FARHUD POGROM in Iraq During Holidays-Hanukkah -Jews Without Weapons

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                          

Jews remember that horrid night in Germany where rioting went on from November 9th to the 10th in 1938 which was later called "the Night of Broken Glass", Krystallnacht.
                                                                       

Almost all the synagogues in Germany were attacked and destroyed.  Jews where arrested in wholesale numbers, and then the government took the imposition on the Jewish community of a confiscatory levy, which ended pretty much the hope of maintaining an organized Jewish life there.  Even emigration was limited by the outbreak of WWII in September 1939.                                                                                  

 By September 1941, Jews had to wear the "Jewish Badge" which was highly enforced.
                                                                                 

Haj Amin al-Husseini with top Nazis in Germany 1941

Two days on Shavuot on June 1 and June 2 1941, the Jewish festival marking the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai which occurs seven weeks after Passover, Nazi sympathizers in Iraq had their own form of a Krystallnacht upon their Jewish population, for the Arabs had become brothers to the Nazis in philosophy.  It was called the Farhud, which means a breakdown of law and order so that life and property are in peril..  
                                                                        

Farhud rioters with knives 

                                                                            

Ibraham Youssef Shaleh, Jewish leader,
 injured during Farhud

Jews had lived in Iraq (Babylonia) and mainly in the city of Baghdad for over 2,400 years since the time of the first Temple of Solomon's destruction  in 597 and 586 BCE when Nebuchadnezzar attacked and took prisoners.   By the time Islam was created, the Muslims had treated the Jews with more tolerance than the Christians had treated Jews who migrated to Europe.  From time to time there had been occurrences, but nothing like what happened to the Baghdadi Jews who bore the brunt of the Farhud. in 1941.  Active in Muslim groups responsible for the Farhud was Mufti Haj Amin Al-Husseini, who was the instigator for riots on Jews in Jerusalem.  

"During the Farhud, the Arabs came with a lot of weapons and destroyed a synagogue.
                            
                                          Jews did not have any weapons. 

 The Arabs came and killed everyone, making mass graves.  The graveside was the size of a house.  The Arabs cut open the stomachs of pregnant women and raped en masse.  If a woman left her house without an abaya (Islamic face covering) they would not be shy and would rape her.  They killed an entire family, a woman, her fiance and his brother.  The information came from a witness who was the neighbor   to all this.  Then the Arabs  cut off the leg of a child and played with the amputated leg."1

Slaughter was not the only commandment they broke during the Farhud.  They stole food such as cheese and jams.  They took clothing from women's closets.  Every bit of belongings they found they took.  Then they burned down the houses and filled up homes with water from the sewers so that they couldn't even live in the burned remains.  The witness had a neighbor who prevented her house from being burned.  Arabs broke the sewers and caused flooding in her home, anyway.  Finally the British came who closed off the sewers and helped to clear out water.  

Is Islam really the religion of peace?  The behavior of these Iraqi Arabs topped the evil from the Nazis during Kristalnacht!  Maybe to Muslims, they think they are peaceful, but riled up in a riot, and they lose all humane control!!  Why did they suddenly become unglued and attack Jews?  Only because their new friends, the Nazis had done this.  
                                                                             

                                                        Hanukkah in Iraq
  Hanukkah was celebrated in a big way in Iraq, it being a prominent holiday, more so than in Israel or the USA.  People knew how to party.  After the Farhud, Jews still, but with great trepidation, celebrated their favorite holiday.  It was still a time when parents gave children presents, though.                                                                    

They started by lighting their big silver community menorah, 

                                                                           

and then their own, for everyone had a menorah.  Then great food came out.  They served zimgula, something like baklava, lefet which is something like beets but white, not red, which was cooked in wine; potato cooba, a fried dish with potatoes on the outside and meat on the inside; sambusak which is made with potatoes inside that is similar to the Indian dish, Samosa.
                                                                         

Everything served was something sweet and arranged on a large table.

For the 1st night, 50 people came to Salima Shachouda's home.  They did the blessings together and sang songs.  People liked to marry during Hanukkah and of course there were special parties just for the brides where sweets, oranges and other delicacies were served.  The celebrating big-time ended when this Mizrachi community made aliyah to Israel, unfortunately.  I hope they bring it back.  It sounded wonderful.  In the meantime, they should go to the Temple Mount where they light a huge Menorah and have lots of Chanukah treats there.

Resource: http://www.jerusalemonline.com/culture-and-lifestyle/lost-civilization-celebrating-hanukkah-in-the-arab-world-17703%20
 http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/farhud.html 1
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/The-Farhud-the-riots-against-the-Jews-of-Iraq-313251

2000 Years of The Jewish Kings Leading to Chanukah and Beyond

                                                                                   Nadene Goldfoot 
12 Tribes of Jacob-Israel from 12 Sons-
The Exodus happened in about 1445 BCE.  
Judges were first to solve the problems of the people.  These judged from about 1220 to 1015 BCE.  As in most tribes, the elders of the community acted as judges.  There were Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon

Notice where the tribe of Simeon is on the map.  Simeon was the 2nd son of Jacob.  To protect his sister, Dinah's good name, he and Levi attacked the men of the tribe of the man who had kidnapped her.  Gen. 34.  Jacob, his father, didn't agree with this act.  Simeon's tribe received territory in Eretz Yisrael in 2 places of the Negev.  At one time they lived in Seir/Edom- south of the Dead Sea and along the Red Sea at Eleath and Ezion Geber.  Semetic people lived here, the Edomites and were descendants of Esau and lived by hunting. Some settled in the mountains of Ephraim.

1. The first king of Israel was from the tribe of Benjamin, Saul.  c1040-1010 BCE.
2. David was from the tribe of Judah. 1010 -970 BCE
3. Solomon, his son, followed from 961-920 BCE  This was an inherited position.  Sons followed.

                       Israel then divided between north and south.
The southern part renamed itself Judah since the tribe of Judah lived there along with some Benjaminites.

        ISRAEL                                                               JUDAH
4. Jeroboam 933-912 BCE-21 years           4. Rehoboam 933-917 BCE -16 years        
5. Nadab 912-911 BCE-1 year                   5. Abijam  917-915 BCE-2 years
6. Baasha 911-888 BCE-23 years               6. Asa   915-875 BCE-40 years
7. Elah 888-887 BCE-1 year                       7. Jehoshaphat 875-851 BCE-24 years
8. Zimri 887 BCE -7 days                            8. Jehoram   851-844 BCE-7 years
9. Omri 887-876 BCE-1 year                     9. Ahaziah 844-843 BCE-1 year
10. Ahab 876-853 BCE -23 years             10. Athaliah 843-837 BCE-6 years
11. Ahaziah 853-idolator, brother next       11. Joash  837-798 BCE-39 years
12. Jehoram 853-843 BCE -10 years        12. Amaziah 798-780 BCE-18 years
13. Jehu 843-816 BCE--27 years              13. Azariah (Uzziah) 780-740 BCE-40 years
14. Jehoahaz 816-800 BCE-16 years         14. Jotham 740-735 BCE-5 years
15. Jehoash  800-785 BCE -15 years         15. Ahaz 735-720 BCE-15 years
16. Jeroboam II 785-745 BCE-40 years    16. Hezekiah 720-692 BCE-28 years
17. Zechariah 744 BCE  - 6 months            17. Manasseh 720-692 BCE-28 years
18. Shallum 743 BCE -5 months                 18. Amon 638-637 BCE-1 year
19. Menahem 743-736 BCE-7 years          19. Josiah  637-608 BCE-29 years
20. Pekahiah  736-735 BCE-1 year            20. Jehoahaz 608 BCE-3 months, captive-taken to Egypt
21. Pekah   735-730 BCE-5 years             21. Jehoiakim 608-598 BCE-10 years
22. Hoshea 730-721 BCE -9 years            22. Jehoiachin 598-597 BCE-1 year
Assyrian Attack                                       23. Zedekiah  597-586 BCE  Babylonian Attack-11 years

Judah had been taken to Babylonia by 586 BCE and were in exile.  The authority of the exilarchs in Babylonia was the basis of the authority until the 14th century CE.  From the 2nd century BCE, the Davidic house was thought to be the one to deliver the Messiah.

Hashmonean kings were also filling the role as high priests, too.  Jewish revolutionary movements of the 1st and 2nd centuries CE produced many claimants to be the messianic kingship. There were Andreas, Lukuas, General Bar Kokhba, etc.

The Hasmoneans was the name of a priestly family  and dynasty founded by Mattathias of Modiin and were called the Hashmonai (Hashmoneans).  Mattathias had 5 sons;   Judah the Maccabee, Jonathan, simon, John and Eleazar.  The directed the popular revolt against the hellenizing policy in Israel-Judah by the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes.

From 166-164 BCE, the Hasmoneans fought a number of battles against the Syrians and in 164 BCE, Judah captured Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple.  We celebrate this event to this day as Chanukah!

This was followed up by a series of raids to rescue the Jewish population of Ammon, Idumea, Gilead and the Galilee.  They were then defeated in 163 at Bet Zechariah where Eleazar was killed.  The Hasmoneans were able to get terms securing religious freedom for the Jews, but Judah and his party kept on fighting anyway and Judah fell at Elasa in 160 BCE.  John was murdered afterwards and Jonathan took over the leadership.  He then became the high priesthood in 152 BCE and governorship of Judah in 150 BCE.  Simon was able to get exemption from tribute from the Jews in 147 BCE.  He was then confirmed by the people as hereditary high priest, ethnarch and general in 142 BCE but was then murdered in 135 BCE.  His son, John Hyrcanus succeeded him and was defeated horribly by Antiochus VII Sidetes, .  Jerusalem was then taken by the Syrians after a prolonged siege and  Judea once more became a Seleucid province.

After the defeat of Antiochus in his war against Parthia, John launched an offense against Transjordan, Samaria and Idumea which marked the transition of the Hasmoneans to a semii-hellenized secular military dynasty.  This led to his repudiation of the Pharisees and his belonging to the aristocratic Sadducee party.
                                                                   

Herod, king -73 BCE-4 BCE-governor over the Galilee before becoming king of Judah.  His mother was Cypros, a Nabatean and his father was Antipater the Idumean.  He had been appointed king by the Senate in Rome.  He then captured Jerusalem in 37 BCE with a large Roman force.  He left a will.  In it he partitioned his kingdom which went to his sons, Archaelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip.  

He was succeeded by his sons Judah Aristobulus in 105-104 BCE and Alexander Yannai in 104-76 BCE. Yanni was the first to adopt the royal title. He set up a standing mercenary army and conquered Transjordan, Idumea and the coastal plain.  The Pharisees were the leaders during the reign of his widow, Salome Alexandra from 76 to 69 BCE.  When she died, the Hasmonean power declined.  She had sons Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II who were not in agreement.  Their behavior led to the domination of Antipater and his son, Herod  the Idumean, who now had Roman help in taking over as king.  Pompey reduced the country's territory in 63 BCE.  Hyrcanus was just a puppet.

Aristobulus II and his sons Alexander and Antigonus Mattathias tried to regain power but failed.  Hyrcanus' granddaughter, Mariamne married Herod who put her to death in 29 BCE along with  other surviving Hasmoneans being Aristobulus II in 35 BCE,  Hyrcanus II in 30 BCE, and Mariamane's sons Alexander and Aristobulus in 7 BCE.  So ended the line of Hasmonean leadership after the fall of Judea.

Resource: The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia