The Iraqi Jewish Immigrants and The Impact of Transferring Their Documents to The United States

Abstract

A special unit of the US forces found a collection of rare books and documents in the Iraqi Intelligence Headquarters in Baghdad. This collection represents the history of the Iraqi Jewish community and was later known as the Iraqi Jewish Archive. The archive was transferred to the United States of America for conservation and restoration. An agreement was signed to renew the period of stay of the archive in America, and the renewal agreement was signed in 2014, stipulating that the archive would be returned in September 2018. Washington did not fulfill its pledge to return the archive to Iraq even after 3 years from the expiration date of the specified time. This study addresses the following research questions: The legality of the archive transfer process? Further, what are the economic consequences of keeping the archive in the United States for more than eighteen years? Finally, what practical steps have been taken at the technical level?.