MIZRAHI Origin of surname

Asher Mizrahi (1890-1967), poet and musician, born in Jerusalem, Israel (then part of the Ottoman Empire). He became a prominent figure in the Jewish Sephardi community of Jerusalem in the beginning of the 20th century. As a young man he moved first to Malta in order to avoid being recruited to the Ottoman army during the Balkan Wars (1912-1913). He then moved to Tunisia living there until 1919 when he returned to Jerusalem. In 1926, Mizrahi declined an offer of serving as cantor of the Great Synagogue of Alexandria, Egypt. He returned to Tunisia in 1929 living there until immediately after the Six-Day War in 1967. In Tunisia he spread the Jerusalem-Sephardi musical tradition among the local Jewish communities. Shortly after his return from Tunisia he died in Jerusalem.

Togo Mizrahi (1901- 1986), actor, director, film producer, one of the pioneers of the film industry in Egypt, born in Alexandria, Egypt into a Jewish family of Italian ancestry. He was named Togo after the Japanese admiral Togo Heihachirō (1848-1934). He studied in Alexandria schools, obtained a diploma in trade, and traveled to Italy in 1921 to complete his education. From Italy he moved to France, and in 1928 returned to Alexandria. 

After his return, he founded the Egyptian Film Company in Alexandria, and in 1929 he established Bacos Studio, a cinematographic studio, which was located in a cinema theater. During his first years of activity in the film industry he used the name Ahmed Al Mashriqi fearing a negative attitude from his family. In 1939 he moved to Cairo directing 19 films and producing several others. Mizrahi collaborated with Laila Mourad and together produced five films which he produced and directed: A Rainy Night (Laylah moumtirah) in 1939, Laila from the Countryside (Layla bint el rif) in 1941, Laila the School Girl (Layla bint el madâris) in 1941, Laila (1942), and Laila in the Dark (Layla fi-l-zalâm) in 1944. These movies are regarded as some of the finest films in the history of the Egyptian cinematography. In 1947 Mizrahi produced Salama, his last film in Egypt, a historical drama starring Oum Kalthoum about the Umayyad Caliphate.

Following the establishment of the State of Israel, the subsequent Arab-Israeli war, and the Free Officers Revolution, Mizrahi left Egypt in 1952 and settled in Rome, Italy. His two studios were nationalized by the Egyptian authorities. Mizrahi died in Rome.

Dan Mizrahi (Mizrahy) (1926-2010), pianist, composer and music teacher, born in Bucharest, Romania. His father was a descendant of a Sephardi family who came from Varna in Bulgaria. He started to study the piano at the age of 4 and at the age of 9 he was accepted at the Conservatory of Bucharest. He attended the Spiru Haret high school and in parallel he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1935. Following the implementation of anti-Semitic legislation, he was expelled from the Academy in 1940. He continued his studies at the Cultura Jewish high school in Bucharest. In 1941 he managed to immigrate to the Land of Israel and after a number of months at an agricultural school, he was admitted to the Jerusalem Academy of Music.

He returned to Romania in 1945, and graduated from the Conservatory of Bucharest in 1948. In 1951 he was arrested by the Communist authorities on charges of distributing George Gershwin’s “American music” and sent for two years in prison and then to a forced labor camp for "re-education". After his release he was a teacher at the Dinu Lipatti High School of Music in Bucharest until 1958, then he worked for the Bucharest Opera house until 1960. Later he worked as a music teacher.

As a pianist he excelled particularly in performing all of George Gershwin's works. Mizrahi composited mainly vocal pieces and they include lieder, romances and choral works. Ave Maria is a piece composed in the memory of Janusz Scheffler (1887-1952), the Catholic bishop of Satu Mare who died in prison and with whom Mizrahi shared a cell at Jilava prison. Mizrahi was a member of the Union of Romanian Composers and a laureate of the Mihail Jora Music Critics Award for his entire artistic career (1997). His autobiography Aşa a fost ("The way it happened") was published in 2005. In 2002, the Electrecord recording company launched a double CD featuring his performance of Gershwin’s works for piano.

Tuz-Khurmato

Also Tuz-Khurmalli, Tuz-Khurma; in Arabic:  طوزخورماتو‎

The central city of Tooz District in Saladin Governorate, south of the city of Kirkuk in Iraqi Kurdistan, north Iraq

According to a tradition among the Jews of Kurdistan, they had come to Kurdistan as exiles from Eretz Israel at the time of King Shalmaneser of Assyria, before the destruction of the First Temple, and did not return to Eretz Israel. Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela found Jewish communities in the region on his visit before the year 1170.

In the 17th century the leaders of the communities were the families of Rabbis Adoni (Barazani), Mizrahi, Duga and Hariri. Much later, in 1880, the traveler Mordecai Edelman visited the region. He reported having found poor rural communities of Jews who were very strict in observing all the mitzvot (religious precepts) and spoke a language that they called Targum (the Aramaic Bible translation), which is in fact distorted Aramaic mixed with Syrian. The Jews were under the patronage of the sheikh or “agha”, the feudal local ruler, who was the head of the tribe. They were practically serfs. He gave them
protection and in return they looked after his property and provided him with guards.

The Jews of Kurdistan often moved from the small villages to bigger settlements and the towns for safety reasons. This explains the occasional changes in the composition and size of the communities. The urban Jews engaged in wholesale and retail trade and in peddling. There were also artisans, like weavers, dyers of fabrics, tanners, goldsmiths and silversmiths, cobblers and carpenters. The Jews of the villages made a living as small traders and peddlers, and also as artisans. Some were farmers who grew wheat, barley, rice, sesame, lentils, tobacco, etc. There were also individuals who owned vineyards and groves and others who bred cattle and sheep.

The life of the communities centered around the old synagogue. At the head of each community stood the hakham, who was at the same time also a hazzan (cantor), mohel (circumciser), shohet (slaughterer), and gabbai (warden). On matters of halakha (rabbinical law), they referred to the rabbis of Baghdad. Three year old children began their schooling at the beth midrash, where they were taught Torah and prayers, and reading and writing in Rashi script. The older children learned Torah, Mishnah, and Gemara. At the age of eight, they began going to the general school.

The Jews lived in their own houses, around the synagogue. The Jewish quarter was not surrounded by a wall. The houses were of one storey, built of unburnt mud bricks or of unplanned stone. In the mountain settlements, each house was linked to the house above it.

In 1845 the Jewish traveler Stern visited Tuz-Khurmato. He reported that following a plague in 1831 only about 60 Jews remained at Tuz-Khurmato and the great synagogue was in ruins. In 1859 only a minyan (ten) Jews remained at the place. In 1881, 5-10 families were living at Tuz-Khurmato and they had a synagogue. They spoke Kurdish and Targum (distorted Aramaic). In 1884 about 20 Jews were living there. In 1947 50 Jewish families were living at Tuz-Khurmato. All of them finally went to Israel.

Rustaqa

A small settlement in the region of Ruwanduz, eastern Iraqi Kudristan, north-east Iraq.

According to a tradition among the Jews of Kurdistan, they had come to Kurdistan as exiles from Eretz Israel at the time of King Shalmaneser of Assyria, before the destruction of the First Temple, and did not return to Eretz Israel. Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela found Jewish communities in the region on his visit before the year 1170. Further information about Jews there is of the 17th century. The leaders of the communities at that time were the families of Rabbis Adoni (Barazani), Mizrahi, Duga and Hariri. Much later, in 1880, the traveler Mordecai Edelman visited the region. He reported having found poor rural communities of Jews who were very strict in observing all the mitzvot (religious precepts) and spoke a language that they called Targum (the Aramaic Bible translation), which is in fact distorted Aramaic mixed with Syrian. The Jews were under the patronage of the sheikh or “agha”, the feudal local ruler, who was the head of the tribe. They were practically serfs. He gave them protection and in return they looked after his property and provided him with guards.

The Jews of Kurdistan often moved from the small villages to bigger settlements and the towns for safety reasons. This explains the occasional changes in the composition and size of the communities. The urban Jews engaged in wholesale and retail trade and in peddling. There were also artisans, like weavers, dyers of fabrics, tanners, goldsmiths and silversmiths, cobblers and carpenters. The Jews of the villages made a living as small traders and peddlers, and also as artisans. Some were farmers who grew wheat, barley, rice, sesame, lentils, tobacco, etc. There were also individuals who owned vineyards and groves and others who bred cattle and sheep.

The life of the communities centered around the old synagogue. At the head of each community stood the hakham, who was at the same time also a hazzan (cantor), mohel (circumciser), shohet (slaughterer), and gabbai (warden). On matters of halakha (rabbinical law), they refrred to the rabbis of Baghdad. Three year old children began their schooling at the beth midrash, where they were taught torah and prayers, and reading and writing in Rashi script. The older children learned torah, mishnah, and gemara. At the age of eight, they began going to the general school.

The Jews lived in their own houses, around the synagogue. The Jewish quarter was not surrounded by a wall. The houses were of one storey, built of unburnt mud bricks or of unplanned stone. In the mountain settlements, each house was linked to the house above it.

In 1933 some 60 Jews were living at Rustaqa. According to the tradition of the community, the ancient synagogue of Rustaqa had been built before the destruction of the first temple in Jerusalem. Recent sources maintain that it was built in the 12th century. At the Jewish cemetery in the village there is a tomb attributed to the Babylonian Amora Rabbi Safra.

In 1942 there were 17 houses of Jews at Rustaqa. Most of the Jews were engaged at that time in weaving and there were also some torah scholars. Hakham Shimshon ben Efraim was then the head of the community. Zionist activity at the place started in 1946, with the arrival of emissaries from Eretz Israel. The local youth gathered to listen to their stories about the struggle against the Arabs and the British.

Persecution of the Jews by the authorities began with the outbreak of the War of Independence in Eretz Israel (1948). Jewish shops were closed, property and money was requisitioned, but the Kurdish neighbors generally maintained good relations with the Jews. In 1947, 80 Jews were living at Rustaqa, many of them engaged in farming. The community was liquidated when the entire Jewish population of Iraq went to Israel in the early 1950’s.

Zibar

Az Zibar; in Arabic: از زیبر

A rural settlement in the district of Irbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, north Iraq.

According to a tradition among the Jews of Kurdistan, they had come to Kurdistan as exiles from Eretz Israel at the time of King Shalmaneser of Assyria, before the destruction of the First Temple, and did not return to Eretz Israel. Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela found Jewish communities in the region on his visit before the year 1170.

In the 17th century the leaders of the communities at that time were the families of Rabbis Adoni (Barazani), Mizrahi, Duga and Hariri. Much later, in 1880, the traveler Mordecai Edelman visited the region. He reported having found poor rural communities of Jews who were very strict in observing all the mitzvot (religious precepts) and spoke a language that they called Targum (the Aramaic Bible translation), which is in fact distorted Aramaic mixed with Syrian. The Jews were under the patronage of the sheikh or “agha”, the feudal local ruler, who was the head of the tribe. They were practically serfs. He gave them protection and in return they looked after his property and provided him with guards.

The Jews of Kurdistan often moved from the small villages to bigger settlements and the towns for safety reasons. This explains the occasional changes in the composition and size of the communities. The urban Jews engaged in wholesale and retail trade and in peddling. There were also artisans, like weavers, dyers of fabrics, tanners, goldsmiths and silversmiths, cobblers and carpenters. The Jews of the villages made a living as small traders and peddlers, and also as artisans. Some were farmers who grew wheat, barley, rice, sesame, lentils, tobacco, etc. There were also individuals who owned vineyards and groves and others who bred cattle and sheep.

The life of the communities centered around the old synagogue. At the head of each community stood the hakham, who was at the same time also a hazzan (cantor), mohel (circumciser), shohet (slaughterer), and gabbai (warden). On matters of halakha (rabbinical law), they refrred to the rabbis of Baghdad. Three year old children began their schooling at the beth midrash, where they were taught torah and prayers, and reading and writing in Rashi script. The older children learned torah, mishnah, and gemara. At the age of eight, they began going to the general school.

The Jews lived in their own houses, around the synagogue. The Jewish quarter was not surrounded by a wall. The houses were of one storey, built of unburnt mud bricks or of unplanned stone. In the mountain settlements, each house was linked to the house above it.

In the region of Zibara, around Zibar, were a number of villages with small Jewish communities. The nearest village to Zibar was Argush. In 1884 310 Jews were living in the region. In 1906 their number was about 200 and in 1930 about 100, all speaking Aramaic. In 1933 some of the Jews of the region were illiterate and did not know the prayers. They spoke Kurdish and were mostly weavers, some bred cattle and sheep. A few of them were farmers or engaged in trade. In 1947 there were more then 100 Jews in the region of Zibara. In 1950 began the exodus of the Jews of Iraq to Israel. 15 Jews of Argush went to the town of Irbil, on their way to Israel, and so did also the Jews of Zibar and the other villages of the region.

Niram

A rural settlement in the district of Aqrah (Akre), central Iraqi Kurdistan, north Iraq.

According to a tradition among the Jews of Kurdistan, they had come to Kurdistan as exiles from Eretz Israel at the time of King Shalmaneser of Assyria, before the destruction of the First Temple, and did not return to Eretz Israel. At first the Jews of Niram were not aware of that tradition and were not acquainted with the history of the Jews of Kurdistan, but in the course of time they learned that history from Jewish peddlers who happened to visit the place. Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela found Jewish communities in the region on his visit before the year 1170.

In the 17th century the leaders of the communities at that time were the families of Rabbis Adoni (Barazani), Mizrahi, Duga and Hariri. Much later, in 1880, the traveler Mordecai Edelman visited the region. He reported having found poor rural communities of Jews who were very strict in observing all the mitzvot (religious precepts) and spoke a language they called Targum (the Aramaic
Bible translation) which is in fact distorted Aramaic mixed with Syrian. The Jews were under the patronage of the sheikh or “agha”, the feudal local ruler, who was the head of the tribe. He gave them protection and in return they looked after his property and provided him with guards.

The Jews of Kurdistan often moved from the small villages to bigger settlements and the towns for safety reasons. This occurred also at Niram, hence the frequent changes in the number of Jews living at Niram.

In Niram there was an ancient synagogue named after King David. Another tradition called it the Synagogue of Joab ben Zeruiah. The synagogue was close to a source of water, and the entrance was narrow. It had a spacious court and was surrounded by walls. Three steps led down to the prayer hall. In the center of the hall there was a bimah for the reading of the torah. The life of the community centered around the synagogue, in which the members gathered for public prayers on Sabbath and festival days. There were no rabbis and teachers at Niram and the education of the children was sporadic. Travelling preachers who happened to visit the village taught the children verbally on Sabbath days, telling them stories and legends. On weekdays the children helped their families in the fields.

In 1929 the family of Ezra arrived in Niram from Agra. At that time only a few Jewish families were living at Niram. In 1933 the community was very poor and its members were illiterate and ignorant of the prayers. The children were not given any tuition. The Jews of Niram spoke Kurdish and most of them were weavers, some bred cattle and sheep, some engaged in farming and trade. Their houses were made of mud, the roofs built of wooden beams covered with mud. In 1949 the Jews of Niram organized themselves for Aliyah to Israel. They travelled on small boats down the Tigris to the sea and from there embarked on boats to Israel.