The others… and Ezra Zilkha

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I LISTENED to an interview with Ezra Khaduri Zilkha, the well-known Iraqi Jewish banker, six years ago, two or three years before his death while talking about unfortunate matters, calling for reflection on the fate of several groups living in Arab countries for centuries, and sometimes they are the natives, and not the majority, yet they were treated in a humiliating and different manner only because they differed in race, religion or sect from the vast majority, thus they are prone to be thrown out of the borders, whenever the authorities want it.

Ezra says: “I was born in 1925 in a well-off family whose breadwinner worked as a banker, rather the most famous banker in the Arab world, as he had branches in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. I do not think that an Arab reference can admit that despite his authenticity, for he is in the end a Jew.
Ezra says: My mother tongue is Arabic. My family origin probably dates back to the days of the Babylonian captivity, and I still speak, read and write Arabic.
He added he studied in Lebanon and then in Egypt before his family sent him to an institute in America, and that was during the Second World War to treat his stuttering before he completed his studies there.
Ezra worked as a trainee banker at Amrose Bank in London, after which he was sent to Hong Kong to be trained in gold dealings.

Ezra continued saying: “Because of the small number of Jews in the region, a majority of my colleagues and friends were Muslims and Christians, and that never made me feel different, whether in Iraq, Lebanon or Egypt. And when I’m with my Arab friends, I felt very much at home. Yes, I’m Jewish, but I’m an Arab, and that’s a strong feeling for me.
“After the war ended, my family returned to Iraq, but my father was not reassured about the situation, and he told us in 1946 that our property might be confiscated.
Ezra for the third time confirmed honestly with great affection: “I am an Iraqi, and this means a lot to me, I speak the Iraqi Arabic dialect, and I have the honor to be a Jew from Baghdad and perhaps I belong to the last generation after all my family left Iraq.

I was greatly impressed by the words of Ezra, the Jewish man who was in his nineties, his nostalgia for his homeland and his comrades, his love for his Arab heritage, language and culture, which he regarded greatly until the last days of his life.
While listening to him, I felt the sincerity of his feelings, and the sincerity of his longing for his homeland, which he was forced to leave. He does not need to cajole anyone as he is an extraordinary global figure with his banking and commercial experience, who headed several companies, and his extensive charity work, especially in supporting education, arts, and the disabled (apart from digging wells and hiring preachers).

From the words of Ezra, and all this sectarian and racist instigation that we are living in, I hope that we preserve the good citizen, and not take everyone of the wrongdoing of some, and not neglect the likes of Ezra among whom there are many, who have experience as the government seeks to create a citizen who is loving and loyal to his country, and this can only be achieved with a modern national approach, and a clean and strong government.

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This news has been read 18720 times!