The SCRIBE JOURNAL OF DESCENDANTS OF BABYLONIAN JEWRY VOL. I NO. 2 NOV|~MRER- DECE}II|ER 1971. EDITORIALS Syrian Jewry Arab Republics with Egypt and Libya (and Sudan?) founded in 1971. Syria has become a Soviet military The recent rapid deterioration in the position of and navaJ base from which the Soviet Union pursues Syria's 4,500-strong Jewish community gives cause its expansionist aims in the area. for serious concern. Twelve Jews are in gaol accused of trying to leave the country ilregaFJy. Torture and There is a remarkable similarity between the indignities of all kinds are inflicted on them. Many Soviet and Syrian policies vis-a-vis Jews -- (1) both members of the community, resident mainly in oppress the Jewish minorities in their m!dst, (2) Damascus, Aieppo and Kamishfy suffer under con- both are hostile to the Jewish State, (3) both are stant police surveillance, are subject to curfew and ruled by totalitarian regimes, and (4) both are allied sudden evictions to make way for Palestine Arabs, in the pursuit of certain common aims in the region. the elementary rights of freedom of movement and Since the Six Day War the Syrian Jewish community association are denied them, and they are prevented has been subjected to severe restrictions in all from engaging in normal business activity. It is im- spheres. It will be recaIled that in 1965 Syria publicly moral and incomprehensible that all this should not executed Elie Cohen, that remarkabre lsraeJi agent, be severely condemned and put to rights by the an Egyptian Jew who had emigrated to Israel a few international community with its United Nations years earlier. She has also given assistance to hi- Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights. jackers and held Bsraelis and Jews as hostages. A most vigorous protest must be launched to In considering the position of the Syrian Jewish bring international pressure to bear on Syria to community as a whole, it is necessary to consider alleviate the position of the Jews there. briefly the modern history of Syria, as no Jewish community can be isolated from the general con- Iran Celebrations ditions prevailing in the country in which it lives. After the 1914-18 war, Syria with Lebanon came Elsewhere in this issue we punish a copy of the under French Mandate as Palestine and Iraq were scroll presented on October 26th, 1971 to the Iranian under British Mandate. In the Second World War Ambassador in London for transmission to the Shah Syria came under Vichy France after the fail of of Iran. This was at his reception held at the Savoy France in 1940. tt is perhaps ironic to reflect that in attended by the British Foreign Secretary, ambassa- the Allied operation to free Syria and thus pave the dors and many other distinguished guests as part of way for the full independence of this Arab country. the celebrations on the occasion of the 2,500th anni- a Palestinian Jewish contingent served which in- versary of the founding of the Persian Empire by cluded Mr. Moshe Dayan, who lost an eye in the Cyrus the Great. His declaration allowing the Jewish fighting[ Syria has always been a hotbed of Arab exiles in Babylon to return to Jerusalem to rebuild nationalism and it is no surprise that the Booth party the TempJe has been compared to the Balfour De- was founded there in 1942 by a teacher, Michel claration in modern times, tt also represented what Aflek. In the fast 25 years Syria has had an almost was probably the first charter in history for ensuring annuaJ turnover of dictators and their regimes. In the the rights of minorities. Six Day War she was driven from the Golan Heights We are confident that through this presentation, from where she had harassed Israeli kibbutzim for gladJy accepted by the Iranian authorities who tele- many years. She has refused to accept the Security vised the proceedings, des of understanding and Council resolution of November 22nd, 1967 as a goodwill wilt be fostered between Jran and Jewish basis of settlement and is now in the Federation of (continued on page 9) CONTENTS Page Page • THE HEART OF THE MATTER ...... 9 • EDITORIALS ...... 1, 9 & 10 O THOUGHT FOR CHANUCAH ...... 9 • THE BURDEN OF JEREMIAH ...... 2 • LEI-rERS TO THE EDITOR ...... !0 • FROM ORIENT TO OCCIDENT ...... 3&10 • HAHAM'S SERMON--Extract ...... 10 • THE CREATION OF ]RAO ...... 4 & 5 SHAH THANKS JEWS ...... 10 • PICTURES OF SCROLL PRESENTATION ...... 6 & 7 • COOKERY CORNER ...... 11 • BAGHDAD AND LONDON ...... 8 IRAQ AND IRAN ...... 12 THE BURDEN OF jEREMIAH byN. E DANGOOR Jeremiah is often credited with baying started the The essence of Jeremiah's objective was to the Jewish diaspora. He was instrumental in per- separate religion and state. It can truly be said that suading King Jehoiachin to surrender to Nebuchad- the operation was successful but the patient died! nezzar-and as a result, the young king together with But Jeremiah, who was more concerned with pre- 18,000 of the leading citizens of Judah were de- serving, at any price, the purity of Judaism than the ported to Babylon in 597 B.C.E. Jewish state, saw beyond this when he prophesied: Jeremiah wrote to the exiles warning them not to "I will make a full end of all the nations whither t expect an early release and gave them the advice have driven thee, but I will not make a full end of that became the charter of the diaspora: thee." (Jet. 46:28.) "Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant In the diaspora Judaism proved capable of living gardens, and eat the fruit of them; and seek the without a state of its own, and had complete free- peace of the city whither I have caused you to be dom to develop itself into the governing force in carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: Jewish life. for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace." (Jer. The ruler .who, 50 years later, put into full effect the.separation of religion and state was Cyrus the 29 : 4 and 7.) Great. He gave and guaranteed freedom to all peoples Four years later King Zedekiah rebelled and in practising their religion and earned the title of Nebuchadnezzar again besieged Jerusalem. Jeremiah "The Lord's Anointed". in our Holy Scriptures. He was arrested and imprisoned for treason because also ensured that religion does not interfere in the during this final siege which lasted no less than three affairs of state. years,-he openly advised voluntary submission to Babylonian power. Thus confused and weakened, AIM OF SYNAGOGUE Judah's defenders coufd not win. United, they could in the Second Commonwealth, the synagogue have a sporting chance to prevail. The resultant which was created in the diaspora, retained its im- defeat of Judah in 586 B.C.E. was the greatest portance alongsid e the rebuilt Temple. Judaism de- tragedy in Jewish history. Judah was depopulated veloped along the lines laid down by Jeremiah and and Jerusalem laid waste. continued by Ezekiel and Ezra. Prayers .replaced sacrifice and •repentance became the new way to Nebuchadnezzar offered Jeremiah safe conduct divine forgiveness. and asylum in Babylon in recognition of his un- tn the first century C.E. relations between Judaea• witting help but the prophet, who had great Iove for and the Roman occupiers again became critical his people (being also afraid of the exiJes in Baby- Jewish survival was threatened. Jeremiah's doc- lon), refused these offers. He was disillusioned by trine that spiritual and temporal powers need not be Nebuchadnezzar's harsh measures and stayed on to in conflict was regarded by some as a means of lament the falf of Jerusalem. According to tradition, ensuring that survival. It was in line with the he was stoned to death in Egypt by his own country- doctrine of personal religion on which Judaism and, men. later, its daughter religions of Christianity and Islam PRIESTLY FAMILY developed. ORTHODOX JUDAISM Jeremiah was born in 650 B.C.E. and white still a The problems that faced Jeremiah are very rele- young man he was called to be a prophet. He vant now that the State of Israel has been reborn_ prophesied for over 40 years in the days of Josiah If Judaism thrived and developed in foreign coun- and his sons Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. To devote tries in isolation from the state, why can't it do like- himself to his calling he did not marry. wise in a Jewish state? In seeking to control and Being of a priestly family opposed to the ruling direct government poJicy, Orthodox •Judaism would priests in the Temple, he was doubly sensitive to go back to the conditions, that prevailed before 586 the corruption in the established order. He advocated B.C.E. when Judaism was merely a state cult and reforms and aimed to make religion a personal re- not a personal relationship to Deity. We must not lationship between Man and God and instead of allow the seeds of contention that were ]n deep ritual and cult, establish humanity, justice and freeze to come to ]ife again. morality as the standards of the nation. But he What more can Judaism require of a state, Jewish received little satisfaction from the Establishment. • or non-Jewish, than complete freedom--freedom The new-world power was the Ned-Babylonian for .itself and for aJl other faiths; for no true religion Empire which defeated Assyria and Egypt. Judah, can suffer from tolerance, nor benefit from re- which had been a vassal of Assyria, changed its pression, Of other faiths and no re;igion should claim allegiance first to Egypt and then to Babylon. for itself a monopoly of God. Jeremiah favoured continued submission to Babylon, Religious leaders, instead of seeking temporal which was now ruled by a series of enlightened power, should go out and seek the hearts of men for kings, hoping thus to be free to institute his reforms only in this way can we bring nearer the Kingdom of without hindrance from the state. God. From Orient to Occident-,, o,, by PERCY S, GOURGEY, /f/Z.B.E.. Born in Baghdad in the year 1818, Abdulla Ibn Daud- DREYFUS CASE Sason, eldest of the thirteen children of David Sassoon--the founder of the famous House of Of considerable interest are references in the Sassoon--became barmitzvah in Bushire, Persia, book to Rachel Beer, owner of the Sunday Times grew up and prospered in Bombay and died as Sir and Observer and Sir PhiJip Sassoon. Rachel Beer, a Albert Sassoon, First Baronet of Kensington Gore, grand-daughter of David Sassoon, secured a sen- London, in 1896. This fantastic story of the Sassoon sational newspaper scoop when the notorious family, fascinatingly told in "The Sassoons'" by Major Esterhazy confessed to her that he had sold Stanley Jackson, published by Heinemann's, is also French military secrets to the Germans for which fitting testimony to the integrity, perseverance and Captain Alfred Dreyfus had been wrongfully con- resourcefulness of a renowned Jewish family who victed and imprisoned. Dreyfus, it wi[r be recalled, successfully spanned the worlds of East and West was the central figure in the case that rocked France in one generation. at the turn of the century because of its anti- As is to be expected, the eartier part of the book Semitic undertones and for whom the famous author, with an exotic flavour, is largely taken up with the Emile Zeta, penned his daring "'J'Accuse", to secure life and business enterprise of David Sassoon, "the Dreyfus' acquittal. The case opened the eyes of one that really counted'" (according to his great- another author and more famous personality, Dr. grandson, Siegfried Sassoon, the poet), and at Herzl, with all that that implied eventually for whose death in Bombay in 1864 there was wide- Zionism and the estabtishment of the State of spread mourning and the memorial for whom in- Israel. cluded many famous subscribers, including Glad- Sir Philip Sassoon, whose mother was a Roth- stone. It was David Sassoon's father, Sheikh Sason schild, and who was a JLmior Minister in several ben Saleh (1750-1830) who occupied the position pro-war Conservative Governments, showed no in- of Nasi, or Head of the Community in Baghdad, who terest in the delicate negotiations leading to the arranged for the flight of his son and family at dead British Mandate over Palestine in 1922 though he of night from Baghdad to Bushire when it became was one of Prime Minister Lloyd George's secre~ clear that the Jews were to be persecuted by the taries and, as Dr. Weizmann observed in his auto- then Governor of Baghdad, which was an important biography, "the only Jewish member of the delega- part of the Ottoman Turkish empire. tion". The Sassoon contribution to the Zionist cause BUSINESS EMPIRE could have been immense and I recall how in an David Sassoon landed in Bombay in 1832 and by interview with President Weizmann in Rehovot in virtue of his business acumen, fair dealing and hard 1949, I remarked that it was a pity that the Sassoons work raid the foundation of that business empire were not prevailed upon to adopt the same attitude extending from the Far East to the Near East via of support as the Rothschilds, perhaps through Sir India which was almost entirety managed by his Jacob Sassoon of Bombay and his wife, Lady Rachel eight sons. At the time of the American Civil War Sassoon, my mother's aunt, who themselves were when cotton from the Southern States was intensely Jewish-minded. The author omits much to blockaded, Manchester imported Indian cotton show Sir Jacob's and Lady Rachel's deep and abid- through the Sassoon firm in Bombay. Later the ing consciousness of their Jewish heritage, and their Sassoons were to make an invaluable contribution piety. Their nephew, the late Mr. Simon Nissim, my to the growth of Lancashire's and Bombay's great uncle, who died in February t968 left his large house textile industry. in Knightsbridge, London and much of his valuable Adhering strictly to the precepts and practices of art collection to israel. Orthodox Judaism, David Sassoon. "'a tall, lean. hard-musc!ed, Greco-like figure", established the "RED" CHINA pattern of business activity on the one hand, and public and charitable work on the other, which was The later heir to the titJe and wealth of Sir Jacob, followed by many Baghdad Jewish emigrants to who was childress, was Sir Victor Sassoon, of lndia, Burma, Singapore, indonesia, Hong-Kong, whose career the financial and racing aspects are Shanghai and Japan. But it was through the friend- given in considerable detail, with interesting side- ship and hospitality given by his eldest son, Albert, lights of his work in the Indian Legislative Assembly to the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), on a and his brushes with the Japanese and later Com- visit to Bombay that the Sassoon connection with munist Chinese authorities before and after Wor[d the Royal Family. and subsequently with national War II in the tw;light era of colonialism. He died in and international figures in politics and finance, 1£61 at the age of 77, two years after marrying his began in real earnest. American nurse. Another 'of the Sassoons to die There is described in meticulous, if rather boring, childless was Lady Rachel Ezra of Calcutta whose detail the hobbies, pastimes and magnificent resi- hospitality and charm were almost as legendary as dences of the numerous members of the Sassoon that of her renowned mother, Mrs. FIora Sassoon, family in London, Brighton, Kent and elsewhere. whose grandson, Rabbi Solomon, who provided (continued on page 10) i. " '::

THE CREATION OF IRAQ Extracts from "The Heart of the Middle East" by R/CHARD COKE P.b,i.he T.orooo B.,,orwo.r,,. "The edifice that has not firm foundations, make not lofty; and if thou dost, tremble for it."--SAADI (famous Persian poet)

The broad outline of the task to which the British the League of Nations and the British Government Government had committed itself with regard to the conceived it as an excellent way of disposing of a future of Mesopotamia was summarised ]n the country that was threatening to become a nuisance. officia] announcement of June 20th, 1920: None of the minorities showed any disposition to His Majesty's Government, having been entrusted welcome a local form of control which would, in with the mandate for Mesopotamia, anticipate that practice, .put them compJetely in the power of the th8 mandate will constitute Mesopotamia an in- Arabs; and, owing to the large number of Shiahs. dependent State under the guarantee of the League among the latter, there was an utter lack of unity of Nations and subject to the mandate to Great even among them. On account of the long Turkish Britain; that it will lay on them the responsibility for predominance, nearly all the local men with ad- the maintenance of internal peace and external ministrative experience were Sunnis; and the Shiahs, security, and will require them to formulate an forming fifty per cent of the Moslem population, organic law to be framed in consultation with the soon began to assert loudly that the land which people of Mesopotamia, and with due regard to the contained so many of the Shiah holy places was rights, wishes and interests of all the communities once more about to come under complete Sunni of the country.* The mandate will contain provisions control. to facilitate the development of Mesopotamia as a PROTECTION SOUGHT self*governing State until such time as it can stand by itself, when the mandate will come to an end. The The alarm of the minorities reached a climax in inception of this task His Majesty's Government has the case of the Jews,. who, directly they real]sod decided to entrust Sir Percy Cox, who will resume that the British Government had seriousJy made up his position on the termination of the existing military its mind to organise a local form of government, administration as chief British representative in sent a representative to the High Commissioner, and Mesopotamia. requested, in a body, the privilege of British citizen- ship. They based their claim on the fact that their DIVERSE GROUPS country had been conquered by British troops, and Such a task might well have appalled even so that they were actually at the moment Turkish sub- experienced an Eastern public servant as Sir Percy jects under British control; and that therefore the Cox. Nobody was in a better position than he to British had no moral right to force them to accept a know that modern Mesopotamia possessed, in change of nationality, unless they so desired it. They actual fact, hardly even. the rudiments of a nationat were eventually appeased by the personal influence spirit, and that the "rights, wishes and interests of of the High Commissioner, and by his assurance all the communities in the country", so glibly re- that ample guarantees would be afforded them by ferred to by His Majesty's Government, represented the British Government against any form of local about as various an assortment of conflicting de- tyranny. But there was in fact no logical argument sires and policies as could be found anywhere on to be urged against the position which the Jews had the earth. taken up. It had been recognised by the Assembly of the Arabs, Jews, Kurds, Seljuk Turks, Persians, League of Nations that Mesopotamia was not wholly Assyrians, Telkaifis, Armenians--how mould such Arab, and the nationals of the new State were there- a composite corlection of races into a single nation? fore, it was decided, to be designated not Arabs, but Sunnis, Shiahs, Jews, Christians, Sabians, Yezidis-- "lraqis r'. The double aim of the Arab nationalists how to lessen the friction between such a variety of now began to be apparent. While welcoming the creeds? birth of an Iraq State as the dawn of Arab in- The Mesopotamian nation was to be a new ex- dependence, they never ceased to harbeur the hope periment in nation building; it was to demonstrate that the Arab dominion might eventually take a the belief prevalent in the West that there is nothing wider scope; and the agitation for complete Arab in the world which cannot, if necessary, be made independence, which had been previously con- by machinery. No great evidence was f,orthcoming ducted from Syria, now began to be transferred to that the native population of Mesopotamia wanted Iraq, This indirectly led to considerable feeling be- to become a nation--indeed, large and influentia] tween the British authorities in Mesopotamia and portions of it fought to the last ditch against it; but the French in Syria, who openly accused the British * Cf. Balfour Deciaration of 1917. of fomenting Arab nationalist troubIe in the latter • ": • . . • " " ":.c. ;i,: :ii..: . :- :.:.

CREATION OF IRAQ (cont'd from page 4) FEISAUS SUCCESS country; a feeling which was soon increased by the The amir Feisal landed in Basrah in May, 1921. French suspicion that the British were in secret Meanwhile the other candidates for the throne failed negotiation with the amir Feisal, whom the French to make any great effort on behalf of their claims, had shortly before summarily driven from Syria. with the sole exception of Seyyib Talib Pasha, whose Meanwhile the High Commissioner in Mesopotamia energy and indiscreet frankness eventuaFly led to his was faced with the added difficulties that the Kurds seizure and deportation by the British authorities. in the north would be content with nothing short of (Another candidate, Sheikh Khazaal of Moham- local autonomy under British protection, and flatly merah, was later murdered.) refused to offer their ]oyafty to the new Iraq Govern- ment; and, faced with the desire of the Jews, most The removal of Sayyid Talib Pasha had an un- of the Christians and. many Moslems to become doubted effect on the eventual success of the British, of the Kurds to become independent, of the candidature of the amir Feisal, The Eastern mind is Sunni and nationalist Arabs to remain Arab, and of more cynical in political matters than .the Western, the Shiah Arabs and Persians to be freed from any and will always assume that the Government, as the Governmental authority whatsoever, the British strongest organisation in the community, will in the officials in Baghdad• had a heavy task to persuade long run get its own way by fair means or by foul. themselves that any genuine Iraqi national feeling There appeared, then, nothing very unusual in the existed at all. British deportation of Tarib Pasha. Such a course was undemocratic and, in view of his admitted ELECTIONS PLANNED services to the British cause in the past, distinctly ungrateful; but British belief in democracy .did not But the British statesmen at home were still extend very far east of Malta, and gratitude, in any obsessed with the idea that machine-made nations case, is not necessarily a political virtue. It was were possible; and an important step forward in the thereafter assumed by the .public that the British creation of the new traq was taken earJy in 1921, had determined that the amir Feisal was to occupy when the High Commissioner announced the cre- the throne, and that there was the end of the matter. ation of an electoral law, which shouJd form the legal basis for elections to form a new National Assembly. On August 23rd, 1921, Feisal was crowned King But the elections were never held, and the nationa] of traq in the courtyard of the Baghdad Serai, built assembly never met; and, in the event, the king and fifty years before by the Turkish vail Midhat Pasha. the constitution were found to a great extent by the Thus for the second time in under two years, prince British authorities themselves. Feisal found himself "acclaimed" a king. [NOTE--Under the nationalist regime conditions in Consequently, when it was publicly announced • Iraq gradually deteriorated. This is not surprising as that the amir Feisal was on his way to [raq in a the country.had no historical traditions as a national British ship to offer himself as a candidate for the state. Its frontiers conform to no principle of throne, the people had little doubt as. to who was nationality. destined to become the first King of Iraq. The fear of the minorities was soon to be justi- The amir Feisal did not, however, have the field fled: the Assyrians were massacred, the Kurds have completely to himself. Several local people of note not ceased fighting .for autonomy or independence, were understood to be ready to offer themselves if •the Shiahs never got a fair deal in running the a suitabJe opportunity sheutd occur. The Sheikh of country, the 200,000 strong Jewish community, Mehammerah, an old ally of the British, a Shiah and which had a continuous existence for 2,500 year's a man of great wealth and influence, was considered and which was aptly described by Feisal as the to be largely acceptable to the Arab and Persian mainstay of Iraq, were in the space of 25 years (by Shiahs; the Naqib of Baghdad, himself acting as 1950) completely manoeuvered out of the country, president of the local Council of State, was an and ether useful elements including many Chris- obvious possibility; and Seyyid TalJb Pasha of Bas- tians and Moslems had to seek refuge ersewhere. rah, a politician with a very lurid past, was also This is the pattern of Arab expansion and this today understood to be prepared to work in his own is going on in the Sudan. interest. In addition to the possible opposition of rival candidates, the amir Feisal had to face the fact All Abdel Rahman, Sudanese Minister of the that he was not a native of the country, that, as a Interior, told the non-Arab South Sudanese Chris- Sunni, he could not expect a warm welcome from tians who form 60 per cent of Sudan's population: the very strong Shiah community, and that a great "The Sudan is an integral part of the Arab world... number even of Sunnis were inclined to resent the anybody dissenting from this view must quit the sudden rise to fame during the war of the famiJy of country." the Sharif of Mecca, resting so rargely on British Unless the Arabs will learn to live with other support and British money. There were a number of nationalities in the Middle East, there can be no the more old-fashioned Sunnis, indeed, who were prospect of lasting peace in the region--D. inclined to consider the rebellion of the Sharif against the Turkish Sultan and Calip h of Islam as a most It was recently reported that over 11,000 Iranians impious act. were expelled from Iraq--Ed.] •"~" H~.~"t"

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. # .~7~7', ,~ (f to r) Mine. Afshar, the Iranian Ambassador, Mr. N. E. Dangoor (displaying • ~ -,~ scroll), Mr. M. Dellal, Mrs. R. Moshi, Mrs. N. E. Dangoor, Mr. P. S. Gourgey (holding scroll case) , ~-z~ ~~ | . ,, ~ ~.,~, ...... ,.~. ~.,~,~ , ", , "w~ig,~ • •, .,:., a ~ ~-~ ,; ~mt~ ~.~r~- au

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The emblem at the ~o~; prominent Exilarch, Bo C.E. awarded to him by whose converted d~

In conversation with the Ambassador before putting scroll in case 6 Presenting the scroll to the Ambassador [I to r) Mine. Afshar, the Ambassador, Mrs. S. Fattat, Mr. Dangoor, Mr. Gourgey, Mrs. Dangoor

3f the Scroll is that of a stgnai, in the 7th century Chosroes ff, Shah of Persia, u~hter he married.

(I to r) Mme. A~snar, the Ambassador, Mrs. S. Deyong (sister of Mr. Gourgey), Mr. S. Fattal, Mr. N. Dangoor (holding scroll) Mrs. Dangoor, Mr. Gourgey 7 • . .... ,-" , ,,, ". i; ~ i . :" .. .-..

The Condition of the Jews in Baghdad and London 800 years ago by N. £ D.

Eight hundred years ago, Benjamin of Tudela, The traveJs of Benjamin took place during a lull Navarre, paid an extensive visit to the Mediter- between the Second and Third Crusades. Prepara- ranean countries and the Middle East. His memoirs tions were going on all over Europe for the resump- are a mine of information for Iife in those days and tion of the Holy War, Henry ti was reigning in historians refer to them for many details not avail* England and in 1171 he gave his consent to the able .in other sources. imposing of a tax on a]J his dominions to save the He visited Baghdad of which he writes in praising Holy Land from recapture by the Saracens, The tax terms. The Caliph was versed .in the Torah. and amounted to two pence in the pound for the first could speak and write in Hebrew. There were year and one penny in the pound for the four sub- 40,000 Jews in Baghdad living in security and sequent years. Almost aft the kings of Europe laid a prosperity. Among them were many learned men. similar imposition on their subjects which' received At the head of the community was the Exilarch the name of Saladin's tax. But in 1187 Saladin cap- whose genealogy goes back to King David. Ben- tured Jerusalem and allowed the Jews to resettle jamin describes the ExiJarch's weekly visit to the • there. Caliph as follows:-- PERSECUTION AT YORK "And every Thursday when the Exi]arch goes In 1i89 when Richard r came to power he ,helped to pay a visit to the great Caliph, horsemen to organise the Third Crusade. The Jews of England --non-Jews as well as Jews--escort him and again suffered at the hands of the populace who heraJds proclaim in advance: "Make way before wanted to indulge in a crusade tess dangerous and our lord, the son of David, as is due unto him.' with more immediate profit. At Richard's coronation "frnalu tariq fi sayyidna ibn Dawood." He is there were riots at Westminster and rumours that mounted on a horse, and is attired in robes of the king had given permission to kill the Jews, In silk and embroidery with a large turban on his London the mob attacked Old Jewry, setting fire to head, and from the turban is suspended a large houses. Art Jews were killed at Lynn. Many were white cloth adorned with a chain upon which slain at Stamford Fair and Bury St. Edmunds. The the seat of Mohammed i.s engraved. greatest tragedy of the period was the annihilation "Then he appears before the Caliph and of the Jewish community of York. kisses his hand, and the Caliph rises and places "Five hundred Jews had retired into the castle him on a throne which (the prophet) Moham- for safety and finding themselves unable to med had ordered to be made in honour of him, defend the place, murdered their own wives and all the Mohammedan princes who attend •and•children, threw the dead bodies over the the court of the Caliph rise up before him." walls upon the populace, and then setting fire [The Jew in the MedievalWorld by Jacob R. to the houses, perished in the flames. The Marcus] gentry of the neJghbourhoed, who were all in- debted to the Jews, ran to the cathedral where TRAGIC PLIGHT their bonds were kept, and made a solemn bonfire of the papers before the aftarr" (History tn contrast, the condition of Jews in England 800 of England by David Hume, 1823, Vol. II) years ago was very tragic. ]n the tenth century, when Baghdad was at its zenith, Europe was just FULL CIRCLE beginning to rise to prominence through the dis- It is noteworthy that after Saladin's death in 1193 covery of large iron deposits. By the end of the Richard I, also known as: Richard the Lionheart, eleventh century European Christendom felt strong offered Maimonides or Rambam (Rabbi Moses ben enough to challenge the Mohammedan "infidels" Maimon, 1135-1204) a post as his personal physi- for the recovery of the Holy Land. The First Crusade cian but Maimonides, who had been the private (1096-1099) was called forth by the resolutions of physician of Saladin, refused to live in the barbaric the Church Councils of Piacenza and Clermont. It atmosphere offeudal Europe. was accompanied by fanatical anti-Jewish pogroms Now, after 800 years, the wheel has turned fuji all over Europe. One community after another was circle and the Jews of Baghdad, fleeing from dis- destroyed in quick succession. Thousands of Jews crimination and oppression, are welcomed to the refused to accept baptism, preferring tO lose their hospitable shores of England, .. enjoying complete lives through massacre or suicide. When the Chris- equality with a people now steeped in the Judaeo- itan armies conquered Jerusalem all the Jews there Christian traditions of humanity, tolerance and jus- were killed. tice. THE HEART OF THE IVIATTER by EXILARCH By miraculously containing Egypt for the past 24 Christians and Moslems; ]raq in a vacuum. Thus a years, Israel noL only ensured, aga;nst odds, her small force can change this stalemate one way or own survival but also saved the rest of south- the other--either put the Middle East on the road to western Asia from Egyptian domination. recovery and progress or send it down the abyss of But for Israel, Egyptian governors [n the name of destruction. pan-Arabism, would today be sitting in Beirut and We, Babylonian Jewry the most ancient surviving Damascus, Amman, Baghdad and Riyadh, to ad- community in the Middle East, and almost of the minister, through poison gas if necessary, as they whole world, steeped in the history of the region did in Yemen, their brand of civilisation and extend from time immemorial, who have been uprooted through repression and tyranny the miseries of the from our Middle Eastern home of 25 centuries, long-suffering peoples of the Middle East. would like to observe to all who would impose a But for Israel, Arab armies, in the name of pan- settlement that the conflict is not merely between Islamism would today be knocking at the gates of Egypt and Israel but concerns a]t peoples of the Iran, aided perhaps by some reactionary mullahs Middle East; that the strife is not over now many who learned nothing from the lessons of history-- square miles of Sinai to be occupied or evacuated that religious fanaticism has always been the cause but quite s=,mple over the right of non-Arab peoples of the downfall of the countries concerned. to exist in the Midd]e East. There can be no mean[ng- fu] settlement unless it is comprehensive for the UNSETTLED CONDITIONS whole region and unless this basic fact is realised. Today Israel is still in a state of siege; Jordan in Middle Eastern exiles all over the world can help turmoil; Lebanon in a precarious balance between in finding a just and lasting peace.

Letters to the Editor countries and we trust that it will receive wide- spread support. From Mr. A. Rosen M. Pottesman, I would like to congratulate you warmly on the M. Salasnik, appearance of The Scribe. It is aptly named after Co-Chairmen, Action Committee the renowned biblicar figure, Ezra the Scribe, since for Arab Jewry (ACAJ) its aim is to draw attention to the past and present From Mr. A. Ben-Jacob position of Jews in, and from, Arab countries. I enjoyed reading the interesting articre on the I was particularly interested in the article "Span- Patriarch Abraham. There is much in The Scribe of ning the Centuries" stressing what Mr. Gourgey interest to Babylonian Jewry and other Orienta[ called "'the penta-centric history of the Jewish communities. We wish you well in your efforts, and People"--the five centres of Jewry throughout the rook forward to receiving more issues of your ages, Israel, Babyton, Spain, Poland and the United Journal. States. By coincidence, in an address I delivered at Abraham Ben-Jacob. the Richmond Synagogue, I suggested that Jewish JerusaJem. Law had been expounded in five main centres in contrast to other codes of law which had evolved SHAH THANKS JEWS from the soil of the land. [t seemed to me to be At the Iranian Embassy in London, the Charg@ highly indicative of the divine nature of our religious d'Affaires conveyed the thanks and appreciation of jurisprudence that we had developed a legaJ system, His Maiesty the Shah to Mr. Dangoor and Mr. incredibly, as a people without a fixed geographical Gourgey, as President and Chairman respectively of centre, having thus made a unique contribution to the Committee for Babylonian Jewry, for the senti- civilisatien. ments expressed in the scroll presented to mar]< the I wish every success to your magazine. occasion of the 2,500th anniversary of the founding Aubrey Rosen, B.A., M.Sc, of the Persian Empire by Cyrus the Great. The Lay Minister, sentiments included a reference to Cyrus" declaration Richmond District Synagogue permitting Babylonian Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. From Mr. M. Pottesman, Mr, IVl. Salasnik Details of the celebrations in Iran were widely It is with great interest that we received and read pubficised in the general and Jewish press. the first issue of The Scribe. Such a publication con- cerning the cultural and historical background of the (cont/nued from page 1) ence-fiourising Jewish Community in Iraq and other communities everywhere. As for the term Babylonian Arab countries is long overdue. Jewry, it invokes memories of past glories (including We feel sure that this new magazine will sustain that of Ezra the Scribe) to transcend present con- interest in the present plight of Jews in the Arab troversies. 75th Anniversary of Lauderdale Road Synagogue EXTRACT FROM SERMON O]: THE HAHAM by Rabbi Dr. S. 0/V

J" ' " 1 Our brethren coming especially from the Middle look and to some extent the form in which the reJig- and Far East have not only increased the numbers of ious thought of the Sephardim is expressed is the Sephardim in this country but they have created a outcome of close co-operation between Jewish and potential for a more intensive Jewish life according Arabic cultures which is also evident in our prayers to Sephardi tradition. The Congregation of Shaar and our attitude to education. Our new members Hashamayim (Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue) have already added to the strength of our leadership has more than doubled its numbers during the last and they have made us aware of a larger, broader quarter of a century. Our brethren from Communities and deeper meaning of Sephardism. Indeed the. going back to the first Exile, from Iraq and Egypt, make-up of. the Congregation that celebrated the. • have joined us and so have members of the great Fiftieth Anniversary of this Synagogue is quite dif* Communities of India and Morocco. Sephardi out- ferent from the •Congregation present today... "

OBITUARY mMr. N. Basri-- Comments and articles welcomed. The views The sudden and premature death of Mr. N. of individual contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Journal.iEd. Basri came as a shock to his numerous friends in this country and to thousands of listeners and fans throughout the World, As Head of the Please send to: Arabic Music section of the B.B,C, for more The Editor, The Scribe, than 25 years, he built it into a comprehensive 4 Poplar Court, E, Tw[ckenham, Middx. unit unique in the world. • Mr. Basri was by far. one of 1;he greatest ex- Published by Committee for Descendants of perts in the field of Arabic music. He was the [3abyJonian Jewry, edited by P. S. Gourgey, first man to devise .its orchestration and in MBE and printed by The Ranelagh Press, Park recent years had arranged and supervised the End, Hampstead, London, NW3 2SG. recordings for the great Egyptian singer Abdul Wahab and ether leading Arab singers. His knowledge of Arabic literature and Arab EDITORIAL (continued from page 1) history and religion was unparalled. During the Second World War, he was chosen by the Social Problems Ministry of Information in preference to the Imams of the Woking and East London The problems affecting the underprivileged sections of Israel's population, in housing, employment and Mosques to appear.in a feature film reciting passages from the Koran, education, require compassion, sustained effort and co-ordinated planning for their solution. Are there Basri was greatly loved by countless risten~ short-term and tong-term plans to enable those at ors to his programmes and only once did the receiving end to see the light at the end of the religi0us prejudice play a part in his iong career. tunnef? Would it not encourage potential and actual This was when a Beirut journalist submitted a donors in Israel and the Diaspora if they are informed play to the B.B.C. and was turned down as of these plans and specific projects to which their being unsuitable, The journalist was unpacified contributions are channelled? In short, how much at such a rebuff and published a vitriolic art- goes where? But there is far more to it than just the ]cle in his paper castigating the B,B.C, for giving and the receiving, There is the need to spread appointing an Iraqi Jew to such a high position an understanding of the cultural and social back- in the organisation.. Many of the listeners ground of the immigrants concerned, and this could sprang to Mr, Basri's defence and one Saudi well be part of an enlightened adult education pro- Arabian had written to the newspaper con- gramme, • corned protesting that art and music know no religious barriers and emphasising that the (continued from page 3) Arabs were fortunate in having such a talented and dedicated man who was making a con- much of the material for the boo]<, settled recently in tribution to Arab culture. Israel, At Mr. Basri's funeral in the Golders Green This is a remarkable story of a remar,kable Bagh- cemetery~ the Jewish mourners were outnum- dadi Jewish family, many of whose achievements bered by Moslems and Christians--men and would serve to focus attention on the life and work women, all with sad hearts, paying their last of Jewish emigrants from Baghdad to India and the tribute to a greatly loved personality, Far East, A.D.

10 CO OgER Y CORNER by GASTRONOME

A gourmand is a frustrated gourmet! Take a small piece of the casing paste and flatten it till about ¼ inch thick and about 3 inches in diameter. Put some stuff]ng onto it and work the Napoleon once attributed his military success to the casing round to form a ball. Continue till all the fact that his army marched on its stomach! Another material is used up. Complete one Kubbah before wit has said that the shortest way to a man's heart making the flat casing for the next. is through his stomach. (Spinsters please note!) It is a fact that men appreciate good cooking more than women do and also produce better cooks when they get down to it. Women's Lib has resulted in the 1 lb. bones neglect of the kitchen and the loosening of family 8 cups water ties. 2 Ib. vegetable marrow or turnip or egg plant Three of the main cuisines of the world are the ½ tsp. tomato paste Chinese, French and Middle Eastern. Each de- ~--~1 1 cup lemon juice according to taste veloped in its peculiar circumstances. In China fuel 1 tsp. dried mint was expensive and so they went for quick cooking which sometimes left food half-raw. In the frequent Bring the bones to the boif. Add the vegetable in times of siege and famine, they ate anything they large slices (use one vegetable only), the tomato came across: birds' nests, rotten eggs (the older paste, the lemon juice and the dried mint. Boil for the better), ants (now coated with chocoJate), about 1.~- hours. Add the Kubbahs and boif again worm stew and similar things that now form the until they are well cooked, about ¼ hour. Remove exotic dishes of Chinese cooking. It is noteworthy bones, season and serve. that bread and the tomato have not yet entered the Chinese diet. (They may, now, under United The. success of this dish depends on the casing Nations infIuence!--Ed. ) of the kubbah being made very thin. The French cuisine was developed mainly by a hunting community. It is rich both in meat dishes and cheeses and butterfood. "'Cellar" Club In the Middle East the staple diet is bread. The "The Cellar" Dramat!c Group announce that the cultivation of wheat in northern traq 10,000 years Arabic play "The Marriage Broker" has been pest- ago obliged man to settle in villages to await the poned to 26th and 27th December, 1971. Tickets crops and this [s considered the start of civilisatien. from The Secretary, "The Cellar", 11 Russell Road, It is stated that the general div;sion of Middle London, W.14. Eastern cooking into sweet and sour dishes was in- fluenced by the Persian doctrine of good and evil. However, one can hardl~; find anything evil in the Action Corrllm~ttee traditional sour dishes of the Middle East. We give here from Baghdad Recipes (compiled by Mrs. The Action Committee for Arab Jewry (ACAJ), Renee Elkabir and others and published in Baghdad) together with other organisations, is organising a a recipe for a traditional sour dish which formed part silent torchlight procession on behalf of Syrian of.the Sabbath fare in traq: Jewry on Sunday 12th December, 1971 starting from Speaker's Corner, Hyde Park, at 5 p.m. Watch press KUBBAH HAMIDH for further details. 2 cups rice 1 cup minced lean mutton THOUGHT FOR CHANUCAH Soak the rice in water for an hour. Drain and grind fineJy while still wet. Mix the well-minced meat (free "The little Maccabean band was like a rock from fat) with the ground rice to make a thick paste. in the midst of a surging sea. Standing almost This mixture is used for the casing. alone ]n their day, the heroes beat back the forces that threatened to involve all mankind 1½ cups minced meat in a common demoralisation. They kept a corner ¼ cup minced onion of the world sweet in an impure age. They herd parsley (optional) aloft the torch of true refigion at a time when salt and pepper thick darkness was covering the nations."-- Mix the minced meat and onion and season to taste_ Morris Joseph, 1903 (Selected by G.) This is used for the stuffing.

11 Ira~ and iron-3S years ago Askari has been deplored and Mr. Anthony Eden, the Foreign Secretary, has rightly stressed the fact that "one principal criterion by which the new One of the most prominent Jewish personalities in government would be judged by the outside world the Far East was the late Mr. N. E. B. Ezra who, was the humanity of its treatment of minorities.'* In through his paper, "rerael's Messenger",. fearlessly former times, the Arabs used to sing a slogan, tl championed Jewish and Zionist causes. Mr. Ezra bilad biladna wu.# Yahood kilabna! This "'music" who died in Shanghai on 4th December 1936 had should be combatted and [raq must be taught to written earrier that day an editorial "lraq and Iran" learn how to tolerate her subiects of diverse creed (re-published below) shewing a politicar prescience and faith. Her next door neighbour--Jran--must remarkable for its contemporary relevance. The stand as an exemplary rebuke to her, insofar as the "Shanghai Times" said of Mr. Ezra in an editodaJ country has progressed and establised peace and the next day that he was "an outstanding example unity among all the sections of the inhabitants, re- of a man who had faith and who acted in every detail gardress of creed, caste or colour. We take eft our of his life in accordance w/th that faith, fighting most hat to tran and wish her continued success and pro- staunchly for what he believed to be the right." Mr. sperity_ Asia is proud of her and. it is hoped that her Ezra wrote: Jiberal regime will have its repercussion in all the backward Asiatic countries, Iran is indubitably "The recent upheaval in lraq and the sudden re- worthily representing the human ideaFs of Islam,.and signation of the government has given an opport- we forsee the time when all the Asiatic countries wilJ unity to the British Government to give a warning to join also with New Judea and work for the greatness Iraq, to beware of her plighted word to give equal and welfare of Asia as a whole," rights to the minorities. The murder of General Jaffar P.S.G.

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