Iraqi Jewish Archive: Image Gallery
Discovery and Recovery: Preserving Iraqi Jewish Heritage
Exhibit Highlights
On Friday, October 11, 2013, the National Archives will unveil a new exhibition, "Discovery and Recovery: Preserving Iraqi Jewish Heritage." The exhibit explores Iraq’s Jewish past and showcases National Archives’ preservation expertise. Located in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, "Discovery and Recovery" is free and open to the public and runs through January 5, 2014.
Images of items recovered from the flooded basement of the Mukhabarat, Saddam Hussein’s intelligence headquarters, before treatment
Materials drying outside the Mukhabarat, Saddam Hussein’s intelligence headquarters.
Items recovered from the flooded basement of the Mukhabarat, Saddam Hussein’s intelligence headquarters, before treatment.
Items recovered from the flooded basement of the Mukhabarat, Saddam Hussein’s intelligence headquarters, before treatment.
Before Treatment: Letter from the British Military Governor’s Office in Baghdad to the Chief Rabbi Regarding the Allotment of Sheep for Rosh ha-Shanah, the Jewish New Year, 1918.
After Treatment: Letter from the British Military Governor’s Office in Baghdad to the Chief Rabbi Regarding the Allotment of Sheep for Rosh ha-Shanah, the Jewish New Year, 1918.
Before Treatment: Babylonian Talmud from Vienna, 1793. This volume of the Talmud discusses laws and topics relating to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
During Treatment: Babylonian Talmud from Vienna, 1793. This volume of the Talmud discusses laws and topics relating to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
Before Treatment: Rabbinic Bible from Venice, 1568. This volume of the Hebrew Bible is the one of the earliest printed books discovered in this collection. Printed in late Renaissance-era Venice by Giovanni di Gara, the central biblical text is surrounded by rabbinic commentaries.
During Treatment: Rabbinic Bible from Venice, 1568. This volume of the Hebrew Bible is the one of the earliest printed books discovered in this collection. Printed in late Renaissance-era Venice by Giovanni di Gara, the central biblical text is surrounded by rabbinic commentaries.
Before Treatment: Passover Haggadah, 1902. A Haggadah is the order of the Passover service recounting the liberation of the ancient Israelites from slavery and their exodus from Egypt, One of very few Hebrew manuscripts recovered from the Mukhabarat, Saddam Hussein’s Intelligence Headquarters, this Haggadah was hand-lettered and decorated by an Iraqi youth.
After Treatment: Passover Haggadah, 1902. A Haggadah is the order of the Passover service recounting the liberation of the ancient Israelites from slavery and their exodus from Egypt, One of very few Hebrew manuscripts recovered from the Mukhabarat, Saddam Hussein’s Intelligence Headquarters, this Haggadah was hand-lettered and decorated by an Iraqi youth.
Tik (Torah case) and Glass Panel from Baghdad, 19th-20th centuries. In Jewish communities throughout the Middle East, the Torah scroll is generally housed in a rigid tik, or case made of wood or metal.
Detail of Tik (Torah case) and Glass Panel from Baghdad, 19th-20th centuries. In Jewish communities throughout the Middle East, the Torah scroll is generally housed in a rigid tik, or case made of wood or metal.
Before Treatment: Passover Haggadah from Vienna, 1930. This colorfully illustrated French and Hebrew Haggadah was published in Vienna. Caption on image: Eating Matzah. 
After Treatment: Passover Haggadah from Vienna, 1930. This colorfully illustrated French and Hebrew Haggadah was published in Vienna. Caption on image: Eating Matzah.