Bevis Marks mourns Iraq hangings 50 years ago
Half-a-century after the Iraqi regime hanged nine Jewish men - leading to an exodus of Iraq's centuries-old community - London's oldest shul remembers the victims.
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
The names of the men and women murdered by the Iraqi regime 50 years ago rang out in the crowded congregation of Bevis Marks on Tuesday night.
And many of those in the centuries-old synagogue, the families of the dead, wept as they paid tribute to their loved ones, hanged, murdered while in custody, or simply missing, their fates unknown.
In a special, touching ceremony, held with the support of David Dangoor and the Exilarch’s Foundation, the Sephardi community in the UK gathered at Bevis Marks to light candles for those who had died, purged by the Iraqi authorities in 1969, just two years after Israel’s great victory in the Six Day War.
One of the key results of the killings — which began in January 1969 with the public hangings of 15 men, nine of whom were Jews — was the fleeing of the majority of the Iraqi Jewish community. Many of them began new lives in Britain.
In an emotional keynote address, Rabbi Joseph Dweck, senior rabbi of the S&P Sephardi community, recalled the glory days of the Iraqi Jewish community, the cornerstone of diaspora Jewish scholarship for hundreds of years, and “part of the national psyche of the Jewish people”.
For centuries, he said, “we not only survived in Arab lands, we thrived”.
He spoke of the “glory and grandeur of Jewish life in that country”, but, while acknowledging the pain and suffering of the loss of that life, urged the community to “stand taller, not slouch, be stronger, not sad. Lift up your hearts”.
The evening began with a candle lit by the S&P Sephardi community president, Sabah Zubaida , in memory of Ezra Naji Sion Hesqel Zilkha, and his own father, Daoud Sassoon Zubeida.
The January 27 1969 hangings had been “the beginning of the end” for Iraqi Jewry, he said, a “terrifying time, in which Jews were the easiest target”.
The bodies of the nine Jews hanged on that January day 50 years ago were returned to the Jewish community for burial.
But many more, who died at the hands of the regime in prison or were simply rounded up and killed, were never seen again, never buried — but always mourned.
In tears, Samira Elias lit a candle in memory of her brother Hesqel Salih Hesqel and her sister Suad Kashkush; Faiza Saigh lit one in memory of her brother, Daoud Ghali Yadgar, and Nouri Dallal lit a candle in the name of his brother Daoud Hesqel Barukh Dallal.
Other candles were lit by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who recited Psalm 137; Rabbi Abraham Levy, who had, as a young man, led a demonstration against the hangings outside the Iraqi embassy in London, but who today also rejoiced in the contribution made by Iraqi Jews to Britain’s Jewish community; Bishop Graham Kings, representing the Church of England; Lord Pickles, the UK’s special envoy for post-Holocaust issues; and Israeli ambassador Mark Regev, who spoke of Iraqi antisemitism and its echoes today, in “vile tropes on social media, relating to dual loyalties and undue influences”.
The actor and musician Noa Bodner linked the event with a series of readings outlining the terrible events of January 1969.
A memorial prayer was led by the rabbi of Lauderdale Road Synagogue, Rabbi Israel Elias, while Rabbi Dweck recited kaddish.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
- News
- Iraq
- Iraqi Jews
- Bevis Marks
- David Dangoor
- Exilarch’s Foundation
- Rabbi Joseph Dweck
- Sephardi
- Daoud Sassoon Zubeida
- Ezra Naji Sion Hesqel Zilkha
- Sabah Zubeida
- Baghdad Hangings
- 50th anniversary of Baghdad hangings
- Samira Elias
- Hesqel Salih Hesqel
- Suad Kashkush
- Faiza Saigh
- Daoud Ghali Yadgar
- Nouri Dallal
- Bishop Graham Kings
- S and P Sephardi Community
