"A War On The Spies"

The 1969 trials and executions for espionage in Iraq

In the modern history of the Iraqi Jewish community, the 1969 trials and executions of various alleged ‘spies’- many but not all of them Jews- are seen as one of the key moments in the decline of the community’s fortunes since 1948 and the trend of Jewish migration out of Iraq. The following post presents a publication about the trials and executions put out at the time by the Iraqi Ba‘athist government- then headed by Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr, who led the ‘revolution’ of 17 July 1968 that brought him to power.

The trials and executions attracted international condemnation, but the government countered this condemnation in its own propaganda by portraying the proceedings as not being motivated by anti-Semitism but rather just a crackdown on espionage for the interests of Israel. The government, in this telling, was not opposed to Jews but rather Zionism, and arranged for journalists to meet the designated head of the “Mosaic sect” (Jewish community) in Iraq to affirm that Jews enjoyed the same freedoms and rights as members of other sects. Further, the government was keen to stress that the trials did not just involve Jews but rather also Muslims and Christians, asserting that no religious discrimination was exercised in condemning or exonerating people, but rather judgement solely depended on the evidence or proof.

Besides this attempt to distance the events from notions of anti-Jewish persecution, the booklet contains many familiar ideological tropes of Ba‘athist discourse: opposition to colonialism and Zionism, a progressive and patriotic vision opposed to backwardness etc.

This rare document should be of great interest to anyone curious about modern Iraqi Jewish history in particular and modern Iraqi history in general.

Below is the document translated in full.

17 July Revolution

A War On The Spies

A pledge taken up by the men of the revolution, that no spy should live on Iraq’s land after today

The fighter Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr

The price is donation for sacrificial work

Price: 100 Fils

The venerable president of the republic Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr

Dedication

. To those who have vowed to serve the homeland with determination, resolve and sincerity.

. To the one who has taken up the pledge that no spy should live on Iraq’s land after today.

. To the heroic Revolutionary Command Council- the 17 July Revolution: we dedicate this historical record.