Iraq's first Jewish Museum opens a door to the past – and a contentious debate on the present
The National · 13 Nov 2026

Iraq's first Jewish Museum opens a door to the past – and a contentious debate on the present

Inside the Shamash Jewish Museum in Baghdad, the elegant glass-fronted wooden display cases hold a paper trail to a vanished Iraq. Some of the neatly arranged documents are originals, yellowed and fraying at the edges, while others are carefully reproduced copies. Together, they reconstruct the daily life of Iraqi Jews: school certificates, handwritten letters, identity cards, marriage contracts, family photographs of children in uniforms and shopkeepers in their stores.


⬅ Back home Read full article ➡