The Miraculous Salvation of Iraq’s Jews - Marking 80 years since the defeat of German proxies in Iraq

The following dramatic events, virtually unknown to most Jews, took place 80 years ago this week. This story was adapted from a Hebrew account published by Asher Noach, son of Rabbi Yitzchak Noach, in Sichat Hashavua #533: In 1941, the German army was spreading its web over Europe, expanding its reach to North Africa and eastwards. The death machine was in full swing anywhere Hitler’s soldiers set foot, and the Jewish people’s sentence was a foregone conclusion. A military coup erupted in Baghdad during the early spring of that year, in an attempt to overthrow British influence in the region. The uprising was led by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani (1892-1965), an Iraqi nationalist, who acted in full collaboration and support of the Germans.On May 25, Hitler issued his Order 30, stepping up German offensive operations: “The Arab Freedom Movement in the Middle East is our natural ally against England. In this connect