Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=5/7/2003

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ / JEWS

NUMBER=5-53769

BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN

DATELINE=BAGHDAD

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Some of Iraq's minority religious groups led relatively protected lives under Saddam Hussein's rule. But their movements were also restricted, especially those who were part of Iraq's dwindling Jewish population, which dates back thousands of years. Correspondent Laurie Kassman has more from Baghdad.

TEXT: When Saddam Hussein was in power, no stranger came to Emad Ezra Levy's house unless he was escorted by someone from the government.

/// LEVY ACT ///

The regime ask us not to talk to anyone. And we are afraid.

/// END ACT ///

Emad Levy, at 37, is the last remaining rabbi in Iraq. He ministers to a community of 35 elderly Jewish men and women, all that remains of a religious group that numbered more than one-half-million 50-years ago.

The guided government tour would include a brief chat with Mr. Levy and a visit to the synagogue in central Baghdad. He says he was careful what he said to the visitors under the watchful eye of the government escort.

/// 2nd LEVY ACT //

And one (visitor) came to me and gave me his card. (He says,) Okay I can help you. I can give you a visa to Germany. They (the escorts) look after him. I take the card when the (visitors) leave and I give it to the government. We must protect ourselves.

/// END ACT ///

Many members of Iraq's Jewish community left the country soon after Israel was created in 1948; most of those who remained left in the early 1970s, when Iraq began persecuting Jews, accusing them of spying for Israel. Many escaped through the northern Kurdish area of Iraq across the border into Iran or Turkey.

Mr. Levy says the persecution diminished under Saddam, but most of the community decided to leave the country anyway because they did not trust it would last.

Mr. Levy stayed behind to care for his elderly parents. He decided to take charge of the community after the previous rabbi left about four-years ago.

/// 3rd LEVY ACT ///

The last rabbi left in 1999 and then I am instead of him. There is no one here. I learn Hebrew because I love it, and my father helped me

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Levy describes himself as a self-taught Jewish priest, as he is known here.

Besides being the rabbi, Mr. Levy has taken over other responsibilities in recent years.

With the departure of the man who slaughtered sheep according to Jewish customs, Mr. Levy found himself taking over that job too. He also buries the dead.

And, he keeps the community records, providing the government every year with a list of all the members, their names, addresses, and car license plate numbers.

Mr. Levy says neighbors kept watch on the 60-year-old synagogue all through the war and the days of looting that followed. Like Iraq's churches and mosques, the synagogue was not ransacked.

But Mr. Levy still has not reopened the temple for religious services. He says he is not sure about the safety of his community as long as stability and security have not been restored completely.

And, if he had the chance now would he leave Iraq? Yes, Mr. Levy replies, he would not hesitate to leave Iraq and rejoin his elder brother in Europe. He is also looking for a suitable wife. With a community whose average age is 60, he has few prospects here. (SIGNED)

NEB/LMK/KL/RAE/FC