Jewish communities lived in Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq, from at least the 6th century BCE. By the early 1940s, Iraq’s Jewish population numbered approximately 135,000 people, or nearly three percent of the country’s population. For many years, Iraqi Jews were deeply rooted in the country’s social, cultural, and economic life. However, on June 1 and 2, 1941, this sense of security was shattered by one of the most devastating anti-Jewish pogroms in modern Middle Eastern history: the Farhud.

Fueled by a combination of political instability, radical Arab nationalism, antisemitic incitement, and Nazi influence, including the activities of the exiled Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, mobs rampaged through Jewish neighbourhoods in Baghdad over two days.

In the aftermath, more than 180 Jews were killed, approximately 1,000 were injured, and hundreds of Jewish homes and businesses were damaged, destroyed, or looted. Women were also subjected to sexual violence, although the exact number of victims remains unknown. The once-prosperous Jewish community of Iraq was left traumatized by the violence, which remains a painful memory for Iraqi Jews and their descendants.

The Farhud is a significant yet little-known chapter in modern Middle Eastern history. It challenges the misconception that anti-Jewish violence in the region began only after the establishment of the State of Israel. It also marked a turning point in the decline of Jewish security in Iraq and foreshadowed the broader displacement of Jewish communities across the Middle East and North Africa in the years that followed, driven by rising antisemitism, state discrimination, political instability, and the fallout from the Arab-Israeli conflict.

At present, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) is hosting Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present, an exhibit about the displacement of Palestinians during and after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The exhibit has been criticized by some members of the Jewish community and others for presenting an incomplete historical context, particularly by omitting sufficient discussion of the war launched by surrounding Arab states against the newly established State of Israel and the simultaneous displacement of Jews from Arab and Muslim-majority countries.

The purpose of this petition is to:

Encourage the CMHR to host an exhibit about the Farhud and the disappearance of Jewish communities across the Middle East, North Africa, and the broader Muslim world.
Urge the CMHR to fund, promote, and publicize such an exhibit at a level comparable to its current exhibit on Palestinian displacement.
Raise public awareness of the persecution and displacement of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish communities, whose experiences are often excluded from mainstream discussions of Middle Eastern history and human rights.
If the CMHR refuses to present an exhibit on the historical persecution and displacement of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews, it would raise serious concerns about whether the museum is applying its human rights mandate consistently and impartially.