Carole Basri and David Dangoor write "The Iraqi Jewish Archive is stolen property that should go back to its original owners", The Hill 04/27/18
The cultural property of many indigenous peoples of the Middle East is in grave danger, and the West is actively participating in the permanent theft and loss of this property from its original, legal owners. The most notable example of this is the Iraqi Jewish Archive, a collection of books and rare documents that a U.S. Army team found in the basement of Saddam Hussein’s intelligence headquarters in May 2003. Though these items had been forcibly confiscated by Iraqi authorities from the more than 150,000 Jews who fled the country during the previous century, the United States will return them to Iraq. [...] The Iraqi Jewish Archive, a testament to a 2,600-year-old community, was in poor condition from neglect when it came to the United States to be preserved, catalogued and digitized. It has been on exhibit in a number of cities for several years. If it returns to Iraq, its original, legal owners will never be able to see it. [...] The Iraqi Jewish Archive should return to the private and communal Iraqi Jewish owners, who were not consulted on the expropriation of their property or the agreement to return the property to Iraq.If it gets back in Iraqi hands, there is no control on what they do with it, it will probably fall apart through the same neglect as happened last time they 'looked after' it.
At the beginning of the last century, almost 1 million Jews lived in the Middle East and North Africa. Living in what is today known as the “Arab world,” these Jews had preceded Islam and the Arab presence in much of the region by around a millennium. This all came to an end during the middle and latter part of the last century when these indigenous communities were forcibly expelled en masse, leaving few Jews remaining in the Middle East, outside of Israel.For example in Yemen:
In Yemen, where Jews long have lived in second-class status with the threat of death by senior officials, all but a few Jews have fled the country. Some who fled grabbed what they could, such as religious possessions, but even these ultimately could be returned to Yemen. On Jan. 31, 2018, the International Council of Museums released a Red List for Yemen that directly targets Hebrew manuscripts and Torah finials. The Red List notes, “Yemeni authorities will ask for the retrieval and the repatriation” of these items. Frequently, issuing a Red List is the first step in a process to hold public hearings and ultimately pass memorandums of understanding between the United States and foreign governments that blockade art and cultural property, denying U.S. citizens the rights to their historic heritage.This issue is not just a Jewish one.
Many other indigenous groups are being disenfranchised and forced to flee from parts of the Middle East — the Yazidis, the Kurds, Coptic Christians, Sunnis and Shias. Like the Jews, they are losing not just their homes and communities but also their communal treasures, personal assets and, by extension, their history.the authors conclude:
The United States [...] should reverse its policies on the return of personal and communal Jewish assets to countries where Jews are not welcome. Before it is too late, Washington should stop the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the government of Yemen. This is not only a matter of law; it is above all, a matter of justice.
