tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post8912568970096552430..comments2024-03-27T04:46:33.198-07:00Comments on Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: What is in this "Iraqi Jewish Archive"? Paul Barfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-34782189724149120662013-11-22T07:06:50.785-08:002013-11-22T07:06:50.785-08:00I would imagine that the exam certificates are off...I would imagine that the exam certificates are official copies lodged in the school or examining body and the families at one time received a copy. But then, this stuff has been kicking around ten years, how many requests has the Department of State received for information if Young Dorothy's exam certificate is there? How many will they get before summer next year when the stuff goes back? <br /><br />I think the problem is that if you look at the "overview" this is a random collection of stuff, it is not clear how it came together in the first place. It is the newspapers that blew up this "human interest" bit with the sweet little schoolgirls etc. It would seem that this kind of material is in the minority. <br /><br />If there is the possibility of identifying a "book or a family torah" as the property of a particular family, and show it was stolen then I am sure a US court could be induced now to examine the case and confiscate it from the Iraqi government (we've seen this happen a number of times in the past few years). This is a different issue than demanding the whole lot gets sent to Israel, or should stay in the USA. <br /><br /> Paul Barfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10443302899233809948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8174756573570334952.post-77202435916799411162013-11-22T06:20:46.574-08:002013-11-22T06:20:46.574-08:00My issue is that the people to whom some of the pe...My issue is that the people to whom some of the personal documents belonged - eg school certificates of a particular person - have not been given the opportunity to claim them. I for example would want my own A-level certificate back ...<br /><br />Honestly, with the other more community material you can debate it ad nauseum ... yes, the historical / political letters are interesting, and I can see why both Iraq and Israel would want to have them.<br /><br />My issue is with other material that was seized off Jewish families under Saddam after 1970 ... surely if the original owners or heirs come forward, a book, for example a family Torah, should go to them not the state that seize it off them?<br /><br />The big issue is that what's in the Archive has been kept secret so long ... genuine claimants (ie Jews who come from Iraq not just random unrelated Jews) were not really given a chance to lodge their claim. It's all very well saying they can do that after it goes back, but we know that won't happen.Dorothy Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09820009282218419179noreply@blogger.com