Between Hammer and Anvil: On the Emigration of Iraqi Jewry, 1950–51

Abstract

During 1950–51, over 120,000 Iraqi Jews arrived in Israel. Most of them arrived by plane in what has been described as the largest airborne population transfer in history. Several factors contributed to the removal of a deep-rooted and prosperous community from Iraq. One was the rise of the Iraqi national state, which did not tolerate autonomous minorities, and the rise of a nationalist Pan-Arab movement, which regarded the destiny of the Jews in Iraq as belonging to that of their fellow Jews in Palestine. Second, to calm domestic unrest the monarchist regime of Iraq adopted a policy of repression and discrimination against the Jews. This policy completely shattered the confidence of the community in their future in Iraq. The Zionist underground movement advocated emigration to Israel. Its primary goal was to bring the entire Iraqi Diaspora to Israel, and thus contribute to the liberation of the Jewish people in their land. The underground movement provided a solution for the Jewish problem in Iraq, one which in fact coincided with the policy of the Iraqi regime seeking to resolve a domestic crisis.