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Yaakov Synagogue, Zakho, Iraq
“There, in the Jewish community of Zakho, we all lived together. The Jewish quarter is like an island. Our entire city is an island. But we Jews especially used to live one next to the other.”
-Haviv Tamar (born in Zakho) (1) (UZ)
Kurdistan comprises regions of modern-day Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria. Zakho is located in northern Iraqi Kurdistan, very near the borders of Turkey and Syria. In fact, when thinking of Kurdish lands, it is those of Iraq that are richest in Jewish historical presence, with approximately 146 Jewish communities residing there over time (2).
Although there is little record of the Jews of Zakho prior to the 12th century, it is said that they were an ancient people, descendent from the “lost ten tribes of Israel” (3). The Jews of Zakho, deeply religious and isolated people, did always feel a strong connection to the holy land of modern Israel, and were therefore enthusiastic emigres during times of ‘aliyah’ (return to Israel).
Although it is true that for the Jews of Zakho, especially for women, much of their worship took place in the home, two important synagogues were built in the city center (4). One synagogue was rather small and was reffered to as, ‘Knishta Zurta.’ The second synagogue, the synagogue of Yaakov, was much larger and was called, ‘Knishta Rabta’ (5). Knishta Zurta was unfortunately destroyed during a serious attack on the Jewish quarter of Zakho in 1891 (6). The Yaakov synagogue survived this attack, but has become tarnished in recent dacades. Today, nothing but a stone wall bearing a menorah remains (7).
Description
Yaakov Synagogue: The large Yaakov synagogue was a primary staple in the lives of many Zakho Jews, mostly male. Some men were known to visit the synagogue daily or multiple times per day to express their faith and to practice their religious rituals (8). For some, the Yaakov synagogue was the center of religious and communal life. Following the trend of Kurdish synagogues, the Yaakov synagogue is situated along a riverbank (9). Also following convention, the Yaakov has an impressive walled-in courtyard, which functions as a, “summer synagogue” during times of warm weather (10). At its peak, the Yaakov synagogue was no short of incredible. Built of hewn stone, Yaakov was truly built to last. However, throughout the decades, as Jews have left Zakho in tremendous numbers, Yaakov too has succumbed to the inevitabilities of wear. Today merely one wall of the Great Synagogue remains. One observer, in 2000, claimed that when she visited Zakho, a menorah still hung from the remaining wall (11).
History of Jews in Iraq: Iraq was once home to approximately 140,000 Jews (12). It is difficult to say how many remain in Iraq today. Some estimates state close to 100 whereas others claim there are fewer than 10. Although Jews were separated into religious quarters, the Jews of Iraq were integral to the cultural fabric of Iraq--entwined in Iraqi business, tradition, and social life (13). It is due to this fact that the tremendous loss of the Jewish population in Iraq, after the partition of Israel in 1948, was a shock to many. Ultimately, the once vibrant and integral Jewish Iraqi population all but ceases to exist within Iraq's borders today.
Iraq was a British mandate from 1922 to 1932 (14). Under British rule, Jews did receive the rights of citizens, and many fared well economically. However, socially, this association with the British brought on a number of negative consequences. It is true that due to their relative prosperity under the British combined with their incessant outsider status within Muslim Iraq, many Jews did support the British. Although most Iraqi Jews identified as Babylonian due to their millenia presence in Iraq, it is also true that a number of Iraqi Jews identified as Arabic and as Iraqis, and were staunchly anti-imperial and pro-nationalist (15). Regardless of this truth, Iraqi Jews were largely viewed by their Muslim counterparts as against the struggle for national independence, and were therefore thought of as 'outsiders within' (16). This reputation was tremendously damaging and incited unforgivable violence agianst Jews, particularly in the mid 20th century. This climate of tension and intolerance was a major push factor in Iraqi Jews' decisions to seek aliyah in the early 1950s.
Jews of Zakho: Zakho was a rural area, isolated by mountainous geography, but was also a haven for Jews well into the 20th century. Due to this geographical and cultural isolation, the Jews of Zakho were never largely, “touched by modernity” (17). Jews of Zakho spoke Aramaic and were largely illiterate. This community was traditionally religious and very slow to change. In the 1930s, however, Zakho too was penetrated by modernity--by modern infrastructure and increased contact with peoples of outside lands (18).
Zakho was, throughout the 20th century, a place through which Jews making illegal aliyah would cross (19). Later as Zionist rhetoric entered the region, Jews were especially receptive in Zakho. They had always felt inextricably connected to Israel and to the holy land of their faith. In fact, many rabbis referred to Zakho as the “Jerusalem of Kurdistan” (20). The Yaakov synagogue helped Zakho to legitimate its stance as a beacon of religion and spirituality.
Yes, these Jews were socially and geographically isolated, but they were still affected by events taking place in greater Iraq. Therefore, their influences to emigrate and to seek aliyah were religious and ideological as well as urgent and practical. In 1920, there were approximately 1,716 Jews living in Zakho’s Jewish quarter (21). The Jewish community is Zakho quickly diminished, as hundreds of Jews emigrated to Palestine beginning in the 1920s (22). Today, almost all Jews with roots in Zakho live in Israel.
Sources
[1] Haya Gavish, Unwitting Zionists: The Jewish Community of Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan (Wayne State University Press, 2010), accessed July 26, 2016, https://books.google.com/books?id=sVdmAkMtgUUC&dq=when+were+synagogues+built+in+zakho+iraq&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
[2] "Encyclopedia Judaica: Kurdistan," Jewish Virtual Library, accessed July 16, 2016, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0012_0_11698.html.
[3] Haya Gavish, Unwitting Zionists: The Jewish Community of Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan (Wayne State University Press, 2010), accessed July 26, 2016, https://books.google.com/books?id=sVdmAkMtgUUC&dq=when+were+synagogues+built+in+zakho+iraq&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
[4] Erich Brauer, The Jews of Kurdistan (Wayne State University Press, 1993), accessed July 26, 2016, https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6S7qTDomCgC&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
[5] Haya Gavish, Unwitting Zionists: The Jewish Community of Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan (Wayne State University Press, 2010), accessed July 26, 2016, https://books.google.com/books?id=sVdmAkMtgUUC&dq=when+were+synagogues+built+in+zakho+iraq&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
[6] "Zakho," Wikipedia, accessed July 26, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakho.
[7] Lazar Berman, "Cultural pride, and unlikely guests, at Kurdish Jewish festival," The Times of Israel, accessed July 27, 2016, http://www.timesofisrael.com/pride-and-unlikely-guests-at-kurdish-jewish-festival/.
[8] Yona Sabar, My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq (Algonquin Books, 2009), accessed July 27, 2016, https://books.google.com/books/about/My_Father_s_Paradise.html?id=qkbb-QjEW8QC&source=kp_cover.
[9] Erich Brauer, The Jews of Kurdistan (Wayne State University Press, 1993), accessed July 26, 2016, https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6S7qTDomCgC&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
[10] Erich Brauer, The Jews of Kurdistan (Wayne State University Press, 1993), accessed July 26, 2016, https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6S7qTDomCgC&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
[11] Lazar Berman, "Cultural pride, and unlikely guests, at Kurdish Jewish festival," The Times of Israel, accessed July 27, 2016, http://www.timesofisrael.com/pride-and-unlikely-guests-at-kurdish-jewish-festival/.
[12] "World Jewish Population," Simple to Remember, accessed July 11, 2016, http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/world-jewish-population.htm.
[13] Orit Bashkin, New Babylonians: A History of Jews in Modern Iraq (Stanford University Press, 2012).
[14] "Mandatory Iraq," Wikipedia, accessed July 26, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_Iraq.
[15] Orit Bashkin, New Babylonians: A History of Jews in Modern Iraq (Stanford University Press, 2012).
[16] Orit Bashkin, New Babylonians: A History of Jews in Modern Iraq (Stanford University Press, 2012).
[17] Haya Gavish, Unwitting Zionists: The Jewish Community of Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan (Wayne State University Press, 2010), accessed July 26, 2016, https://books.google.com/books?id=sVdmAkMtgUUC&dq=when+were+synagogues+built+in+zakho+iraq&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
[18] Haya Gavish, Unwitting Zionists: The Jewish Community of Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan (Wayne State University Press, 2010), accessed July 26, 2016, https://books.google.com/books?id=sVdmAkMtgUUC&dq=when+were+synagogues+built+in+zakho+iraq&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
[19] Haya Gavish, Unwitting Zionists: The Jewish Community of Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan (Wayne State University Press, 2010), accessed July 26, 2016, https://books.google.com/books?id=sVdmAkMtgUUC&dq=when+were+synagogues+built+in+zakho+iraq&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
[20] Yona Sabar, “Zakho”, in: Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. Consulted online on 25 July 2016
[21] [19] Haya Gavish, Unwitting Zionists: The Jewish Community of Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan (Wayne State University Press, 2010), accessed July 26, 2016, https://books.google.com/books?id=sVdmAkMtgUUC&dq=when+were+synagogues+built+in+zakho+iraq&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
[22] "Zakho," Wikipedia, accessed July 26, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakho.