Foreign Minister Abba Eban told the Knesset today that the Israeli government has confirmed the recent murder of a family of five Iraqi Jews. He said the Kashkosh family–Reuven, his wife, his daughter, and two sons, Fuad and Samir–were brutally murdered in broad daylight and that the blame rested squarely with the Iraqi government, Eban gave no other details.
The Knesset, with the exception of the Rakah Communist faction which abstained, approved a resolution submitted by Gahal chairman Menachem Beigin calling on the Israeli government and world opinion to work for the emigration of Jews from Iraq.
Eban, who spoke for 15 minutes, noted that there were fewer than 400 Jews remaining in Iraq when, in Sept. 1972, the Iraqi authorities suddenly ended their policy of allowing Jews to quietly emigrate in small numbers. Since then, he said 16 Iraqi Jews have disappeared. He read their names to the Knesset.
Eban said the murder of the Kashkosh family was “the climax of a chain of cruel brutality against the Jewish community in Baghdad.” He reported that representations by friendly governments and by others to the Baghdad regime have thus far been met with evasiveness. He said the Israeli government was pledged to continue its struggle to liberate the remnant of Iraq’s Jewish community and all other Jews in Arab states who are oppressed by their regimes.
“We identify with their brave struggle and send them a message of encouragement and hope,” Eban said. He said the only solution for Iraqi Jews was to emigrate.
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