May 19, 1950
The first two flights of Operation Ezra and Nehemiah, also known as Operation Ali Baba, leave Baghdad for Israel via Cyprus with 175 Iraqi Jews. They are the first of some 120,000 Jews who make aliyah by January 1952 after the Iraqi government makes a temporary change in the law to allow Jews to emigrate, as long as they renounce their Iraqi citizenship and give up their property.
While Iraqi Jews have been victims of violence and discrimination throughout their history, they generally were able to lead prosperous and secure lives. Their situation worsened in the 1930s amid demonstrations and harassment responding to events in Palestine. In June 1941, over two days, a pogrom in Baghdad known as the Farhud kills 180 Jews.
In 1948, Iraq had more than 135,000 Jews, most living in the capital city of Baghdad. After the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948, conditions worsened for Iraqi Jews. The low point came in September 1948 when Shafiq Adas, the wealthiest Jew in Iraq, was accused of selling weapons to Israel. Though Adas was an anti-Zionist, he was convicted in a trial that provided no concrete evidence and and was hanged in front of his house in Basra.
In response to the new emigration law in May 1950, the Israeli Ministry of Aliyah launches Operation Ezra and Nehemiah under the leadership of Mordechai Ben-Porat, an Iraqi-born Jew who made aliyah in 1945. The operation begins with Israeli emissaries, disguised as members of Iraq’s Jewish community, registering Jews to leave for Israel. The flight details are organized on the ground by representatives of the Jewish Agency and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
The number of Iraqi Jews registering for emigration overwhelms the organizers and reaches 102,000 by August. Officials have difficulty keeping up with the demand as Israel gives priority and planes to the simultaneous immigration from Eastern Europe. Many Iraqi Jews who register to leave are left in limbo with no property and little money. In January 1951, Israel provides more planes, and the operation gathers momentum.
Over the following decades, Jews continue to leave Iraq for Israel and South and North America.
The photo shows Iraqi Jews en route to Israel. Photo Source: Central Zionist archives
