Zakho Research Paper

Kurdistan is a region containing the countries Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. (Encyclopedia Judaica). Zakho is in Northern Iraq, directly south of the Turkish border. (Saban, 9).
2. How did Jews arrive in Kurdistan and Zakho?
Kurdish Jews descend from the 10 tribes exiled from Israel by Assyrian rulers. More specifically, they descend from the tribes of Dan and Naphtali. The Tanach mentions Jewish exile to Habor, Medes, and other towns along the Gozan River, now found in modern Kurdistan. King Tiglath-Pileser III also sent the 10 tribes to Assyria (now known as Kurdish Iraq). Not all Kurdish Jews have roots in 8th century Palestine. In the mid-1st century, during the era of the Second Temple, the entire Adiabene Kingdom converted to Judaism with their monarch King Monobaz and his mother Helena. (Encyclopedia Judaica) In the mid to late 1800’s, many Kurdish Jews sought refuge in Zakho to escape Muslim tribal conflict in Amadiya and Arbil. With its rising population, Zakho soon became the centre for Kurdish Jewry, and Jews from remote towns across Kurdistan travelled to Zakho for rabbinical training or certification in Kosher slaughter.
3. What was the
Many Jews worked in agricultural villages, but Baghdad gained a large population after famine caused departure from rural villages. Under British rule, Kurdish Jews often worked in civil service, but some also owned sheep flocks, vineyards, orchards, and cattle herds with peasants and agricultural workers. After Britain loosened its control over Kurdistan, the Jewish socio-economic status shifted, to the point where most Jews were too poor to educate their children. Some Jews worked as craftsmen, but it was more common to work as a merchant. None worked as bankers because Muslim feudal lords filled that role. Some towns, like Zakho, contained a Jewish quarter with a market, jail, and