The Adas Affair: The Life and Death of the Richest Jew in Iraq

From Tablet Magazine

In September 1948, Shafiq Adas, one of the wealthiest men in Iraq, was hanged in front of his home in Basra after a three day military trial. In this article, the Israeli scholar Adi Schwartz shows how his death became a turning point for the Jews of Iraq.

Who he was

A businessman with powerful friends

Born in Aleppo, Syria, Adas moved to Iraq after World War I and built a large fortune, mostly with Muslim business partners. He was close to leading figures such as the politician Nuri al Said and the regent, Prince Abd al Ilah, and he kept his distance from Jewish community politics and from Zionism.

The trial

Accused of treason

In 1948, after Iraq joined the war against the new State of Israel, Adas was accused of selling surplus British military equipment to Israel. None of his Muslim partners were charged. A military court in Basra held a three day trial that left his lawyers no time to call witnesses, and sentenced him to death. Rabbis, the American ambassador, and Muslim friends appealed for mercy, and his wife offered a huge ransom, but the regent approved the sentence.

The execution

A message to a community

On September 23, 1948, Adas was hanged before a large crowd, and the event was broadcast on the radio. That same year, Iraq made Zionism a crime punishable by death, Jews were dismissed from government jobs, and hundreds were arrested and tried. For Iraq's Jews, the message was clear: if the richest and best connected Jew in the country could not be protected, no Jew was safe. Within a few years, nearly the entire community of about 120,000 to 130,000 people had left Iraq.

Read the full article at Tablet →

This summary was written by JIMENA and is based on “The Adas Affair” by Adi Schwartz, published by Tablet Magazine, with additional historical background. The original article belongs to Tablet.