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Originally Posted by mburbank
"It's doubtful that artifacts representative of Babylonian Jewry were preserved while the community itself was cleansed"
Whie I lament the demise of Iraqi Jewry, that statement is like saying the Smithsonians collection of Native American artifacts are somehow in doubt.
I stress again, this museum was an active site for scholarship and research. Whatever his reasons may hve been, Hussein left it alone.
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Well that's good to know. Still.. when you eradicate an entire population you rarely tend to preserve it's history. Unlike the Native Americans who continue to survive in America, run cultural centers, and curate their own museums worth of items... there are only a few dozen Iraqi Jews left, and one Temple without a Congregation. While you might think Saddam runs his museums with the integrity of a Smithsonian, I would question it...and I would wonder how likely it is that items related to Kurds and other minorities got the same treatment. If the Arab world pays no respect for Jewish life, then why on earth should one expect any better for the historical items that prove or disprove many hotly debated issues? How to explain why Saddam would protect and showcase a Jewish museum piece while destroying actual historical sites of incredible importance to documenting our civilization? Obviously you know more about the collection then I do,.... but then what can you tell me of the collection as it pertained to the historical relevance on minorities in the land... Christians, Kurds, Jews, Drus, etc. etc ?