Museum Documents History of Jews in Iraq

With the ingathering of the exiles bringing Jews to the Jewish state from all corners of the world, it's surprising that there are so few museums in Israel devoted to the history of the Jewish communities that produced the mass aliya.

One exception is the Museum of Babylonian Jewry where the epic story of the most ancient Diaspora community and its eventual immigration to Israel is graphically depicted. The town of Or Yehuda, 13 kilometers east of Tel Aviv, which hosts the museum was once itself the site of two large ma'abarot (tent cities) set up in 1950 to accommodate an influx of thousands of Iraqi and Rumanian Jews.

Housed in a purpose-built structure that incorporates the Center for Iraqi Jewish Heritage, the museum's nicely laid out and varied exhibits are arranged in a logical manner, making it easy to follow the flow of history of this important community.  

While the major emphasis is on late 19th and 20th century community activity, eye-catching interactive displays chronicle the ancient Exile and Return, as well as the central role of the great academies of Sura and Pumbeditha and the development of the Babylonian Talmud.  A large electronic map illustrates the routes taken by the exiles, as well as those who returned to Zion, both in the days of Koresh (538 BCE) and in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (mid 5th century BCE).

Some nice dioramas (mostly at kid eye-level) recreate the breadth of Babylonian Jewish life in the Middle Ages, and there's a beautiful 13th century manuscript from the Babylonian Talmud on display.