Over ten thousand people from around the world lit a virtual candle to remember the Jews that were brutally murdered in the Farhud, the pogrom which took place in Baghdad and Basra on June 1 and 2, 1941, signaling the end of the Iraqi Jewish community, the oldest Diaspora.
It happened while the Baghdad and Basra Jewish communities were celebrating the Shavuot holiday; a group of Jews in Baghdad were ambushed by an armed Arab mob.
The attacks and rioting went on for two days. While the exact figure is not known, it is estimated that at least 180 Jews were killed in Baghdad and Basra, perhaps as many as 600, and hundreds more were wounded. Jewish women were gang raped and mutilated. Jewish shops and homes were looted and then torched. Synagogues were looted and Torah scrolls burned.
Afraid to give the dead a proper burial, the corpses were buried in a large mass grave.
This pogrom was named the Farhud, which in Arabic means ‘violent dispossession‘.
In the weeks leading up to the 80th anniversary, the ‘Remember the Farhud’ website was created to spread awareness about this important historic event and pay tribute to the 180 Jews who were murdered, the hundreds injured, and the homes and synagogues burnt and looted.
The commemoration was the initiative of David A. Dangoor, a businessman and philanthropist who grew up in the Jewish community of Baghdad, and now resides in the UK.
Dangoor believes that especially due to recent events in Israel and Jewish communities around the world, the message of the Farhud is particularly important.
“The Farhud was a tragic event that sounded the death knell for the oldest Jewish Diaspora community, but sadly is not well known around the world,” said Dangoor.
“It is vital that the Jewish world and beyond commemorate the Farhud to understand better how to deal with hate, incitement and violence, and prevent such events from happening in the present and future.
“Even up to the very end, many Jews and Arabs in Iraq refused to be enemies and lived and worked side by side. Animosity was largely imported from outside and incitement used as a tool for political goals.
“Unfortunately, we see many similar worrying signs in the violence in Israel, the US and Europe in recent days. “
As well as lighting a virtual candle, the website offers Facebook users the opportunity to download an official frame to their profile picture.
Those who wish to light a virtual candle and download the Facebook frame can visit the ‘Remember the Farhud‘ website.