Victor Ozair: Life and Exile from Baghdad

Originally published May 2, 2013

Victor Ozair was born in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 27, 1930. His family name is associated with Ezra the Scribe, the biblical figure who led Jewish exiles from Babylon back to Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. According to a tradition recounted by Victor, Ezra died in the region of present-day Iraq, where a tomb and surrounding town bear his name, Al-Uzair. Because of his family's longstanding connection to the town, Victor believes he may be descended from Ezra the Scribe.

During the period of British influence in Iraq, Victor's father served as director of the border police along the Iraq-Iran frontier. Following Iraqi independence, the government dismissed Jewish police officers who had been trained under British authorities. His father subsequently found employment as an auditor and accountant with the Iraqi railway company.

Victor's mother was a teacher and graduate of the Alliance Israélite Universelle school. His family also had strong connections to Basra, where his grandfather worked as a merchant and owned a shop.

Victor still remembers the address of his childhood home: 66/113 Taht al-Takiya, Baghdad. He grew up there with his two brothers and two sisters in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. He recalls that only one Muslim, Yahiya Al Auj, lived on his street.

The Ozair family lived in a traditional Baghdadi home built around a central courtyard, with two stories and a flat rooftop. The courtyard allowed sunlight to reach the surrounding rooms, while the rooftop provided a place for family members to sleep during the hot summer months.

The household was multigenerational. Victor lived alongside his parents, siblings, grandparents, and uncle. Even after his uncle married and had children, the extended family continued living together under one roof.

Jewish communal life flourished in Taht al-Takiya. Victor remembers five or six functioning synagogues located near his home, as well as numerous kosher restaurants and Jewish-owned shops. His uncle had purchased designated seats in one of the neighborhood synagogues.

Religious traditions were an important part of family life. The family gathered around the table to recite Kiddush, and Jewish holidays were celebrated with enthusiasm.

Purim, known locally as Munjallah, was especially beloved by children. Victor remembers beating drums, wearing masks, and playing with toy pistols that made loud noises. Shavuot, known as Eid al-Ziyara, was an occasion for visiting friends and relatives, while Passover, or Eid al-Iftir, was another major communal celebration.

Arabic was the language of everyday life. At home, Victor spoke Judeo-Arabic, the distinctive dialect of Iraqi Jews. He also understood the Arabic spoken in the streets and studied literary and classical Arabic at school.

The Tigris River divides Baghdad into two principal districts: Al-Rusafa on the eastern bank and Al-Karkh on the western bank. Victor eventually moved with his family to Al-Karkh, where he continued his education at an Alliance Israélite Universelle school.

He earned several academic certificates, including a government qualification known as Mutawassita, and developed proficiency in English during his secondary education.

Following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Victor recalls that educational opportunities for Iraqi Jews became increasingly restricted. He was unable to enroll in university in Iraq and hoped to obtain a passport to study at the Sorbonne in France. However, the Iraqi government refused to allow him to leave the country.

Despite his fond memories of Jewish communal life, Victor also recalls frequent experiences of antisemitism.

On one occasion, an Arab boy punched him in the nose simply because he was Jewish. Another time, he was slapped in the face for the same reason. Such incidents left him with painful memories alongside the happier recollections of his childhood.

Victor describes how Iraqi Jews learned to navigate a society in which they were often treated as second-class citizens. Many developed strategies for avoiding confrontation and maintaining peaceful relationships with their Muslim neighbors.

“You could make friends by not antagonizing them,” he recalls.

While living in Al-Karkh, Victor formed friendships with numerous non-Jews. Nevertheless, he remained conscious of the social boundaries that separated Jews from the Muslim majority.

He remembers Jewish mothers warning their children to remain quiet when Muslims approached, reflecting the fear that had become ingrained in parts of the community.

According to Victor, Jewish children were generally taught to avoid confrontation rather than defend themselves against antisemitic attacks.

Although he knew some Christians in Baghdad, he recalls that they tended to live in separate neighborhoods and were not part of his immediate circle of friends.

For many Iraqi Jews, a decisive turning point came in June 1941, when Baghdad experienced the Farhud, a violent anti-Jewish pogrom that took place during Shavuot.

On June 1 and 2, mobs attacked Jewish neighborhoods, killing approximately 179 Jews and injuring more than 1,000 others.

Victor remembers the terror that gripped his neighborhood. Attackers moved across rooftops and descended upon Jewish homes, while families sheltered inside, uncertain whether they would survive.

His own house was relatively tall, which helped protect the family from the violence. He remembers men reciting Psalms and women weeping as they waited for the attacks to end.

Young Jewish men, some only 17 or 18 years old, attempted to defend their homes with rocks and bottles against the approaching mobs.

Although Victor's family and home escaped physical harm, the Farhud permanently changed his understanding of Jewish life in Iraq.

For many Jews, the violence shattered their sense of security and belonging. Young people increasingly questioned whether they had a future in Iraq, and interest in Zionist organizations grew.

Victor recalls that his uncle was the first member of his family to decide to immigrate to Israel.

In 1942, Victor joined a Zionist youth organization. In addition to teaching Hebrew and Zionist ideas, these organizations provided practical vocational training. Members learned trades such as carpentry and electrical work, preparing themselves for the possibility of building new lives elsewhere.

By the time Victor immigrated to Israel in 1951, he had already learned Hebrew.

The establishment of Israel provided a destination for Iraqi Jews facing increasing restrictions and insecurity. Victor believes that without Israel, many Jews would have sought refuge in other countries, including the United States, Britain, and elsewhere in Europe.

He also believes that Jews who remained in Iraq would have faced even greater dangers under later regimes, particularly during Saddam Hussein's rule and the Iran-Iraq War.

The mass departure of Iraqi Jews in 1950 and 1951 was accompanied by widespread dispossession.

Jews wishing to emigrate were required to register with the Iraqi government and relinquish their citizenship. The government subsequently enacted legislation freezing the assets of those who registered to leave.

Within a relatively short period, the overwhelming majority of Iraq's Jewish population departed, leaving behind homes, businesses, savings, and personal possessions.

Departing Jews were permitted to take only limited clothing and luggage. Authorities searched travelers and confiscated gold, jewelry, and other valuables.

Victor's family left behind their house, furniture, and bank savings.

Despite these losses, Victor remembers that many Jews felt relief at being able to leave. They understood that resettlement would be difficult and that their lives would never be the same, but they believed departure offered the possibility of safety and a future.

Unlike many Iraqi Jews who traveled to Israel by airplane, Victor made the journey overland through the Jordanian desert.

Upon arriving in Israel in 1951, he moved to Kibbutz Beit Hashita in northern Israel.

The transition was far from easy. Victor's family spent five years in a ma'abara, a temporary immigrant transit camp with limited infrastructure.

These camps housed Jewish immigrants from numerous countries, including communities from North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Among the residents were survivors and refugees from Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and other Eastern European countries.

The large-scale immigration of Jews from diverse backgrounds created enormous challenges for the young Israeli state.

Victor recalls that Jews from Arab countries sometimes encountered discriminatory policies and barriers to educational and professional advancement.

In 1952, he took the entrance examination for the Technion, Israel's leading technical university. Of the approximately 60 to 70 Iraqi Jewish applicants who took the examination, Victor recalls that only four were admitted.

The examination imposed demanding Hebrew-language requirements, creating obstacles for otherwise qualified immigrants whose education had taken place in Arabic or other languages.

Victor remembers encountering a former classmate from Iraq who had been an excellent student but failed to gain admission to the Technion. The man eventually found work selling watermelons.

Despite these challenges, Victor was admitted to the Technion and pursued his studies in engineering.

He later earned a master's degree in nuclear engineering and conducted research at the Weizmann Institute of Science, studying Soviet nuclear explosions and their effects on atmospheric radiation levels in European countries.

From 1956 to 1959, Victor also served as an officer in the Israeli Navy.

His academic achievements eventually earned him a scholarship at the University of Toronto, where he worked on monitoring radiation levels for industrial applications.

From Canada, Victor moved to the Los Angeles area, where he settled with his family.

For Victor, both Israel and the United States are home. His eldest daughter was born in Israel, while his other children were born in the United States.

He continues to maintain a strong connection to his Iraqi Jewish heritage. At home, he and his wife speak a mixture of Iraqi Judeo-Arabic and Hebrew, preserving the language of their childhood.

Victor also maintains friendships with other Iraqi Jews, particularly those who, like him, spent time in Israel before immigrating to the United States. He enjoys traditional Iraqi Jewish cuisine and continues to attend an Iraqi synagogue in Los Angeles.

Although he occasionally remembers swimming in the Tigris River as a child, Victor has no desire to return to Iraq.

More than six decades after his departure, he believes the Baghdad of his childhood has disappeared. Photographs of formerly vibrant Jewish neighborhoods, now neglected and deteriorating, have reinforced his reluctance to revisit the country.

Instead, Victor finds a connection to his heritage through institutions such as the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center in Or Yehuda, Israel, which documents and celebrates the history of Iraqi Jews.

Reflecting on his experiences, Victor expresses pride in Israel as a country built by Jews from communities around the world.

Despite the hardships, inequalities, and challenges that accompanied mass immigration, he views the creation of a shared Israeli identity as a remarkable achievement.

His story reflects the richness of Jewish life in Baghdad, the trauma of the Farhud and subsequent displacement, the difficulties of resettlement in Israel, and the enduring connections Iraqi Jews maintain with their ancestral heritage.