The Jewish Exodus from Iraq, 1948-1951

In 1950 and 1951, more than 120,000 Jews left Iraq for Israel, most coming by air in the largest airlift in history. Scholars give various reasons for this exodus. Some point to the strength of Zionism amongst the Jews in Iraq whereas others blame the anti-Semitic policies of the Iraqi government. Yet others see the cause as a combination of Iraqi oppression and Zionist education. Moshe Gat makes extensive use of the available official documents and primary sources to produce a thoroughly researched study of the extraordinary operation known as 'Ezra and Nehemiah'. He provides a background to these events and argues that both Iraqi discrimination and the actions of the Zionist underground in previous years played a part in the flight. The Denaturalization law of 1950 saw tens of thousands of Jews registering for emigration, and a bomb thrown at a synagogue in 1951 accelerated the exodus.