When I first heard the story I’m about to share with you, I thought it simply couldn’t be true. It is so outrageous and inexcusable, that I didn’t want to believe it. Yet after I investigated, I found it’s even worse than I was originally told. That’s why I feel you need to know about it.
As you read these words, some of the most precious historical treasures of the Jewish People are about to be handed over by the United States to bitter enemies of Israel — to the very nation that stole them in the first place!
The story begins with one of the largest and most thriving Jewish communities in the world — the Jews of Baghdad. For more than 2,500 years, since the Babylonian captivity, there was a rich heritage of Jewish life in Iraq. Historical treasures such as Scripture copies and artwork were passed down from generation to generation. Over 100,000 Jewish People lived in Baghdad and were a key part of the intellectual, legal, artistic, and financial life of Iraq. They lived in freedom and safety, welcomed and accepted by their neighbors.
In the early 1900s, the tide of anti-Semitism sweeping across Europe came to Iraq. Arab leaders were attracted to Hitler’s open hatred of the Jewish People and the Jews living in Iraq bore the brunt. During the Shavuot celebration in 1941, Iraqi Jews suffered the worst pogrom they had ever known in Iraq. The Farhud (violent dispossession) left hundreds of Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues destroyed, and hundreds of Jewish People dead. Iraq was no longer safe for Jews.
In 1948, when Israel declared independence, Iraq joined other Arab nations and declared war against the new nation, sending troops to fight for the destruction of Israel. The Jewish People in Iraq suffered greatly at the hands of the government and their neighbors. Almost 130,000 fled, mostly to Israel, leaving treasured possessions behind.
The “shadow Jews” left in Iraq kept many of their ancient treasures in the one remaining synagogue in Baghdad. However, in 1985 Saddam Hussein sent his troops in broad daylight to loot it. Thousands of books and manuscripts of immeasurable historical value fell into his evil hands.
In 2003, during the overthrow of Hussein’s government, the U.S. military discovered them in the flooded basement of the Secret Police headquarters in Baghdad: thousands of books, documents, and personal records! These artifacts were brought back to the US, stabilized and restored at great expense. The discovery included over 2,700 books, including a Hebrew Bible with commentaries from 1568, a Babylonian Talmud from 1793, and a Torah scroll fragment from Genesis — together with over 10,000 other documents, many of which are irreplaceable personal records!
Today a few items of this priceless archive — a precious memorial to Jewish heritage, culture, and countless lost Jewish lives – are on display in Washington, D.C. at the National Archives. Their rescue from that flooded basement was a miracle.
Sadly , that’s not the end of the story: I’d like to tell you that they will remain on display for scholars and the public to appreciate. Or, better, that they will be returned to the Iraqi Jewish Community living in Israel — their rightful owners.
But apparently, the government signed an agreement to return these materials to the government of Iraq, not to their rightful owners! That’s right; the U.S. has agreed that they are the rightful property of the Iraqi government, although virtually NO Jewish People remain in Iraq. Unless something changes between now and June of this year, they will be returned to a nation that is officially still at war with Israel.
I am thrilled that America rescued these materials. But I believe that this is a terribly short-sighted decision and I’m beyond disappointed. I’m incensed that we would risk all of that effort and expense by returning them to avowed enemies of the Jewish People. No one would ever say that the art and money looted from Jewish People by the Nazis belonged to the German government, even though they had possession of it. That is exactly what is happening here! And it must not be allowed to go unchallenged.
If these stolen treasures are returned to the government of Iraq, it will validate Arab anti-Semitism, and give the appearance that our government supports those who want Israel destroyed.
You and I must not turn our heads and look the other way. We must act today. I am asking you to do two things right now:
• First, I want you to join me in praying. The Bible teaches us that God controls the hearts of human leaders, and we need Him to change the minds of our nation’s leaders
• Second, I need your financial help. We HAVE to get the news of this impending tragedy out to concerned Believers. But this campaign is not something we planned for in our budgeting. And we cannot stop or cut back the outreaches of Jewish Voice around the world in order to fight this battle. So we need you and every friend of Israel to step forward and help support us in the struggle to protect these priceless treasures and see them returned to their rightful owners
Though this story is receiving little attention in the United States media, I can assure you that throughout Israel and her Arab neighbors, people are watching to see what the U.S. government does. A powerful message is going to be sent one way or the other ... it’s up to us today to see that it’s the right message. We need your help! I hope you will click below to find out how you can make a difference.
