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Pobedonostseva Kaya A., Kirpichenok A. “Ana Kurdi”: the Jews of Kurdistan

A. Pobedonostseva Kaya - Saint-Petersburg State University St. Petersburg, Russian Federation ORCID: 0000-0002-6556-3950
E-mail: apobedonostseva@gmail.com; a.pobedonostseva@spbu.ru

A. Kirpichenok - Central Public Library of the V. V. Mayakovsky St. Petersburg, Russian Federation ORCID: 0000-0003-2846-4555
E-mail: kirpichenok@mail.ru

 

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ABSTRACT. Some sources report of the presence of Jewish communities in ethnic Kurdistan as early as in the Middle Ages. These communities had been interacting with the neighboring ethnic groups of the region in social and economic spheres until their emigration in the middle of the twentieth century. The division of Kurdistan itself and the internal division of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria resulted not only in the ensuing differences among the Jewish communities, but also in a difference between the Kurdistani Jews (the Lakhlukh) and their co-religionists in other provinces of these countries. One of the most striking manifestations of the identity of Kurdistani Jews was the Seharane holiday, which had emerged under the influence of Kurdish culture and entered the traditional Jewish calendar in the Middle East. The division of Kurdistan has affected the fates of Jews in the twentieth century in different ways. The case of the Jews of Iraqi Kurdistan perfectly illustrates this point. Being the largest and best organized religious community in the region, they were targeted by the Israeli migration program more than other Jewish groups. In Israel, they continue to live as a somewhat separate group cultivating their historic roots and preserving their cultural identity. Studies on this topic and preservation of cultural and material heritage are carried out by the Society of Kurdistani Jews, the Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot and other organizations. The paper aims to analyze relevant research data on Kurdistani Jews and introduce it for scholarly use.

 

DOI 10. 31250/2618-8600-2020-2(8)-42-65
УДК 9 4:323. 15(=41 1 . 16) (55/56)

 

KEYWORDS: Jews, Kurdistan, Lakhlukh, Israel, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Seharane

 

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