One of the last Jews living in Iraq has died aged 61.
Dhafar Fouad Eliyahu, a leading orthopaedic doctor at the al-Wasiti hospital in Baghdad, died in the capital on Sunday. There are now believed to be only three Iraqi Jews still in Baghdad.
Iraqis paid tribute to the doctor, a former student at Baghdad’s Jewish school, Frank Iny, who used to provide free medical care to people who could not afford to pay.
According to former classmates now living in London, Dr Eliyahu was highly-academic and could recite textbooks “word by word”.
He was one of the few Iraqi Jews who refused to leave the country in the face of antisemitic persecution.
Board of Deputies Vice President Edwin Shuker was one of thousands of Jews who fled Baghdad in the 1970s. Mr Shuker has since returned to Iraq. He last saw Dr Eliyahu in 2019.
Mr Shuker continued: “He was an absolute gentleman, very modest and with a big smile.
“He was very well regarded in his professional work.”
Mr Shuker added: “Every time I have visited Iraq, I have seen him.
“He was completely committed to staying in Iraq for the rest of his life. That’s the country he knows and loves. He was not swayed by the challenges and threats.”
Dr Eliyahu cared for Iraqi Jewish artefacts still in the country. He took responsibility after former Frank Iny teacher Marcelle Ezra died in her nineties in September 2020.
Reflecting on this, Mr Shuker said: “Dr Eliyahu really was the last active person looking after the community’s assets and affairs.”
It is now unclear who will take over the responsibilities.
The Iraqi Jewish community once made up a quarter of the capital’s population before 1948.
After Israel was established, the community left in waves from the 1950s to 1970s. Whilst the majority moved to Israel, others moved further afield to the UK, US and Canada.
Baghdad-based correspondent Mustafa Salim said: “He was called the doctor of the poor people since he always used to treat those who can’t afford the costs, for free.”
