History of the Jews in Kurdistan
Kurdistani Jews are the Mizrahi Jewish communities from the geographic region of Kurdistan, roughly covering parts of northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey. Kurdistani Jews lived as closed ethnic communities until they were expelled from Kurdistan, as part of the wider expulsion of Jews from Arab and Muslim states in the 1940s–1950s. The native language of Kurdistani Jews was Judeo-Aramaic rather than Kurdish. As Kurdistani Jews natively adhere to Judaism and originate from the Middle East, Mizrahi Hebrew is used for liturgy. Many Kurdistani Jews, especially the ones who hail from Iraq, went through a Sephardic Jewish blending during the 18th century.
In the present-day, the overwhelming majority of Kurdistani Jews population reside in the State of Israel, with the community's presence coming as a direct result of either the Jewish exodus from Muslim states or the making of Aliyah by those remaining in the following decades.
Etymology
The group historically preferred to be called "Kurdistani Jews" or the "Jews of Kurdistan" rather than "Kurdish Jews". While they were integrated among the Kurds, they did not identify as ethnic Kurds but as ethnic Mizrahi Jews. They were not tribal like the Kurds and had to rely on the protection of Kurdish tribes. Although they gradually adopted aspects of Kurdish culture, including language, their native language had been a Neo-Aramaic dialect continuum. Although they generally lived in peace with their Kurdish neighbors, they firmly maintained a separate identity and usually segregated themselves from Kurds. The vast majority of Kurdistani Jews immigrated to Israel in the 20th century. In Israel, they were seen as Mizrahi Jews who developed their own identity in Kurdistan that was cultural rather than ethnic.History
Middle Ages
According to the memoirs of Benjamin of Tudela and Pethahiah of Regensburg, there were about 100 Jewish settlements and substantial Jewish population in Kurdistan in the 12th century. Benjamin of Tudela also gives the account of David Alroi, the messianic leader from central Kurdistan, who rebelled against the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtafi and had plans to lead the Jews back to Jerusalem. These travellers also report of well-established and wealthy Jewish communities in Mosul, which was a commercial and spiritual center in close proximity to Kurdistan. Many Jews fearful of approaching crusaders had fled from Syria and Palestine to Babylonia and Kurdistan. The Jews of Mosul enjoyed some degree of autonomy in managing their own community.Ottoman era
When the Ottomans captured Kurdistan, the social situation of Jews improved. The Jews generally felt safer under Turkish rule than under the protection of Kurdish tribes. Jews and Christians relied on the protection of Kurdish tribes, who would often refer to their Jewish and Christian subjects as "cihûyê min" or "filehê min". During conflicts between Kurdish tribes, the primary targets were the Jewish and Christian subjects of the Kurdish tribe rather than the Kursiaj tribe itself. Tanna'it Asenath Barzani, who lived in Mosul from 1590 to 1670, was the daughter of Rabbi Samuel Barzani of Kurdistan. She later married Jacob Mizrahi, Rabbi of Amadiyah, who lectured at a yeshiva. She was famous for her knowledge of the Torah, Talmud, Kabbalah, and Jewish law. After the early death of her husband, she became the head of the yeshiva at Amadiyah and eventually was recognized as the chief instructor of Torah in Kurdistan. She was called tanna'it, practiced mysticism, and was reputed to have known the secret names of God. Asenath is also well known for her poetry and excellent command of the Hebrew language. She wrote a long poem of lament and petition in the traditional rhymed metrical form. Her poems are among the few examples of the early modern Hebrew texts written by women.Kurdish Jews had lived in Kashan, Iran, and many Jews migrated to the Ottoman Empire during the 1700s to 1800s. They were active in trade in rural villages in what is now Turkey; regions like Gaziantep and Malatya had a substantial Jewish populations. They were usually quite concealed but did not have any negative interactions with other communities.
Immigration of Kurdish Jews to the Land of Israel initiated during the late 16th century, with a community of rabbinic scholars arriving to Safed, Galilee, and a Kurdish Jewish quarter had been established there as a result. The thriving period of Safed, however, ended in 1660, with Druze power struggles in the region and an economic decline.
Modern times
Since the early 20th century some Kurdish Jews had been active in the Zionist movement. One of the most famous members of Lehi was Moshe Barazani, whose family immigrated from Iraqi Kurdistan and settled in Jerusalem in the late 1920s.The vast majority of Kurdish Jews were forced out of Iraqi Kurdistan and evacuated to Israel in the early 1950s, together with the Iraqi Jewish community. Almost all the Kurdish Jews of Iranian Kurdistan relocated mostly to Israel as well in the same period. It was reported that the Kurds mourned the loss of their Jewish neighbours and even maintained their synagogues.
The Times of Israel reported on September 30, 2013: "Today, there are almost 200,000 Kurdish Jews in Israel, about half of whom live in Jerusalem. There are also over 30 agricultural villages throughout the country that were founded by Kurdish Jews."
On October 17, 2015, the Kurdistan Regional Government named Sherzad Omar Mamsani as the representative of the Jewish community at the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs, who was later dismissed following a period of absence for health reasons, with members of the Israeli Jewish community claiming that there were no Jews remaining in the Kurdistan Region, which they think was the reason for the resignation. In 2021 the sending of Hanukkah kits to Jews in Arab regions, including Kurdistan, indicates there may be remnants of Jewish communities there. There are no accurate statistics on the Jews of Kurdistan