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Meir Tweg Synagogue at Baghdad, Iraq
Baghdad was home to the largest Jewish community in Iraq possibly from as early as its founding in the eighth century.1 By 1908, the Jews of Baghdad numbered around 53,000, about a third of Baghdad's total population, and lived in many quarters--including al-Tawrat, Tahat it-Takyah, Abu Saifan, and Suq Hannun.2 Although Jews were involved in local politics, new tensions began to rise between Jews and Muslims--leading to an anti-Jewish riot on October 15, 1908--and World War I forced many Jews to flee the city.3 In 1948, the Jewish community in Baghdad numbered around 77,000; however, the Jewish community began to fear life in Baghdad after the Farhūd, a pogrom which occured on June 1, 1941, left 130 Jews killed and millions lost in property damage.4 The Farhūd inspired the growth of Zionism and Communism among a minority of Jews in Baghdad who felt increasingly disconnected from the Iraq state.5 Bombings throughout the 1950s further estranged the Jewish community, and by 1952 only about 6,000 Jews remained in Iraq.6 The Jewish community endured further violence throughout Saddam Hussein's regime, and by 2003 the last synagogue in Baghdad had closed.7
Description
History
Built in 1942, the Meir Tweg Synagogue stands two stories tall and is well-known for its ornate construction.8 In 2003, the Jewish community of Betaween barricaded the synagogue after terrorist attacks in Istanbul destroyed another synagogue.9 Although it has largely fallen out of use, Saddam Hussein’s regime did fund the restoration for the Meir Tweg synagogue.10 As one congregation member said, they used to study religious topics during the summer in Hebrew, pray, and celebrate festivals all in this synagogue.11
Features
The synagogue currently is made up of a crumbling two-story columned interior with sky-blue walls, and steps leading to a wooden cabinet holding the sacred Torah scrolls that are coming apart.12 Additionally, a cabinet that shelters the scrolls written in hand calligraphy on gazelle leather, has marble plaques engraved with seven-branched candelabra and psalms on each side.13
Current Standing
The Meir Tweg synagogue is the last left standing in Baghdad, though it has fallen out of use.14 The remaining 6,000 of the former 150,000 Jews in Iraq struggle to keep up and maintain their old sites of heritage, including this Synagogue.15
Sources
Notes
1. Ayalon, Yaron, and Ariel I Ahram. “Baghdad.” In Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, 2014. http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/baghdad-SIM_000468.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Benjamin, Marina. Last Days in Babylon: The Exile of Iraq's Jews, the Story of My Family. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006. Accessed 24 June, 2014. http://books.google.com/books?id=JFHwzjYDjjwC&printsec.
9. Ibid.
10. Smallman, Lawrence. "Even Some Baghdad Jews Want Saddam Back: Baghdad Jews - Exodus or Extinction." Rense.com. Aljazeera, 20 Oct. 2003. Web. 24 June 2014. http://www.rense.com/general43/back.htm.
11. Faraj, Salam. “Ancient Heritage of Iraq's Last Few Jews at Risk as Synagogues Fall into Ruin.” The Times of Israel. The Times of Israel, March 3, 2022. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-heritage-of-iraqs-last-few-jews-at-risk-as-synagogues-fall-into-ruin/.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ayalon and Ahram, “Baghdad.”
15. Faraj, “Ancient Heritage of Iraq's Last Few Jews at Risk as Synagogues Fall into Ruin.”
Works Cited
Benjamin, Marina. Last Days in Babylon: The Exile of Iraq's Jews, the Story of My Family. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006. Accessed 24 June, 2014. http://books.google.com/books?id=JFHwzjYDjjwC&printsec.
Faraj, Salam. “Ancient Heritage of Iraq's Last Few Jews at Risk as Synagogues Fall into Ruin.” The Times of Israel. The Times of Israel, March 3, 2022. https://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-heritage-of-iraqs-last-few-jews-at-risk-as-synagogues-fall-into-ruin/.
Smallman, Lawrence. "Even Some Baghdad Jews Want Saddam Back: Baghdad Jews - Exodus or Extinction." Rense.com. Aljazeera, 20 Oct. 2003. Web. 24 June 2014. http://www.rense.com/general43/back.htm.
Ayalon, Yaron, and Ariel I Ahram. “Baghdad.” In Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, 2014. http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/baghdad-SIM_000468.
Image Gallery
AFP/Getty Images. "Meir Tweg Synagogue." TabletMag.com. N.d. http://cdn1.tabletmag.com/wp-content/files_mf/1267474424iraq_030110_380px.jpg.
For more images of the site, visit:
Hanukkah Candle Lighting, Meir Tweig Synagogue, Baghdad, Iraq 1990s https://rememberbaghdad.com/gallery