Anti-Zionist League in Iraq

The Anti-Zionist League in Iraq (Arabic: عصبة مكافحة الصهيونية في العراق) was an organization in Iraq, active in 1946. The organization was founded by a group of Jewish members of the Iraqi Communist Party in 1945.[1][2]

Foundation

The petition to found the Anti-Zionist League was signed by eight individuals from Baghdad on September 12, 1945.[3] The government approved the petition on March 16, 1946.[3] Whilst the Communist Party was illegal at the time and the National Liberation Party (considered a front organization for the Communist Party) had been refused legal registration, the Iraqi government allowed the Anti-Zionist League to operate as a legal organization. The reason is said to have been that the government hoped to use the organization to represent Iraqi Jews towards the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry on Palestine.[1][4]

Political line

The Anti-Zionist League sought to propagate amongst the Iraqi population to avoid confounding Jews with Zionism, as a measure to confront "communal hatred".[1] Zionism was, according to the organization, a colonialist phenomenon.[5] The Anti-Zionist League called for a fully independent Palestine, an Arab democratic government, end to land transfers to Zionists and prohibition of Zionist migration.[6] According to the Anti-Zionist League British and U.S. imperialism was responsible for the rise in sectarian violence and nationalism.[7]

Leadership

Amongst the founders of the organization were Yahuda Siddiq (Central Committee member of the Communist Party) and Masru Qattan and Yusuf Zalluf.[8] Yusuf Zhilkha headed the organization.[4] Zakki Basim, a non-Jew, acted as the liaison between the organization and the Central Committee of the Communist Party.[1]

Membership

The organization was dominated by young Jewish communists.[5][9] Jewish members of the Communist Party were required by the party to join the organization (those who did not could be accused of Zionist leanings).[1] The membership of the Anti-Zionist League was, however, not exclusively Jewish and communist. There were also some Christian and Muslim members, and some of its members were Progressive Nationalists.[3]

Al-'Usbah

It published a daily newspaper al-'Usbah (العصبة, 'The League'), which had a circulation of 6,000 copies.[1][8][10]

Activities

During its three months of legal existence, the Anti-Zionist League organized twenty-two public meetings. In Baghdad up to 5,000 people could take part some of these meetings. Two public meetings were held in Basra, with thousands of participants.[11]

Ban

Al-'Usbah was banned in June 1946, shortly after its foundation.[9] The organization was declared illegal by the Iraqi government in July 1946.[1] Members of the organization were arrested and charged with the crime of Zionism.[9]

See also

References
  1. Walter Laqueur (1956). Communism and Nationalism in the Middle East. Praeger. pp. 185, 190.
  2. Donald F. Busky (1 January 2002). Communism in History and Theory: Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-275-97733-7.
  3. ʻAbd al-Laṭīf Rāwī (1986). عصبة مكافحة الصهيونية في العراق،1946-1945: دراسة ووثائق : اليسار العراقي والمسألة الفلسطينية ء. Dār al-Jīl. p. 23.
  4. Moshe Gat (4 July 2013). The Jewish Exodus from Iraq, 1948–1951. Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-135-24654-9.
  5. Mike Marqusee (23 August 2011). If I Am Not For Myself: Journey of an Anti-Zionist Jew. Verso Books. p. 165. ISBN 978-1-84467-854-9.
  6. Tareq Y. Ismael; Rifʻat Saʻīd (1990). The Communist Movement in Egypt, 1920–1988. Syracuse University Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-8156-2497-4.
  7. Elizabeth F. Thompson (15 April 2013). Justice Interrupted. Harvard University Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-674-07609-9.
  8. Edmund A. Ghareeb; Beth Dougherty (18 March 2004). Historical Dictionary of Iraq. Scarecrow Press. pp. 17, 126. ISBN 978-0-8108-6568-6.
  9. Nancy E. Berg (3 July 1996). Exile from Exile: Israeli Writers from Iraq. SUNY Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-7914-2980-8.
  10. חיים אבני; גדעון שמעוני (1989). הציונות ומתנגדיה בעם היהודי: קובץ מאמרים. הספריה הציונית על־יד ההסתדרות הציונית העולמית. p. 253. ISBN 978-965-342-548-4.
  11. ʻAbd al-Laṭīf Rāwī (1986). عصبة مكافحة الصهيونية في العراق،1946-1945: دراسة ووثائق : اليسار العراقي والمسألة الفلسطينية ء. Dār al-Jīl. p. 145.
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