 3658 dated
17 / 2 / 1956
Rabbi Sasson Khadhuri - Acting Head of the Community
Ministry Accounts Directorate
For information ⟦...⟧

Archival unit 13

FRANK INY SCHOOL
Intermediate & Primary
New Alwiyah - Baghdad
TELEPHONE NO. 91693
FRANK INY SCHOOL
Intermediate & Primary
New Alwiyah - Baghdad
Telephone: 91693
No. / 588
Date / 7 / 2 / 1956
Honorable President of the Jewish Community in Baghdad.
Greetings.
With reference to your call with us regarding some of our school's affairs, please take note of the following points.
1 - Some students previously visited this school's administration requesting to contact the competent departments
to provide them with primary, intermediate, and secondary education certificates after they successfully passed the exams for these
studies. This school's administration, at the time and on every occasion such a request occurred,
wrote to the Ministry of Education regarding this matter. These students claimed that they were unable
to receive their certificates, noting that the school administration, for its part, has not received such certificates from
the Ministry of Education until now.
2 - It happened in the past that this school provided some ⟦students⟧ with school documents addressed to the Ministry of Education
for the purpose of translating them into English and certifying them, in order to send them to some colleges abroad to
obtain the necessary acceptance papers from those colleges before the student joins them. Some of these
⟦students⟧ claimed at the time that it was not possible for them to obtain such documents certified by the Ministry of Education.
3 - The Baghdad Education Directorate recently requested from this school's administration in its letter No. 5823
dated 25 / 2 / 1956 not to provide students with school documents for certification by Education for the purpose of presenting them
to the recruitment departments except after obtaining confirmation from these departments of the request. Given what such
transactions require in terms of time and follow-ups, please mediate with the Ministry of Education to approve the certification of ⟦such⟧
documents without the need to confirm the request of the competent departments, as was the practice in the past.
4 - Some of our school students have two names in their census books and non-revocation identities instead of one
name. They were registered under one name when they joined this school by mistake, and the administration of
this school will organize corrected lists with the names of these students after verifying their full names. Please mediate
with the Ministry of Education to facilitate the completion of the ⟦names⟧ correction process when submitted to prevent confusion in
the future.
5 - The Ministry of Education system stipulates conducting mid-year exams and final school exams for the first
and second sessions at specific times of the academic year. Since our schools are late in opening their doors to students
at the beginning of each academic year by approximately a month or three weeks compared to other schools due to religious
holidays. Therefore, please mediate with the Ministry of Education to approve, in principle, delaying these exams
in our school in the future, provided that informing the Ministry of Education of the dates of ⟦these⟧ exams in our schools
a suitable period before they are held is sufficient, noting that the Ministry of Education has previously approved in the past on various
occasions such a postponement.
Please accept our highest respect.
Abdullah Obadia
The Director
⟦FRANK INY SCHOOL⟧
⟦illegible⟧

Archival unit 14

Monitoring
Ministry of Justice
Division ⟦line⟧
⟦Emblem of the Kingdom of Iraq⟧
Number: ⟦illegible⟧
Date: 8 / 3 / 1956
Subject Summary: The Holy Book
Presidency of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
We refer to your letter numbered T / 56 / 6372 and dated 6 / 3 / 956
and we attach herewith the payment authorization note numbered (A B / 5000) and dated
7 / 3 / 956 for an amount of (750 / -) seven hundred and fifty fils, and that is
for the value of the Holy Book (The Torah), requesting you to collect its contents from the Central
Treasury in Baghdad.
⟦signature⟧
On behalf of the Minister of Justice
The Minister
11 / 3
Al-Shati

Archival unit 15

⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
SCHOOL
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
TELEPHONE NO. ⟦illegible⟧
No. ⟦illegible⟧
Date ⟦illegible⟧
Subject: Resumption of replacing school telephone wires in Aley
Dear Sir,
In reference to the attached report from the Telephone Department in Beirut, we see the necessity of replacing
our telephone wires in Aley due to their current poor condition, which causes constant communication interruptions -
These wires that we request to replace are among the old wires used by the British Army,
which installed them temporarily and in an incorrect technical position, as they extend over the roofs and walls of the rented
houses. Due to their poor insulation, numerous knots, and extreme weakness, they are subject to breakdowns at the slightest rain or wind,
causing communication cut-offs at a time when we are in dire need of them, especially since the Telephone Department does not recognize
faults in these wires and does not repair them.
The workers appointed by the Telephone Department in Aley have actually started laying new wires instead of the old ones -
however, the work has stopped due to the lack of sufficient wires in the Telephone Department warehouse in Aley because of high demand
during the summer season - We have contacted the Telephone Department in Beirut repeatedly requesting the completion of the work, and they promised us well
last week as they sent a quantity of wires to Aley, but this quantity is only enough to lay a few lines
out of the 66 lines that we request to be extended in Aley - Accordingly, we have contacted the Telephone Department in Beirut again -
to find out the reasons why the workers stopped working, and we learned from them that the Telephone Department received on 6/5/1951 a quantity of wires
of these wires. Given the desire we sensed from the Telephone Department in Aley to help us, we contacted the Telephone Department in Beirut
this time and suggested that they transfer a quantity of wires from the Beirut warehouses to the Telephone Department warehouse in Aley to complete
the work immediately and without delay, especially since the Telephone Department in Aley is ready to carry out this work immediately and without delay
if the necessary wires are available to them. They promised us well and will send a sufficient quantity of wires to Aley within two or three
days at most - We therefore request your kind approval to disburse the sum of one hundred Lebanese pounds to the Telephone Department in Aley for the wages of the workers
who will carry out this work. This amount is within the amounts allocated in the budget for this purpose - noting that
the Telephone Department in Aley will install these wires for free and without charging any fees for the work it will perform,
but the mentioned amount is for the wages of the workers who will lay the wires.
The condition of our telephones in Aley cannot tolerate delay in replacing their wires, especially since we are in the summer season and work in these
schools is at its peak and in dire need of ensuring permanent contact with the Telephone Department in Beirut and with other official departments
in Aley. Due to the poor quality of the current wires, we always complain about communication interruptions that the Telephone Department does not repair
because it considers them our private wires - Since we have obtained the approval of the Telephone Department in Beirut to provide us with the wires
needed and free of charge, we request approval to disburse the amount mentioned above to the Telephone Department in Aley so that it can
immediately start replacing the old wires before the quantity of wires currently available in its warehouse in Aley is exhausted.
Please accept our highest respect,
Director General of Schools
⟦illegible⟧

Archival unit 16

20-2-
21 November 750
My examination
Presidency of the Jewish Community
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
Pursuant to the letter ⟦illegible⟧ and according to ⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧ on ⟦illegible⟧ on 25 / 3 / 1962 we have paid the following:
We paid the amount of (5000 Dinars) only five thousand Dinars no more
To the account of your son Joseph in ⟦illegible⟧ (by 502) on the date 25 / 3 / 1962
This transfer is due according to ( ⟦illegible⟧ ) pursuant to the letter ⟦illegible⟧ in ⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧ Signature ⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
Accountant's signature
⟦illegible⟧

Archival unit 17

Number :: T/⟦1⟧
Date :: ⟦2 / 4 / 1956⟧
Subject ::
His Excellency the Respectable Minister of Health
Greetings and Respect
The designated graduates of the Royal Medical College have not yet received their graduation certificates from the deanship of
the aforementioned college, a matter which necessitated presenting the situation to your Excellency's attention; please kindly consider and instruct the
aforementioned deanship to provide them with graduation certificates just like the rest of the students.
With your Excellency's utmost gratitude and respect
⟦Urgent⟧
Rabbi Sassoon Khadhuri
Acting President of the Community