Jews of Babylonia
|
|
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| 750,000–1,000,000 | |
| 156,000 (residing in Iraq in 1947) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Israel
|
250,000+ |
 United States
|
150,000+ |
 Canada
|
25,000+ |
 Australia
|
20,000+ |
 Iraq
|
< 10 |
| Languages | |
| Hebrew, Judeo Arabic, Judeo-Aramaic (in Northern Iraq) | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Baghdadi Jews, Kurdish Jews, Persian Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Mandeans, Assyrians | |
The history of the Jews in Iraq (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, Babylonian Jews, Yehudim Bavlim, Arabic: يهود العراق Yahūd al-ʿIrāq), is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities.
The Jewish community of Babylon included Ezra the scribe, whose return to Judea in the late 6th century BC is associated with significant changes in Jewish ritual observance and the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Talmud was compiled in Babylonia, identified with modern Iraq.
From the Babylonian period to the rise of the Islamic caliphate, the Jewish community of Babylon thrived as the center of Jewish learning. The Mongol invasion and Islamic discrimination in the Middle Ages led to its decline. Under the Ottoman Empire, the Jews of Iraq fared better. The community established modern schools in the second half of the 19th century.
In the 20th century, Iraqi Jews played an important role in the early days of Iraq's independence. Between 1950–52, 120,000–130,000 of the Iraqi Jewish community (around 75%) were transported to Israel in Operation Ezra and Nehemiah.
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