Two letters about the exodus of the Iraqi Jews

Editors: Ms. Lyn Julius, who wrote a Letter to the Editor in response to my review of Abbas Shiblak’s book, seems to have misread my conclusion. I do not conclude that the bombings against Jewish and other targets in Iraq were the ‘decisive’ factor behind emigration. Though I consider the possibility, I point out that we cannot properly determine the import of the scattered anecdotal evidence supporting such a contention. The absence of any ‘organised effort to collate such testimonies within the framework of a scientific survey’ has ensured as much. As a result, I describe the bombings as ‘a major factor’ behind the exodus. Such a distinction, though nuanced, is important.

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