page_title: History of the Jews in Kurdistan
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Jews in Kurdistan
caption_attribution_description: English: RABBI MOSHE GABAI HEAD OF THE JEWS OF ZACHO IRAQ WHO IMMIGRATED TO ISRAEL IN 1951 TO MAOZ ZION JERUSALEM MAKING A PETION FOR HELP FOR HIS COMMUNITY TO THE THEN PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL YTCHACK BEN ZVI. HE WAS MY WIFES GRANFATHER
context_page_description: Jews of Kurdistan are the ancient Eastern Jewish communities, inhabiting the region known as Kurdistan roughly covering parts of northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey. Until their immigration to Israel in the 1940s and early 1950s, the Jews of Kurdistan lived as closed ethnic communities. The Jews of Kurdistan largely spoke Aramaic and Kurdish dialects, in particular the Kurmanji dialect in Iraqi Kurdistan.
  Today, the vast majority of Kurdistan's Jews live in Israel.
context_section_description: Jews of Kurdistan (Hebrew: יהודי כורדיסטן‎, romanized: Yehudei Kurdistan; Kurdish: Kurdên cihû ,کوردە جووەکان‎, lit. 'Kurdish Jews') are the ancient Eastern Jewish communities, inhabiting the region known as Kurdistan roughly covering parts of northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey. Until their immigration to Israel in the 1940s and early 1950s, the Jews of Kurdistan lived as closed ethnic communities.  The Jews of Kurdistan largely spoke Aramaic and Kurdish dialects, in particular the Kurmanji dialect in Iraqi Kurdistan.
  Today, the vast majority of Kurdistan's Jews live in Israel.
caption: Rabbi Moshe Gabai, head of the Jews of Zakho, with President of Israel Yitzhak Ben-Zvi
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