Beyond Iraq: Baghdadi Jewish Networks in the Age of Nationalism| Dr. Sasha Goldstein-Sabbah

March 24, 2021 This lecture discusses the relationship between Iraqi and European Jewry during the Hashemite period, roughly 1918-1950. Situated at the intersection of History, Jewish Studies, and Diaspora Studies, its main objective is to understand how Iraqi Jewry interacted with European Jewry through philanthropic networks and the global Jewish press. During the Hashemite period systemic transnational Jewish solidarity projects expanded in Iraq in the areas of education, political and financial assistance – as a result, interaction with disparate Jewish groups increased exponentially often via nationalist channels (British, French, Iraqi, etc.). I argue that these interactions transformed notions of Jewish identity, religiosity, solidarity, and belonging among Iraqi Jews. Of particular interest in this analysis is the triangular relationship between Iraqi Jewry, the Baghdadi Jewish communities of East Asia, and European Jewish philanthropic organizations. The relationship between Jewish communities in this period is often framed by contemporary debates about Zionism, Jewish-Muslim relations, the Middle East, and post-colonialism. These debates speak to contemporary issues of identity, rights, and belonging, all legacies of the creation of the State of Israel. This paper aims to reframe this period of Iraqi Jewish participation in global Jewish networks around debates of Jewish transnationalism as opposed to Jewish nationalism by considering how the communal leadership in Iraq interacted with the AIU, AJA, and JDC to promote local communal initiatives. The Jews in the Islamic World Lecture Series: Organized by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Islamic Studies, and the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies