Nadene Goldfoot
Levi, born in Tel Aviv to an Iraqi-Jewish family, was known by his army nickname Moshe VaHetzi (Hebrew: משה וחצי ("Moshe and a half") because of his towering height, which was about 1.96 metres (6 ft 5 in).
Today, Iraq has gone to the UN with a complaint that Israel used their airspace in their airstrike against Iran yesterday. Israeli jets conducted strikes on military targets throughout Iran in retaliation for Tehran’s ballistic missile barrage on the country earlier this month.
This is typical of the UN bringing on the accusation, but here it is Iraq itself, being accusatory. Some chutzpa they have, in a way defending Iran, a former enemy! Are they trying to get chummy?
Israel considered Iraq under Saddam Hussein's rule as a major security threat. Israel destroyed the Osirak nuclear facility with an airstrike in 1981 due to fear of development of nuclear weapons by the Iraqi regime. Iraq did not retaliate, as it was focused on the Iran-Iraq War at that time, which actually was a relief for Israelis. I remember moving to Israel in September, 1980, and the death toll for both was so high, one would think that all adult males had been wiped out as they were down to using teens for soldiers.
2T3M1 Transport for the Soviet Scud-A Launchers
During the Gulf War in 1991, Iraq attacked Israeli territory with Scud missiles. As of 2011, neither country had resolved the core issue regarding the existence of the Israeli state. It is strongly contested by the Iraqi state despite the toppling of Saddam Hussein and his government in 2003. Since 1949, both countries were embedded in mutual hostile relations which occasionally led to violent militarized interstate disputes.
Desire for regional dominance: Iraq wanted to replace Iran as the dominant Persian Gulf state…It looks like Iraq was the aggressor in their war.
- Counter to the revolutionary government: Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, wanted to counter the revolutionary government of Ayatollah Khomeini, which was trying to destabilize Iraq.
- Territorial disputes: The two countries had a long history of border disputes, including the Shatt al-Arab river, which was formed by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Iraq wanted to retake the eastern bank of the Shatt al-Arab, which it had ceded to Iran in 1975.
- Fear of Iranian insurgency: Iraq feared that the 1979 Iranian Revolution would inspire insurgency among Iraq's Shi'i majority.
In 1958, the socialist Ba'ath party overthrew the Iraqi monarchy and established a republic. Over the next two decades, the Iraqi government went through multiple coups, with each subsequent leader becoming more nationalistic and militant in their efforts to gain support. These efforts included attempts to incite a revolt in the Iranian region of Khuzestan. In the 1970s, Iraq came under the rule of dictator Saddam Hussein, who formalized his power when he became president of Iraq in 1979.
We can't forget that historically, Iraq was the land of Mesopotamia with Babylonia being the capital. Iraq was conquered by the Arabs in 637, when its large and ancient Jewish community favored and even assisted deliverance from Sassanid persecution. Shortly after the Arab occupation, Jews expelled from Arabia settled in Kufa. For centuries, Iraq continued to be the center of Jewish life. In the 1940s about 135,000 Jews lived in Iraq (nearly 3 percent of the total population), with about 90,000 in Baghdad, 10,000 in Basra, and the remainder scattered throughout many small towns and villages. Jewish communities had existed in this region since the 6th century BCE, hundreds of years before Muslim communities established a presence in Iraq during the 7th century. The Jews shared the Arab culture with their Muslim and Christian neighbors, but they lived in separate communities. Jewish assimilation into Muslim society was rare.
The attainment of Iraqi independence in 1932 brought persecutions of the Jews. Hundreds of Baghdad Jews were killed and wounded in a pogrom during the revolt of Rashid Ali in 1941. Isn't that interesting in that it coincides the height of Nazi Germany then? The great majority of Iraqi Jews left the country due to the reversal of bringing in anti-Semitism and went to the newly formed Israel of 1948. Israel provided the move with Operation Era and Operation Nehemiah. All their property in Iraq was confiscated, just like it was in Germany and Austria. 123,500 Jews reached Israel since 1948. Horrible reports came out from those that remained who were subjected to severe restrictions, especially after the Six (6) Day War when their treatment of Jews led to international protests. By 1991, there were only 150 Jews left in Iraq, older people who just couldn't leave. They were in Baghdad where one synagogue still was in operation.
There has been no love lost between Iraqi Jews and Iraq. Iraqi Jews in Israel, also known as the Bavlim (Hebrew for "Babylonians"), are immigrants and descendants of the immigrants of the Iraqi Jewish communities, who now reside within the state of Israel. They number around 450,000.
Moshe Levy (above) In 2002, Levi suffered a stroke and was hospitalized at Sheba Medical Center. He was left with limited mobility and relied on a wheelchair, but continued to remain in the public eye. On January 1, 2008, Levy suffered a massive stroke and was hospitalized at HaEmek Medical Center in Afula, and died eight days later of a brain aneurysm. He was buried at Kibbutz Beit Alpha. His funeral was attended by government officials and hundreds who knew and worked with him. Eight generals served as his pallbearers. He left 5 children and 5 grandchildren.
Resource:
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-farhud
https://www.prcprague.cz/fcdataset/iraq-israel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scud_missile
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