Israel should make peace with Iraq through the Abraham Accords - opinion

• Author: DAVID A. DANGOOR
• Published date: 30 September 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

That is why, as an Iraqi Jew, it was gratifying and in keeping with the spirit and the letter of the constitution that during a conference last week more than 300 prominent Iraqis called for their country to normalize ties with the State of Israel.

Those of us with long roots in the region, especially the Jews who have lived in what was variously called Babylon, Mesopotamia and Iraq for 2,500 years, have long sought a Middle East that is more tolerant, open and its various parts at peace with each other.

cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); });

>

Last year's Abraham Accords were the first and important steps in a region where new alliances are being sought and embraced. Former enemies are moving forward in a warm embrace, enmity is replaced with fraternity, and all are benefiting from the newfound Jewish-Arab multilateralism in the region.

Even those nations that are not yet at the point of official recognition of the Jewish state, like Saudi Arabia and Oman, are putting aside past differences and working together behind the scenes and even on occasion openly.

The region is moving beyond the Arab-Israeli conflict in an unprecedented manner.

While Iraq is no longer the central power in the region, its history and geography make it an important player in the new Middle East. As the "Cradle of Civilization," where mankind first began to read, write, create laws and live in cities under an organized government, it certainly has a symbolic status that no other country can match.

It also has a long and varied history where its peoples frequently had good relations, arguably unprecedented in the region.

In the Iraq where I was raised, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Sunnis or Shi'ites worked, learned, sang and danced together. We lived side by side in peace and harmony.

Iraq's Jews played a prominent role in culture, the arts, government and economics. They were an inseparable part of the country and their role in forming the foundation of Jewish peoplehood and religion through the Babylonian Talmud, or those like Sir Sassoon Eskell, one of the founders of modern Iraq, assisting in the formation of a modern Iraqi identity, our duality flourished for the betterment of all.

Unfortunately, this all ended in the 20th century with pogroms, mass hangings and expulsion, but the Iraqi Jews still hold fond memories from our past. Above all, we remember the people, many of whom...