Iraq’s Jewish presence shrunk to fewer than 5
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Less than five Jews remain in Iraq, according to new figures from Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday.
In a post on X, the ministry said, Jewish communities across Arab countries and Iran largely disappeared after 1948, alleging that close to one million Jews were displaced from their home countries in the following decades.
On Nov. 30, Israel marks the Day of Departure & Expulsion of Jews from Arab Countries & Iran. Almost a million Jews expelled from their countries of birth after 1948 (>850,000 from the Arab world & 100,000 from Iran).Stripped of rights. Subject to state sanctioned violence,… pic.twitter.com/wzvXe9qWaX
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) November 30, 2025
According to the data, the Jewish population in Iraq fell from about 135,000 before 1948 to just four today.
Iran hosts the largest Jewish population in the region today with about 9,500 people, down from roughly 100,000 in 1948. Morocco has 2,000 Jews, Tunisia 1,500, Algeria 50, Syria 30, Lebanon 20, and Yemen 5. Egypt was listed with 3, and none were recorded in Libya.
Iraq’s historic Jewish presence is rooted for centuries in neighborhoods such as Baghdad’s Qanbar Ali and its Al-Turat quarter.
Read more: Shafaq News explores Al-Turat: Baghdad's ancient Jewish quarter
