Badri Aghassi

While interning at the American Jewish Historical Society New England Archives and working on their collection of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), I came across the file of the Aghassi Family, Iraqi Jews (Mizrahi), who struggled to immigrate to the United States. The overwhelming majority of Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society cases are of Ashkenazi Jews who tried to immigrate to the United States from European countries.  I was very excited to come across a file of a Mizrahi family not only because it was rare to find an Arab family in the collection but also because I felt a personal connection as my grandparents were Iraqi Jews.

Iraqi Jews are one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities dating back to the Babylonian conquest in the 6th century BCE, where Jews learned to survive alongside of or under other religious groups. Jews became citizens who could vote and hold office in 1921, following the establishment of the Iraqi state under the British Mandate.   Previous to 1930, Jews viewed themselves as Arabs and were viewed by others as Arabs because they had lived in Arab countries for centuries and were part of the various political and governmental systems. But as Nazi ideology started to spread beyond Europe, Iraqis also started to turn against their Jewish neighbors. Resentment towards the British for their colonial actions within the Middle East and especially Iraq also complicated the situation  so that Jews were linked together with the British as the enemy of a independent Iraq. By 1934, Jews were dismissed from political posts in Iraq and violence against Jews spread; Zionism, Hebrew, and Jewish teachings became outlawed. (My own family lost a relative during this time in Iraq; my father’s uncle was hanged, suspected of “political crimes.”) Anti-British Nationalist groups carried out a military coup against the pro-British government in Iraq on April 2, 1941. The pro-German government that followed threatened the Jews. Following the coup on June 1, the Farhud, (meaning pogrom in Arabic) left roughly 200 Iraqi-Jews dead and caused most of the remaining Iraqi Jews to seek refuge elsewhere because of the killing and rape that erupted.  The Aghassi family was among those attempting to flee an inhospitable Iraq.

Isak Aghassi

The Aghassi family was an Iraq Jewish family that had lived in the country for many generations. Isak Aghassi was born in 1889 in Baghdad and worked with his father importing dyes and teas from India, eventually importing carpets and tobacco.  In 1946, and as a result of the Farhud, Isak put himself, his wife Marcelle, and his two sons Badri Munir and Jacob Jamil on a waiting list as prospective immigrants to the United States. He would write to the American Embassy in Baghdad at least once a year (he would receive a yearly reply) inquiring when he and his family would be able to get out of the dangerous country. The reply was always the same, the quota was over-prescribed and they would need to wait patiently. Their life their must have been treacherous and full of hardships, as indicated by a letter from their file which states that Isak Aghassi “comes from a distinguished Iraqi Jewish family. He at one time had a fortune of money which was confiscated by the Iraqi government.”  In 1953 the family was still not permitted to immigrate but they now desperately needed to leave Iraq as life became even more difficult for them, so they immigrated to Mexico City. Unfortunately, Iraqi-Jews were part of the “non-preference portion” of the Iraqi quota for American immigrants, which was incredibly small; in 1956, the quota for Iraqi immigrants was 100 persons annually.  Helen Alpert, Executive Director of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society who sought the Agassi’s approval for immigration was told in 1961 “as there is no provision of law whereby visas can be issued to intending immigrants out of their turns because of hardship factors or extenuating circumstances, I regret to inform you that there are no administrative means by which visa issuance may be hastened in this case.”  Helen Alpert fought tirelessly for the Aghassi family and became close with them over the years. She continually received New Year postcards and greetings from the family –a personal connection I haven’t seen in other HIAS files.  They called her “our dearest Miss Helen Alpert” and she called them “my sister and brother.”

Marcelle Aghassi

Although it is unclear if Isak and Marcelle ever were able to became permanent residents of the US (they were living in Mexico City from 1954-1963, and from 1963 to at least 1969 were living in Boston but were yet not granted permanent residence status), they were incredibly grateful to Helen for aiding their two sons and helping them to become permanent residents. One card to Helen reads “Our dearest and fine sister Miss Helen Alpert, fondest love and much respect and God bless you forever.” The parents were so thankful to Helen since she had helped their children in the most important way possible: she had been able to provide them with means to live a safe and successful life in America instead of the dangerous and inhospitable one in Iraq. The sons had been allowed residency to go to school, where they excelled and both received their Doctorates at Boston universities. Helen helped to place Badri and Jacob within college, facilitated letters of recommendation for work, and made sure their visas were renewed and approved so they were able to stay in the United States to continue their studies and then find jobs. Badri went on to become a Physicist, researcher, and eventually a professor, and could read, write, and speak six languages. Jacob attended MIT and received his Doctorate from Boston University. Helen expressed to Badri her sincerest congratulations for his engagement and was invited to his wedding in 1964. The sons were also incredible grateful to Helen for her efforts to help them. Helen was there to aid Badri to become a permanent resident with his marriage. Badri would send HIAS donations and personal thanks.

The story of the Aghassi family is an extraordinary one of resolve and courage that epitomizes the struggle Iraqi Jews went through before, during, and after the WWII period. Their story revels another side of the Jewish struggle during WWII, that of the Mizrahi Jews, one that is not as commonly known or understood.

Lael Dalal, archival intern, earned a BA in History from Simmons College, Boston, MA.

Sources:

Esther Meir-Glitzenstein, “The Farhud” Holocaust Encyclopedia. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007277. Accessed on April 5^th, 2012.

Boston HIAS, Individual Case Studies, Aghassi Family Papers, Box 181, Folder 40.

Boston HIAS, Individual Case Studies, Aghassi Family Papers, Box 181, Folder 40, Robert F. Hale paper.

University of Cincinnati Women's Basketball Team, ca 1908. Ella Davis Isaacs is second from left.

Ella Davis Isaacs (b. 1885) was the daughter of Charles K. Davis and Ida (Fletcher) Davis. She married Nathan T. Isaacs in 1912. The couple had a daughter, Carol, in 1920.

Photo Strip of Nathan T. Isaacs. Undated.

Nathan Isaacs came from an influential Cincinnati family, descended from Rabbi Schachne Isaacs on his father’s side, and both Rabbi Aaron Zebi Friedman and Grand Rabbi Lieberman of Frankfurt on his mother’s side. While Nathan had great professional success as a professor of Business Law at Harvard University Business School and on the Board of Directors of Gimbel Brothers Department Store, his ten siblings were also known for their successes as well.

In his youth, during college at the University of Cincinnati, Nathan began one of the first Jewish fraternities. It was at the University of Cincinnati where he met his future wife, Ella Davis.  Throughout his life, he remained very active within the Jewish community and served as a delegate to the first Jewish World Conference in Geneva in 1936.

When Nathan Isaacs passed away in 1941, his death was mourned by many. A large bereavement scrapbook kept by his wife and daughter records a great deal of condolences sent to the family and a number of articles nationwide on his passing. At a service held in Baker Hall at Harvard University in December of 1941, his life-long friend Howard L. Bevis had this to say:

Remarks of Howard L. Bevis at the memorial of Nathan T. Isaacs, Baker Hall, Harvard University. December 1941.

The Collection

The majority of the Davis-Isaacs Family Papers are comprised of letters and photographs. Many of the letters are from Ella’s father Charles, written during his international travels around the turn of the century.  There are also letters between Nathan and Ella during their courtship, and from their families after their move to Boston. Most of the photographs follow the Davis family through several generations, though the bulk are of Ella, her parents, Nathan and Carol. There are also some personal affects such as a diary manuscript written by Charles Davis during the time he helped establish the Beersheba Colony, an agricultural settlement in Southwest Kansas for Jews immigrating from Russia. Also present are notes passed back and forth between Ella and Nathan during a Political Science class, self-published poems by Nathan’s mother, a stamp collection, and a large bereavement scrapbook marking Nathan’s death.

• The Davis Family
  • Charles K. Davis
    • John Evan Davis
    • Ella Davis Isaacs
• Nathan T. Isaacs
• Ella and Nathan’s Courtship
• Ella and Nathan’s Marriage

Photo of the Davis Family. Undated.

In 1854, Adolph Davis and his wife Johanna B. (Sommerfield) Davis bore their first child in what, at that time, was still very much part of the frontier: Cincinnati, Ohio.  The couple would eventually have five children. Adolph was an entrepreneur, founding a cigar company named A. Davis, Sons & Co. in 1872. The company, like the family, grew and he eventually opened up a second outpost in Columbus, Ohio.

The family was quite well-knit, quick to send letters back and forth when any one of them traveled from home. Chief among those who did was the family’s oldest, Charles K. Davis, who along with his younger brother Max traveled the world over.

1st page of typed diary manuscript by Charles K. Davis during the beginning of Beersheba Colony. Undated.

The aim of the agricultural society was to provide aid to recent Jewish immigrants from Russia by helping to establish them as homesteaders in America’s frontier.

As part of this, the Hebrew Union Agricultural Society sponsored the establishment of Beersheba colony, an agricultural colony in Southwestern Kansas of about 60 people. Despite the sponsorship, the colony only lasted for four years.

Photo of Charles K. Davis (right) in Yokohoma, Japan, January 1903.

Charles K. Davis (1854-1918)  was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to Adolph Davis and Johanna B. (Sommerfield) Davis. In 1882, along with Leo Wise, Charles K. traveled to Southwestern Kansas to aid in the establishment of the Beersheba Colony. A diary kept by him during this period was eventually published in 1965 by the American Jewish Archives.

Over the course of his life, he also traveled Greece, Egypt, Japan, China, and Germany. Throughout his travels he was an avid letter writer; a great deal of his letters, circulars, and diaries survive to today.

Charles and his wife Ida (Fletcher) Davis (b. 1855/56) had two children: Ella in 1885 and John Evan in 1892.

Photo left-to-right of John Davis, Ida (Fletcher) Davis, and Ella Davis. Undated.

Ella Davis Isaacs and Nathan T. Isaacs, Mount Vernon, 1919.

For a time after their marriage in 1912, Nathan was a professor of Law at the University of Cincinnati, before serving as Captain of Military Intelligence in the Army during WWI. After the war, the couple moved around for a time, but remained in close contact with their families, and their mothers wrote often. Nathan was an Ezra Ripley Thayer Teaching Fellow at Harvard University from 1919 to 1920. Then, from 1920-1923 he taught Law at the University of Pittsburgh, returning to Harvard University in 1923 as a lecturer for a year and then was a Professor Of Business Law starting in 1924.

Ella became an active member of the Jewish community in Boston and Cambridge after their move there.  She was a Life Member of the Builders of Congregation Young Israel of Brookline, Beth Israel Hospital Women’s Auxiliary, Daughters of Israel, and the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Maimonides Educational Institute.

Carol Isaacs Wotitzky, undated.

In 1920, the couple had their first and only child, a daughter named Carol.

Nathan and Ella remained happily married until Nathan’s death in 1941. Ella never remarried.

Ella Davis Isaacs and Nathan T. Isaacs, 1940. This photo was taken one year before Nathan died.

Nathan to Ella:

1st page of letter from Nathan to Ella, addressed to “My dear, dear, dear Abnormality”, ca. 1908-1912.

Ella to Nathan:

Letter from Ella to Nathan, February 12, 1911.