Shlomo Mansour survived the Farhud pogrom in Iraq as a child.
Decades later, after building his life in Israel, he was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 from Kibbutz Kissufim and murdered in captivity.
From Baghdad in 1941 to October 7, antisemitism continues to cost innocent Jewish lives.
May his memory be a blessing.
The Farhud is not only a memory from the past. It is a warning against the danger of antisemitism.
On June 1st, 1941, the Farhud pogrom erupted in Baghdad, one of the most painful and devastating events in the history of Jews in Arab lands. Within hours, an ancient, deeply rooted and thriving Jewish community became the target of incitement, hatred, and brutal antisemitic violence.
Jews were murdered and wounded. Homes were looted, and entire families experienced fear, loss, and devastation.
The Farhud reminds us that antisemitism does not begin with violence. It begins with incitement, hatred, and the delegitimization of Jews, and it can erupt with devastating speed.
The memory of the Farhud is not only a memory of pain, but also a warning sign for future generations. It underscores why the Jewish people must have a strong, sovereign, and secure state. A state capable of defending itself and protecting the right of Jews to live in safety, in Israel and around the world.
Today, we bow our heads in memory of those who were murdered, embrace the descendants of Iraqi Jewry, and commit ourselves to continue remembering, telling their story, and fighting every expression of antisemitism and hatred of Jews.
Never again.
On June 1–2, 1941, a mob of rioters incited by Nazi-aligned Iraqi nationalists unleashed a brutal pogrom against Baghdad’s Jewish community. Hundreds of Jews were murdered, thousands were injured, and Jewish homes and businesses were looted and destroyed.
At the time, the Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini, was living in Baghdad. An ally of Nazi Germany, he spread virulent antisemitic propaganda and fueled anti-Jewish hatred.
Known as the Farhud, this massacre marked the beginning of the end of Iraq’s 2,600-year-old Jewish community. In the following years, Iraqi Jews were forced to flee, mostly finding refuge in Israel.
Today, no Jews remain in Iraq.
As Iraq struggled to maintain independence from the British, Nazi antisemitic propaganda spread. In 1941, Iraq formed a pro-German government. That same year, a pogrom called the Farhud targeted Iraqi Jews, perceived as working with the British, leading to the deaths of 150–180.
85 years ago, the Farhud pogrom shattered one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world.
In June 1941, mobs in Baghdad brutally attacked, murdered, assaulted, and looted Jews simply for being Jewish. The Farhud was not only a tragedy for Iraqi Jewry - it became a symbol of the persecution faced by Jewish communities across the Middle East.
Today, we remember the victims, honor the rich heritage of Iraqi Jews, and reaffirm the importance of standing against antisemitism, hatred, and incitement.
Exactly 85 years to the day after the beginning of the Farhud, Iraqi-born Israelis, and Israelis of Iraqi parentage, crowded into the main hall of the President’s Residence to commemorate lives lost in the Farhud.
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The Dark Roots Of “Jewish Supremacy”: How A Holocaust Inversion Slur Went From Being Used Only By Pariahs To Becoming Chic
My new column is in The 5 Towns Jewish Times
https://t.co/QWXyfdbj6B
Here’s a new article quoting AFSI:
Palestinian Authority’s Continued Payments to Terrorists Must Be Exposed, Says Pro-Israel Group, May 28, 2026 – The Jewish Voice and Opinion
https://t.co/2EfJHWX8Yg
Qatar invested more than $65 million over the past 17 years in an effort to influence the education system in the US against Israel, according to a new report by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy.
https://t.co/lKfC8LN0qr
Hezbollah has spent years embedding its terror along Israel’s northern border.
Click the link below for a breakdown of Hezbollah’s threat, from weapons hidden in civilian areas to attacks on Israeli communities.
https://t.co/LvvqKFFKdK