AI en Translation, Pages 226-250
Page 226
Directorate: Baghdad Province Education
Office: Personnel
Number: 5254
Date: 1949/3/22
Hijri Date: 22 Jumada al-Ula 1368
Subject: Written Leave
Presidency of the Jewish Community
In Baghdad
Number 648
Date 27 / 3 / 949
To the Presidency of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
Reference to your letter numbered 932 and dated 21 / 3 / 1949.
Please refer to the number and date of your letter under which the written leave
was returned to us correctly, as we have not found your letter mentioned in your above letter.
⟦signature⟧
Director of Education of Baghdad Province
A copy to:-
Department Personnel - for follow-up.
N G / 24
Page 227
⟦Office Copy⟧
4/1949/
Directorate of Education of Baghdad Province
Greetings,
With reference to your letter No. 5254 dated 3/24/049,
We confirm with this letter of ours that the Charitable Sewing and Embroidery School
Affiliated with the Society for Assisting Poor Girls for Marriage had obtained
Approval from your esteemed directorate to teach the principles of reading and writing in
The first two classes of its school and did not obtain a written license as you indicated.
This is with the knowledge that the aforementioned society had previously returned that approval to
Your esteemed directorate enclosed with its letter No. 23/46 dated 5/2/946.
<del>This is all, and may you remain well</del>
⟦signature⟧
Head of the Community
⟦signature⟧
Society for Assisting Poor Girls for Marriage
Page 228
⟦illegible⟧
13 / 3431
Baghdad on 12 / 12 / 1953
A copy of it
On 6 / 26 / 53 and according to document 3525, we received from the Minor's Property
Management Committee an amount of one hundred twenty-five dinars and six hundred sixty-eight
fils, for the salaries and wages of the employees of the School for the Blind
and the Sewing School for Girls belonging to this community for the month of June 1953.
And since the mentioned amount has been recorded as revenue in our records according to the receipt document
No. 66 / 23 on 6 / 26 / 53, we kindly ask you to confirm the correctness of that,
With appreciation.
⟦signature⟧
Accountant
⟦signature⟧
⟦illegible stamp⟧
Page 229
Jewish Burial Society
in Baghdad
Date ⟦line⟧
General Invitation
To the esteemed member, Mr. Respectable
Greetings,
In accordance with the provisions of Article (6) of the Society's bylaws, it has been decided to hold
a regular general meeting to consider the following matters: -
1- Reviewing the annual administrative report
2- Reviewing the Society's statement of accounts for the past year and the auditor's report
3- Electing an administrative committee for the coming year and appointing an auditor.
Therefore, please attend the aforementioned general meeting which will be held at the headquarters
of the Jewish Community Presidency in Baghdad on the evening of Sunday, corresponding to
March 20, 1949, at half past five in the evening.
Please accept our highest respect
For the Society
⟦Correct⟧
Honorary Secretary
Jewish Burial Society
in Baghdad
Page 230
Jewish Cemeteries Association
in Baghdad
Date ⟦line⟧
Respected Member of the Jewish Cemeteries Association in Baghdad,
After greetings,
Due to the lack of a quorum at the General Assembly meeting held
on March 20, 1949, please be kind enough to attend at the headquarters of the Jewish
Community in Baghdad at five-thirty in the afternoon on
Sunday, April 3, 1949, to hold the general meeting again according to paragraph
(a) of Article (8) of the Association's bylaws.
Please accept our highest respect,
Honorary Secretary
⟦Cemeteries Association⟧
⟦Jewish in Baghdad⟧
⟦1949⟧
For filing
Cemeteries Association
Page 231
Jewish Cemeteries Association
in Baghdad
Date: 17 / 4 / 1949
To the esteemed member of the Jewish Cemeteries Association in Baghdad,
After greetings,
In view of the lack of a quorum in the two General Assembly meetings held
on March 20, 1949, and April 3, 1949, please favor us with your presence at
the headquarters of the Jewish Community Presidency in Baghdad at five-thirty
in the afternoon on Monday, April 25, 1949, to hold the meeting
for the third time in accordance with paragraph (a) of Article (8) of the Association's bylaws.
Please accept our highest respect.
Honorary Secretary
⟦Jewish Community in Baghdad⟧
⟦illegible⟧
Page 232
Jewish Cemeteries Association
in Baghdad
Date 4 / 5 / 1949
To the Honorable Member of the Jewish Cemeteries Association in Baghdad,
After greetings,
Due to the lack of a quorum in the three general assembly meetings
held on March 20, 1949, April 3, 1949, and April 25, 1949,
please be so kind as to attend the headquarters of the Jewish Community Leadership in Baghdad at
six o'clock in the evening on Monday, May 9, 1949, to hold
the meeting for the fourth time in accordance with paragraph (a) of Article (8) of the Association's bylaws.
Please accept our highest respect,
Honorary Secretary
⟦Jewish Cemeteries Association⟧
⟦in Baghdad⟧
For filing
Page 233
Jewish Cemetery Association in Baghdad
Baghdad on May 19, 1949
Presidency of the Jewish Community
No. 692
Date 5/19/49
His Eminence Rabbi Sassoon Khedouri, the Respectable
President of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
After greetings,
I would like to inform your Eminence that the new
administrative committee of this association held its first meeting on the morning of
Friday, May 13, 1949, and elected from among its members: -
Mr. Salman Al-Kabir, Attorney - President
Mr. Sassoon Aboudi Bashi - Vice President
Mr. Yousef Naeem Aboudi - Honorary Secretary
Please accept the highest expressions of respect
⟦signature⟧
Honorary Secretary
Copy to - The Honorable Lay Council - for information
To be filed
Cemetery Association
5/19
13/25
⟦illegible⟧
Page 234
Jewish Cemeteries Association in Baghdad
Management of the Council ⟦illegible⟧ in Baghdad
Number 223
Date 19 / 5 / 949
Baghdad on May 15, 1949
His Eminence Rabbi Sassoon Khedhouri, the Respected
President of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
After greetings,
I wish to inform your eminence that the administrative committee
The new one for this association held its first meeting on the morning of
Friday, May 13, 1949, and elected from among its members: -
Mr. Salman Al-Kabir, Attorney - President
And Mr. Sassoon Aboudi Bashi - Vice President
And Mr. Yusuf Naeem Aboudi - Honorary Secretary
Please accept our highest respect
Presented to the Council
⟦signature⟧
⟦signature⟧
Honorary Secretary
⟦illegible⟧
Copy to the Esteemed Physical Council - for information
Y/13
Page 235
⟦The Department⟧
291
5 / 6 / 1949
The Israeli Cemeteries Association
Baghdad
After greetings,
The Council has noted the contents of your letter No. 46/3 dated May 15, 1949, regarding the election
of a new administrative committee.
Please accept our highest respect;
For filing
Vice President
A / 1
Page 236
To the Honorable President of the Jewish Burial Society in Baghdad,
After greetings and respect. -
I visited on June 28, 1949, the new Jewish cemetery and witnessed
for the first time the fruit of the great effort exerted by your esteemed society to fence this vast
area of land, and I realized the extent of the hardships and sacrifices your respected committee endured to bring
this great project into realization. What doubles the interest and admiration for the brilliant works
accomplished by your society is the importance of the project regarding the sanctity and status of the community, and the magnitude of the achievements -
relative to the sensitive circumstances which your committee, through the wisdom and patience of its members, was able to overcome
them.
I thank you on behalf of the community and on my own behalf, wishing your society permanent success.
Sincerely,
President of the Community
Page 237
On 6/30/1949
Honorable President of the Jewish Burial Society in Baghdad,
After greetings and respect,
I visited on June 28, 1949, the new Jewish cemetery,
and I witnessed for the first time the fruit of the great effort exerted by your esteemed society
to fence off this large area of land, and I realized the extent of the hardships
and sacrifices your respected committee has endured to bring this great project to fruition.
It doubles the interest and admiration for the brilliant works accomplished by your society
considering the importance of the project for the sanctity and status of the community, and the magnitude of the achievements relative
to the delicacy of the circumstances which your committee, through the wisdom and patience of its members,
was able to overcome.
I thank you on behalf of the community and on my own behalf, wishing your society
permanent success.
Sincerely,
Sassoon
Head of the Community
⟦illegible⟧
2/28
A. A.
Page 238
Jewish Cemeteries Association in Baghdad
Baghdad on July 20, 1949
Based on the request of the Secretary of the Community, the technical committee went out to inspect the plot regarding
the transfer of tenants, located in the aforementioned cemetery as a place for storing wood. Upon inspection and verification,
it became clear to me that the plot shown in the drawing is low ground with an area of about 200 square meters, centered by
a water-submerged pit located opposite the room intended to be used as a warehouse for the company, as
shown in the attached map.
As for the aforementioned tenant, he requested to rent an area of about 100 square meters for a period of
five years at an annual rent of about 800 Dinars.
The map was submitted with this information to the Secretary of the Community, and I was subsequently asked to present
this to the committee to take the necessary action on the matter. In the meeting held on 7/29/949, the
aforementioned map was presented to the committee, but it refused to decide on it on the basis that this matter
and matters related to the old cemetery belong to the Lay Council, so it referred this request in turn
to the aforementioned council to decide what it deems appropriate in this regard.
Scribe of the Cemeteries Association
⟦illegible⟧
Yusuf Saleh Murad
Note
Due to the disapproval of the Hakham Bashi
of the above proposal for its violation of Sharia rulings,
this offer is to be neglected.
⟦signature⟧
8/10/949
For filing / Baghdad
Page 239
Association of Israelite Cemeteries in Baghdad
⟦line⟧
Number: 8/9
Baghdad on: July 1949
His Eminence the respected Rabbi Sassoon Khedhouri
Head of the Israelite Community in Baghdad
After greetings and respect
The committee received your letter dated 6/30/1949 regarding your visit to the new cemetery
and it seizes this opportunity to express to your Eminence its sincere thanks and gratitude for the sentiments that
you expressed therein.
It increases the committee's pleasure and delight that its work has gained your satisfaction
and the satisfaction of the honorable members of the community who deserve credit for reviving this humanitarian project
and bringing it into existence in its current form.
The committee, while thanking those who supported it and took its hand to bring the new cemetery project
into operation, will never forget the assistance and encouragement your Eminence provided in matters
where it was in dire need of your support in most stages of its work; for you spared no effort in
accompanying its members to the specialized departments at various times and circumstances, regardless of the
hardship and fatigue you endured, especially in the first stage when most contacts and follow-ups
revolved around obtaining the land.
The appeal submitted by the committee through you to the members of the community to urge them to contribute
to this project had a great impact on the members of the committee, especially since it was then in dire need
of their material assistance to complete such a massive undertaking, which stirred in them zeal and magnanimity, and they donated
generously and willingly, answering that call.
May God preserve you and keep you for the service of the public interest
Please accept our highest thanks and respect
⟦signature⟧
President
Cemetery Association
Israelite in Baghdad
1946
Number 727
Date 7/14/1949
15
⟦Save to file⟧
Page 240
Al-Rashid Street
River boundaries
Basin ⟦...⟧
The Room
Sheikh Omar Street
Page 241
⟦Department Copy⟧
1021
6/20/1949
Serial 326 Al-Kolat
Baghdad Province Land Registry Directorate
Greetings,
With reference to your letter No. 4/5739 dated 6/20/1949 regarding
conducting the inspection of the state-owned land in Al-Kolat.
Mr. Selim Khabbaza, the community secretary, will attend as our representative at the appointed
time for the inspection. Sincerely.
⟦Sassoon⟧
Head of the Community
14
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧ that the land ⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧ which is located on the street ⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧ Al-Rashid Street ⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧ Secretariat of the Capital ⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
Page 242
Jewish Cemeteries Association in Baghdad
Number: 222
Baghdad on: June 21, 1949
Administration of the Lay Council - Baghdad
Number 295
Date 21 / 6 / 1949
File Number -
For Filing
⟦illegible⟧
22 / 6
Presidency of the Lay Council
Baghdad
After greetings
The committee reviewed, in its meeting held on
June 10, a report submitted by the clerk of this association regarding huts
established inside the old cemetery and other actions in
the mentioned cemetery, and decided to send a copy of the mentioned report to
your esteemed council along with a copy of the list of materials that were kept in
the room discussed in the mentioned report, for your kindness in taking the
necessary action regarding it according to the jurisdiction and competence.
Please accept our respects
⟦signature⟧
Honorary Secretary
Cemeteries Association
Jewish in Baghdad
1942
Secretary
Please provide the presidency's opinion ⟦illegible⟧ on the matter
⟦illegible⟧
We have directed a copy to His Excellency the Head of the Community
to bring the materials ⟦illegible⟧
⟦illegible⟧
Page 243
Baghdad on - 6 June 1949
To the Honorable Jewish Cemetery Association Committee in Baghdad
After greetings and respect,
I would like to inform you that upon my visit to the old cemetery
on Thursday morning, June 2, 1949, to receive the iron pieces and other materials that
were kept in the room located there, the details of which are shown in the attached list, I passed through some of the
corridors that I noticed had been established in the cemetery. I saw it as my duty to inform you
of them in detail.
First - The room I intended to use was occupied as a police post at one
point by one of the policemen accompanying His Excellency the Head of the Community. When I inquired from the persons
residing there about the materials that were present in it, the details of which are listed in the attached list,
I was told that they did not see anything in it except three rolls of (mats) and seven pieces of (benkank)
all of which were used for their own purposes. When I asked them how the room was opened, which was locked from
both sides, I did not receive a satisfactory answer, but I noticed that one of the doors - the one facing
the cemetery - had been broken. These acts took place without the guards present in the cemetery having knowledge of them,
as they claimed. Furthermore, one of the corners adjacent to the mentioned room was used as toilets for them inside
the cemetery.
Second - Three shacks made of mats and two large rooms made of brick and mud were constructed,
which appear to be of the same type of brick built on some of the old and unusual graves. When
I inquired from the cemetery guards about that, they replied that they saw them tearing the mentioned bricks from the old
graves, so they forbade them once, but they continued to take them without any regard for their orders. The number of
those bricks is estimated at more than a thousand bricks, and this appears clearly from the size of the two rooms built with them.
Third - Three (ovens) for baking were also built for use by the mentioned
residents. I also found that there are two large areas surrounded by pieces of mats, inside of which
large quantities of manure and other filth were placed, which it appears they are collecting for the purpose of benefiting
from them later.
Fourth - Fearing trespassing by passersby, they surrounded this residential area of theirs, which
exceeds two hundred square meters in area, with a fence of barbed wire. As a result, 43 graves
of the new graves were separated from the rest of the other nearby graves, making it difficult for the relatives of
the deceased who were buried in this spot to cross these wires and approach the mentioned graves to perform
( To be continued )
Page 244
Their religious rituals
Then I contacted Mr. Ezekiel Haddad, the cemetery superintendent, to clarify some information in this
regard, and I asked him about the issue of removing bricks from old graves. He confirmed that these bricks
were not removed by those strangers as the guards mentioned, but rather they had been removed previously and piled up in one
part of the cemetery for the purpose of rebuilding those graves, so they moved them to use them ⟦...⟧
for their own purposes.
As for the general situation of this area, it might seem to the observer that these shacks
and rooms were built to be lived in for several years because of the durability of the materials used and the strength
of the construction.
This is everything concerning this area.
And since I noticed other areas in the cemetery where large quantities of
manure were piled up near the main cemetery entrance, Mr. Ezekiel Haddad explained
that this manure is not new, but rather its owner - who is one of the residents of the same neighborhood -
had placed it near some graves, and when he was asked to remove it from that place, he brought it
near the main gate and stated that he could not under any circumstances remove it
permanently from there.
Then I asked him about the station near the khan located in the mentioned cemetery which is filled
with straw. He said that this happens every year by the same person who puts straw there, and that
he can prevent him from doing that at all.
This is all I wanted to explain to your honors so that the committee would be aware of everything that is happening
in the mentioned cemetery. With all due respect to your honors.
⟦illegible signature⟧
Youssef Saleh Murad
Clerk of the Israeli Cemeteries Association
Baghdad
The Israeli Community
Committee in Baghdad
1942
15 / Y
True copy
⟦illegible signature⟧
Page 245
⟦line⟧
Baghdad on - May 14, 1946
Number - 173
Honorable Mr. Yusuf Abboudi
Greetings,
Today, I visited the two rooms established in the cemetery, as per your request, accompanied by the municipal clerk of the cemeteries.
After auditing the list of materials delivered to the cemetery guard on 29/9/1945 as recorded in the register,
and after observing the condition of the two rooms and questioning both the burial official, Mr. Heskel Haddad, and the cemetery
guard present there, I noticed that some of the materials listed in your list are missing, as recorded
in Table (A) below. I also noticed that there are materials missing from the building itself, the details of which are shown
in Table (B) below.
Please accept our highest respects;
Sincerely,
Secretary of the Community Administration
Table (A) | Actually Present | Deficit
Picks | - | 2
Tins | 7 | 9
Trolleys | - | 5
Jars | - | 2
Bowls | 4 | 18
Hazar Shammar | - | 5
Awl with threads | - | 1
Mats (3m) rolls | - | present
Rail iron | - | 3
Pins | - | 3
Wooden floats for plaster | - | 3
Zinc cup | 8 | -
Rolls of thick iron rebar for (27) pieces | 3 | -
Roll of very fine rebar for (19) pieces | 1 | -
Roll of very fine rebar for (15) pieces | 1 | -
Roll of ⟦...⟧ | 1 | -
Empty cement bag | 3 | -
Table (B) | Materials missing from the construction of the two rooms
A - 12 glass panes belonging to three windows
B - Two I-beam locks belonging to the stairs
C - A door for the toilets
D - A bench that was fixed inside the cemetery
E - The railing of the stairs leading to the roof of the rooms was destroyed
⟦line⟧
(True Copy)
Page 246
Jewish Cemeteries Association in Baghdad
Number - 222
Baghdad, June 21, 1949
Presidency of the Jewish Community
Private number - 712
Date - 6/21/949
Presidency of the Lay Council
Baghdad
Greetings,
The committee, in its meeting held on
June 10, reviewed a report submitted by the secretary of this association regarding shacks
erected inside the old cemetery and other actions in
the mentioned cemetery, and decided to send a copy of the mentioned report to
your esteemed council along with a copy of the list of materials that were kept in
the room under discussion in the mentioned report, for your kind action
as necessary according to jurisdiction and specialty.
Please accept our respects.
⟦signature⟧
Honorary Secretary
Copy to His Excellency the Head of the Community - for kind review
Y/
To be archived
Cemeteries
Page 247
Baghdad on - 6 June 1949
To the Respected Committee of the Jewish Cemeteries Association in Baghdad
After greetings and respect,
I would like to inform your honors that upon my visit to the old cemetery
on Thursday morning, 2 June 1949, to receive the iron pieces and other materials that
were kept in the room located there, whose details are shown in the attached list, I passed on my way to
the huts that I noticed had been set up in the cemetery. I saw it as my duty to inform your honors
about them in detail.
First - The room I intended to use was occupied as a police post at one
point in time by one of the policemen accompanying His Excellency the President of the Community. When I inquired from the persons
residing there about the materials that were present in it, whose details are listed in the attached list,
I was told that they did not see anything in it except for three rolls of (mats) and seven pieces of (corrugated iron sheet),
all of which were used for their private purposes. When I asked them how the room was opened, which was locked from
its side, I did not receive a satisfactory answer for that, except I noticed that one of the doors - the one facing
the cemetery - had been broken. These acts took place without the guards present in the cemetery having knowledge of them,
as they claimed. Furthermore, one of the corners adjacent to the mentioned room was used as latrines for them inside
the cemetery.
Second - Three huts made of mats and two large rooms made of brick and clay were built,
which appears to be of the same type of brick built on some old graves near them. When
I inquired with the cemetery guards about that, they answered that they saw them tearing the mentioned bricks from the old
graves; they prevented them once from doing so, but they continued to take it without any regard for their orders. The number of
those bricks is estimated at more than a thousand bricks, and this appears clearly from the size of the two rooms built with them.
Third - Three (ovens) for baking were also built for use by the mentioned
residents. I also found that there are two large areas surrounded by pieces of mats, inside
which large quantities of dung and other filth were placed, which it appears they are collecting for the purpose of utilizing
it later.
Fourth - For fear of passers-by encroaching on them, they surrounded this residential area of theirs, which
exceeds two hundred square meters in area, with a fence of barbed wire. As a result, 43 graves
of the new graves were separated from the rest of the other graves near them. It has thus become very difficult for the relatives
of the deceased who were buried in this spot to cross these wires and approach the mentioned graves to perform
(To be continued)
Page 249
Copy of the list
⟦line⟧
Baghdad on - 14 May 1946
Number - 173
The Honorable Mr. Yusuf Abboudi, Respected
After greetings
I visited today with the secretary of the Cemeteries Association the two rooms constructed in the cemetery per your request
And after checking the list of materials delivered to the cemetery guard on 29 / 9 / 1945 as recorded in the register
And after noting the condition of the two rooms and questioning both the burial official Mr. Heskel Haddad and the guard
of the cemetery present there, I noticed that there are some materials listed in your list missing according to what is recorded
in Table (A) below, and I also noticed that there are materials missing from the building itself, its items shown
in Table (B) below.
Please accept the highest respect;
Sincerely
Secretary of the Community Administration
Register | Actually present | Table (A)
3 | - | Pickaxes
9 | 7 | Tins
5 | - | Small staircase
2 | - | Water jars
18 | 4 | Bowls
5 | - | Hair shakers
1 | - | Awl with threads
Present | Reed mats (3) rolls |
2 | - | Rail iron
3 | - | Sieves
2 | - | Wooden racks for plaster
- | 8 | Zinc sheets
- | 3 | Rolls of thick iron bars for reinforcement for (27) pieces
- | 1 | Roll of very fine iron bars for (19) pieces
- | 1 | Roll of very fine iron bars for (15) pieces
- | 1 | Roll of reeds
- | 2 | Empty cement bags
Table (B) | Materials missing from the construction of the two rooms
A - 12 glass panes belonging to three windows
B - Two I-beams belonging to the staircase
C - Door for the latrines
D - A bench that was fixed inside the cemetery
E - Destruction of the staircase fence leading to the roof of the two rooms
⟦line⟧
Y / (True copy)
Page 250
Secretary
Presidency of the Jewish Community
In Baghdad
Baghdad 26 / 9 / 1949
Mr. President
Based on your orders, I visited the Priests' Cemetery this morning
accompanied by the accountant and the cemetery guard, Ali Mahmoud, and I found
with regret that all the graves of the aforementioned cemetery are destroyed and that
a large quantity of bricks has been stolen by the residents
adjacent to the domed area in all likelihood. And I found
some of the stolen bricks that were intended to be stolen piled up
on the ground of the first house inside the large cemetery and two of
the ruins of the Priests' Cemetery and the fourth near one of the neighboring houses
to the Priests' Cemetery, and I visited the police officer of Bani Said
⟦Al-Jubour⟧ to inquire from him about the steps taken
in this regard against the trespassers, and I learned that there is a lawsuit
registered by the cemetery guard against three people, who are
Ali Muhammad, Mawloud Jassim, and others ⟦calling Dina⟧ and upon
my request for an on-site investigation once again, the station officer sent
the chief sergeant with me for an on-site investigation of the suspected houses
since the stolen bricks were stored in their halls, and the
aforementioned chief sergeant found in the Priests' Cemetery a person named Aziz with his mother
⟦signature⟧