The Farhud: Roots of the Arab-Nazi Alliance in the Holocaust

On the 1st of June 1941, thousands of armed Iraqi Muslims were on the rampage, with swords, knives and guns. The two days of violence that followed have become known as the Farhud (Arabic for "violent dispossession"). It was the end of a Jewish community that had existed for 2,600 years~from the time of Babylon. There are reports of up to 200 killed, and thousands wounded, but some say the number much higher. The Israeli-based Babylonian Heritage Museum says about another 600 unidentified victims were buried in a mass grave.

Mass Grave for Over 600 Farhoud Victims

"On the first night of Shavuot we would stay up all night studying Torah in the synagogue. As we set out we heard screams of, 'Allah Allah!' and shots. We went onto the roof to see what's happening, and saw fires, people were on the roofs in the ghetto screaming, begging God to help them. The violence continued through the night. A red hand sign, or hamsa, had been painted on Jewish homes, to mark them out."

Over the next years,  80% of Iraqi Jewry (110,000 Jews) emigrated from the country~most to Israel. 

In this interesting report by Eric Stakelbeck, author and investigative journalist Edwin Black talks about his book, "The Farhud: Roots of the Arab-Nazi Alliance in the Holocaust". They discuss the pogrom in Bagdad and the Arab-Nazi alliance. If you are interested in the truth about the middle east, please take the time to watch.

* There are some commercials in the clip as it was taken from You Tube