The Iraqi Jewish community, diplomatic community and congressional representatives gathered on June 5 to commemorate the victims of the Farhud massacre that targeted Baghdad Jewry on June 1, 1941.
The commemoration was held in memory of Shlomo Mantzur, a survivor of the Farhud who was born in Baghdad in 1938. At that time, the Iraqi capital was one-third Jewish, at a population of 90,000. He emigrated to Israel and raised a family in Kibbutz Kissufim: five children and 12 grandchildren.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Mantzur became the oldest hostage held by Hamas before he was killed by his captors.
The remembrance event, spearheaded by Sephardic Heritage International DC, featured remarks from Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) and was attended by nearly 400 attendees from around the United States and world. Reps. Deborah Wasserman-Schultz, Brad Schneider and Jamie Raskin were congressional sponsors.
“We had a very beautiful memorial,” Afraim Katzir, the founding director of SHIN DC, said in an interview.
Rabbi Brian Shamash, the hazzan at a New York temple, conducted memorial prayers at the event. Shamash composed a “breathtaking” liturgy to commemorate the Farhud that engaged the audience, Katzir said.
“This was our first congressional commemoration specifically for the Farhud … and it was successful, so it’s something that we intend to continue each year,” Katzir said.
Maurice Shohet, a SHIN DC board member and the keynote speaker, discussed the history of Jews in Iraq and the Farhud, drawing on his personal experience as a Jew born and raised in Iraq.
He talked about how on the first day of Shavuot in 1941, Jewish families left their houses in the afternoon to visit their relatives.
“They were attacked by members of youth squads, soldiers from defeated army units and hot-headed students,” Katzir recalled Shohet said at the event. “In certain areas, Jewish passengers were pulled out of public buses and slain.”
Those who heard about the violence fled back to their homes, but others weren’t so lucky.
“Those who did not flee in time were murdered,” Katzir said. “When no more Jews were found in the streets, the rioters began attacking homes, and by night, the riots had spread all over Baghdad.
“The riots began with the murder of Jews, and only when the news had spread, looters began to assemble from all directions.”
Shohet shared how his mother’s family had been saved from the riots with the help of their Muslim neighbors. He drew parallels between more recent events and the Farhud.
“Hamas’ brutal attack on Jewish communities in Southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, reminds us of the violence against the Baghdadi Jewish community in 1941, following the establishment of a pro-Nazi government in Iraq that year,” Shohet said in a SHIN DC press release.
Mithal al-Alusi, an Iraqi politician who gave virtual remarks at the event, called the Farhud a “very black day” in Iraqi history, one that “cast a shadow over 2,500 years of good relations between Iraqi Jews, Christians, Arabs and Kurds,” he said in the press release.
“The story of Maurice Shohet’s mother [and her family] being saved by Iraqi Muslims and the support of leaders like Mithal al-Alusi demonstrate that this does not have to be about one people against another, but about humankind coming together with goodwill to stand against all types of hate, including antisemitism, and standing against terror,” Katzir said.
In her virtual remarks from Israel, Shlomo Mantzur’s cousin, Dalia Burgana, talked about how much Mantzur meant to her.
“I thought that was very, very special to hear from her,” Katzir said.
Katzir said he has wanted to host a congressional Farhud remembrance for a while. At one point, SHIN DC included the Farhud in a congressional Holocaust commemoration because both events came about due to Nazi influence.
This year, the Farhud remembrance is a standalone event due to a recent “rise in antisemitism and terror” and a need for heightened awareness of the effects.
“With everything that’s been going on in this country and around the world related to a rise in antisemitism, we thought that it would be important to do a program about the Farhud,” Katzir said. “We had recent attacks in three different countries. The perpetrators didn’t know each other, but they’re all deeply connected to a rise in antisemitism.”
Katzir said it’s important to tell these lesser-known Jewish histories, which is why he hopes to make the congressional Farhud remembrance an annual tradition.
“Like Congressman [Fine] said, this is a part of history that many Jews don’t know, much less non-Jews, but at the same time, the Farhud is such an important part of the Iraqi Jewish story,” Katzir said. “So it’s our mission to tell these stories, to be able to hear how Maurice’s mother was saved. There’s a benefit to telling these stories, which is inspiration and hope.”
