Iraqi Shoutout to Jews of Kurdistan

The Jewish Journal reported earlier this week that Iraq's first lady, Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, wife of President Jalal Talabani, paid a visit to the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The First Lady reminisced about her relationships with Jews of her Kurdish hometown, and, according to the Journal, toured the SWC's Museum of Tolerance. Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, the petite first lady of Iraq, briefly recalled the killings and tortures the regime of dictator Saddam Hussein had inflicted on her fellow Kurds. She added, "In every person's mind there is a small Saddam. Killing Saddam is nothing, but killing the Saddam in our minds is everything." Of course, we at Moment thought of Ariel Sabar, whose piece in the current issue of our Magazine, "Return to Jewish Kurdistan," describes his trip to the Kurdish village where his father had grown up. For a year,...

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Iraq-Israel Relations…in the Tubes

Remember this name: Mithal al-Alusi. He is a Sunni member of the Iraqi parliament who visited Israel two weeks ago to attend a counter-terror conference, and his life is now in danger. Not that this is the first time. In September 2004, al-Alusi made his first trip to Israel, also to attend a counter-terror conference. Apparently as payback for visiting Israel, assassins went for al-Alusi not long afterwards, killing his two sons. But Iraq is different now, right? The US troop surge has brought victory within sight, right? Hardly. Last week, al-Alusi was stripped of parliamentary immunity, clearing the way for his prosecution for violating an Iraqi law from 50 years ago that barred visiting Israel. According to AP, the law allows for the death penalty, but al-Alusi probably won't face it. "What has happened was a catastrophe for...

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