Personal Stories

“In writing my memoirs, I hope to both remind and inform people on the hardships endured by Jews throughout the Arab Middle East in the 20th Century. My story is not uncommon in the Iraqi Jewish community. Those Jews that remained in Baghdad after the mass exodus of 1950-51 were dehumanized, threatened, and abused both physically and emotionally during certain periods of the Iraq’s recent history. Through all this, we remained committed to our families, our heritage, and our community (locally and globally) and also to ensuring that future generations of Babylonian Jews would never experience the nightmare of racism and hatred.”

The people of Jacob have dwelt by the Rivers of Babylon ever since the destruction of the First Temple, a continuous period exceeding 2,500 years. The Jewish community of Babylon went along the same path the other peoples of the region had trodden, that of captivity, assimilation and absorption into the ancient Babylonian culture, and finally disappearance.

Victor Ozair was born in Baghdad, Iraq on April 27, 1930. His name originates from Ezra the Scribe. According to Jewish oral tradition, Ezra the Scribe led the Jews of Babylon who had been exiled after the destruction of the First Temple back to Jerusalem during the Second Temple period