The execution of the two Jewish young men in Baghdad on Monday has aroused intense anger throughout the country, especially among Jews who come from Iraq and who fear for the lives of the Jews who are still in the Arab country.
The hangings are described here as “murder by court” and it is widely believed that the executions were prepared as a means of diverting public attention in Iraq from demands for social reform. Dispatches reaching here from Baghdad state that the two men were mistreated by the Iraqi authorities before they were executed.
(In London, the Board of Deputies of British Jews issued a statement terming the execution of the two Jewish youths in Iraq “a tragic miscarriage of justice.” The Jewish representative body condemned the manner in which all appeals for clemency were ignored by the Iraqi authorities.)
The executive committee of the World Jewish Congress in Israel today announced that it decided to launch the “strongest protest” against the Iraqi Government “for the bloody execution of two innocent Jews.” The committee also expressed regret over the fact that the democratic world failed to protect the lives of the two Jews against injustice and violation of human rights.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
