Welcome to Hidden Jewish Ancestry

There was a time when Jews, Muslims, and Christians lived together happily in Iraq. Scholars estimate the Jewish community in Iraq to have once been between 150,000-250,000 persons strong. Today, the estimate is less than 10 Jews live in Iraq. 

When I first went to Israel in 1983, the guy that owned the liquor store on my street was an Iraqi Jew. I grew up in Washington, DC and most Jews were Ashkenazi and more specifically, German. German Jews that had come to America in the 1800's. So, when I got to Israel and met Indian, Iranian, Moroccan Jews it was quite eye opening. Anyhow, through the guy who owned the liquor store, I learned about the fate of the Iraqi Jewish community. Mostly that they no longer lived in Iraq! 

However, before the troubles started in Iraq, Jews, Christians, and Muslims did live together and peace and there was a fair amount of mixing. So, some there is Hidden Jewish Ancestry amongst people who live in Iraq and have left Iraq.