After arriving in Iran, Carmela was sent to Tehran, where she stayed in a makeshift tent camp located in a cemetery. From there, she flew to Israel and was placed on a kibbutz with other youth separated from their families. One by one, all of Carmela’s siblings made it to Israel.
Eventually, the Iraqi government permitted Jews to leave the country, on condition they leave all their money, property and possessions behind. Carmela’s parents owned valuable real estate in Baghdad. They wanted to sell the property, but nobody would buy it – because as soon as they left, it would all be free.
In 1951, Carmela’s destitute parents arrived in Israel and the family was reunited. They lived in tent camps (Mabarot) until they could afford an apartment. Eventually, they opened a restaurant in Jerusalem.
By 1951, 90% of the Iraqi Jewish community had immigrated to Israel.
Holocaust Survivors
An interesting postscript: With Nazi propaganda legitimizing the murder of Jews in Iraq, survivors of the Farhud were designated by the Israeli government as “Holocaust survivors,” entitling them to various benefits.
Monument in Ramat Gan, Israel, in memory of Jews killed in the Farhud.
Orit, whose apartment was hit on October 7 by the missile from Gaza, says she’s not surprised by the Hamas atrocities committed. “The Farhud instilled in me an emotional distrust,” she says. “I always knew of the potential for a massacre. But I never imagined that 82 years later, I’d experience a repeat of the Farhud here in Israel.”
Thanks to Chava Levin, Noah Omri Levin and Dalia Schwartz for generous assistance in telling this story.
Reprinted from the October 30, 2023 website of aish.com
