Plight Deepens for Baghdad's Last Jews

[Behind the Aegis]

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- They number only eight, but are caretakers of a story stretching back 2,600 years. Now, it's up to the last Jews of Baghdad to decide whether to remain or flee their ancient home.

An Anglican clergyman who watches over the remaining Jewish families says they are increasingly desperate to emigrate to the Netherlands, where there is an active Iraqi Jewish community. But Israeli, Dutch and Jewish officials dispute the claims by the Rev. Andrew White that they want to fully abandon a city where Jews accounted for one-third of the population as recently as a century ago.

The attention on Iraq's Jews increased after White's appearance July 25 before the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, in which he stressed the growing threat to Baghdad's minorities.

"In the last three or four months things have deteriorated very considerably," he said, according to a transcript of the proceedings held in Washington.

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