A long-neglected shrine in Baghdad has been restored, marking a rare moment of revival for Iraq’s nearly vanished Jewish community.
In central Baghdad’s al-Kifah district, workers are restoring the centuries-old shrine of Rabbi Isaac Gaon, a revered Jewish figure, in a rare effort to revive Iraq’s fading Jewish heritage.
Once filled with rubbish, the tomb now features marble tiles and a large inscribed tombstone. “It was a garbage dump, and we were not allowed to restore it,” said Khalida Elyahu, 62, head of Iraq’s Jewish community.
The $150,000 project is community-funded and backed by Iraqi officials. “The project will bring a revival for our community, both within and outside Iraq,” Elyahu added.
Rabbi Isaac, who died in 688, is believed to have been a finance official during the Gaonic period, heading a Babylonian rabbinic academy. Very little else is known about him.
Iraq’s Jewish population once numbered 135,000. Today, only a few remain, and most of the 50 synagogues and Jewish sites lie in ruins.