Iraq's first Jewish heritage museum opens in Baghdad, drawing visitors

Dubai: Dozens of Iraqis and foreign visitors have begun flocking to the newly opened Shamash Museum in central Baghdad, the country's first Jewish museum dedicated to preserving the history and heritage of Iraq's Jewish community.

Opened last month by the Jewish community on Baghdad's historic Al Rasheed Street, the museum offers a rare glimpse into a once-thriving community whose contributions helped shape Iraq's cultural, educational and economic life.

Housed in a former Jewish school dating back nearly a century, the museum features a collection of historical documents, photographs, school certificates and personal records belonging to Iraqi Jews.

Among the exhibits are photographs of prominent Jewish figures, including Sassoon Eskell, Iraq's first finance minister, and Dr Dhafer Fouad Eliyahu, a physician remembered for providing free medical treatment.

Ammar Al Tamimi, a lawyer serving on the administrative committee of Iraqi Jews, said Shamash was the only museum in Iraq dedicated to the Jewish community.

He said the museum had already begun attracting growing interest from Iraqi and international visitors seeking to explore a largely overlooked chapter of the country's history.

A school with nearly a century of history

The building's history dates back to 1928, when Yacoub Shlomo Shamash established and financed a school offering English-language education to students from different religious communities, particularly Jewish families.

The school became part of Baghdad's educational landscape before being confiscated by the state in the 1970s and converted into a government institution.

In 1992, a court ruling ordered the property returned to the Jewish community, according to Al Tamimi.

However, efforts to restore the building and other Jewish heritage sites faced repeated setbacks amid decades of political upheaval and violence.

The economic sanctions imposed on Iraq during the 1990s, the US-led invasion in 2003, sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007, and the rise of Daesh between 2014 and 2017 all complicated attempts to preserve the community's remaining historical landmarks.

Preserving a fading heritage

In recent years, representatives of Iraq's Jewish community, including Khalida Fouad Eliyahu, have stepped up efforts to restore neglected synagogues, shrines and other historical properties.

Some of these sites had been converted into storage facilities, while others were damaged or destroyed during successive conflicts.

The opening of Shamash Museum marks a significant step in those preservation efforts, transforming a former school into a space where visitors can explore the lives and achievements of generations of Iraqi Jews.

Although the museum currently consists of a single exhibition hall, its collection provides a window into the community's educational traditions, professional achievements and historical presence in Baghdad.

For visitors, the museum offers an opportunity to rediscover an important part of Iraq's diverse cultural and religious heritage, while helping preserve its memory for future generations.

Historical records indicate that the roots of Iraq's Jewish community date back some 2,600 years. Once one of the largest Jewish communities in the Middle East, its population declined sharply following the 1941 Farhud riots, during which more than 100 Jews were killed, according to the report. A further wave of mass emigration followed the establishment of Israel in 1948.

Today, only a few dozen Jews are believed to remain in Iraq, most of them in the Kurdistan Region, while many do not openly disclose their religious identity. Several synagogues and Jewish heritage sites still exist across the country, with most concentrated in Baghdad and the city of Hillah in Babylon Governorate.