On Women and Revolution: The Story of the Baghdad Jewish Community
A gala evening dedicated to the Dangoor family marked the tenth anniversary of the Sir Naim Dangoor Program in Universal Monotheism.
The event included the launch of an exhibition on the Jewish women of Baghdad entitled "Women, Laws and in Between". The exhibition depicts an epic journey from the end of the 19th century up until the events of the Farhud (uprisings). The pictures reveal, among other things, the revolution of fashion and clothing from traditional Muslim dress through the influences of the British occupation and, later, the active involvement of women in the Zionist underground. The exhibition will be displayed in the lobby of the Marcus and Ann Rosenberg Music Building (1005) until the end of the academic year in June 2018.
At the gathering the women leaders involved in the Dangoor initiative were introduced by Dr. Danielle Gurevitch, Chair of the Dangoor Program since its inception, who also served as the event moderator. These leaders included project partner Aliza Dayan-Hamama, Director of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center, and exhibition treasurer Orly Bachar-Levi, who presented the rationale of the pictures and the stories behind them. Fattal-Kuperwasser, an IDF lieutenant colonel in the reserves, fascinated the
audience with the tale of her personal journey, as the daughter of Iraqi parents, in the time tunnel to Baghdad. On her extensive research in preparation for her novel, "The Pictures on the Wall", she said, "The novel connected me to my Jewish roots, strengthened me as a woman through the wisdom of our grandmothers and mothers, even though they were weak in the traditional society of the time, and brought me as a person to build cultural bridges between us and intellectuals in today's Iraq, hoping to bring about a change for the better in our region.
Talented actress and comedian Anat Aviad amused the audience with her humorous yet intelligent portrayal of Baghdadi immigrant Naima Somech.
University President Prof. Arie Zaban, who recently facilitated the transformation of the Sir Naim Dangoor Program for Universal Monotheism into a full-fledged Centre and has been involved with its activities over the past four years since serving as Vice President for Research, also participated in the gathering.
