// Shafiq Ades: ‘The Execution That Marked the End of Iraqi Jewry’

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Shafiq Ades (also spelled Adas; born in 1900, died on September 23, 1948) was an Iraqi-Jewish businessman of Syrian origins. After a short show trial in 1948, he was executed by hanging on charges of selling weapons to Israel and supporting the Iraqi Communist Party.

When arrested, Ades was “accused simultaneously of being a Zionist and a Communist.” For the main charge against him, that he had sold arms to Israel, the military court presented no evidence. He was also refused the right to a proper defense. In a military tribunal… he was sentenced to death and ordered to pay a fine of 5 million Dinars. The rest of his property was confiscated.

Following the show trial, Ades was hanged in front of his newly completed mansion in Basra on September 23, 1948. 12,000 onlookers came from all parts of Iraq to witness the hanging of the so-called “traitor.” Authorities left his dead body in the square for hours and it was abused by the celebrating crowds.
— Wikipedia

Quote: “Newspapers also published vicious antisemitic stories accusing Iraq’s Jews of being a fifth column for the ‘Zionist entity,’ and Adas was singled out in these accusations, on the basis for unfounded allegations. The Istiqlal Party, with the support of Defense Minister Sadiq al-Bassam, launched demonstrations in Baghdad and Basra demanding that Adas be executed. The mouthpiece of the party was the ultra-nationalist newspaper Al-Istiqlal, under editor-in-chief Fa’iq al-Samara’i, who led a vicious campaign against the Iraqi Jewish community and against Adas in particular.”
— Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli | MEMRI.org

Learn more about Shafiq Ades from Wikipedia. ►

Read “The execution that marked the end of Iraqi Jewry — opinion” ►

Read “The 75th Anniversary of the Execution of Iraqi Jewish Merchant Shafiq Adas and the Expulsion of Iraq’s Jewish Communities” ►

Watch “Adi Schwarz: ‘The Adas Affair — A Case Study of Antisemitism in Iraq’ [10:24]. ►

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— Jonathan Leader Maynard in his incisive article “Could It Happen Here?: The Holocaust and Atrocities in the 21st Century” To read the entire article, click here.

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