(On) Passover we would go to my grandfather’s place. And all my maternal uncles used to come. My mother was an only daughter. She had three brothers. Everybody used to come on the holiday. We would celebrate the Seder night. And on the holidays, Shavuot, my mother used to take my father and they used to go visit Kirkuk. They would not take the children. We would stay (home). We were older and (had to) watch over our siblings. On Passover, on the holiday, before they would say “ma nishtana”, we would bring sticks, and wear my grandmother’s robe, and my father’s robe, and put something like this on our backs in order to (pretend to be) elderly. And we would come and knock on the door and they would not let us in and (say) that you cannot come (in), it’s a holiday. Then they would let us in and we would go to someone else, and we were not allowed to say too quickly that we came from (Egypt), and they would ask us. “where did you come from?”. (And we would say) “From Egypt. We want to go to Jerusalem”. This performance would go on for an hour. In the end they would let us in, and sing and read. We would not finish the Seder before twelve (midnight). Everyone would read it (the Haggadah). We arrived in Israel eight days before Passover. Exactly ten days. We stayed in Shaar HaAliyah for eight days. In the end they took us to Pardes Hana. My mother came, wanting to find wood to do aghala (making dishes kosher by immersing them in boiling water). I said to her, “mother, what are you doing?”. (She said) “I am making the dishes kosher, my daughter”. I said to her, “tongiht they are bringing us laban (a dairy product, which was not kosher for Passover in Iraq)”. She said to me, “what is this (what do you mean)? Have you become Muslim now that you’ve come to Israel?”. I said to her, “mother, we have no food. They are bringing us (food) from the kitchen”. She started crying. In the end, I did not agree to bring wood for her and she did not do the aghala. She started crying. In the evening, we went to the kitchen. We brought laban. We were seven children. They gave us a big plate. I brought it and told her, “take it, mother! This is for Passover”. She started crying, my mother. We would make matzot. The men would knead the dough, and the women would bring a big tub. They would flip it, and flatten all of it anew. The dough would not fall off their hands. The man would knead this dough with one hand, and the women would break it into pieces, move it from hand to hand, and bake it. We used to bring about four or five women. I would go to one of them, and she would come to my place. We would make it in a line. We never bought bread. We would make it at home. At our place in Tuz Khurmatu, we would not buy bread. We only used to bake with our own hands. When it was a holiday, we would all dress (in new clothes), eat and drink. On the eve of Rosh HaShana, we would take food and go to…somewhere where there were grapes. To a garden. We would take the children. And my mother would take us, and we would go there and make stuffed vine leaves. On the eve of Rosh HaShana, we would make it with eggs also. We would put money, water…

We had a hanukkia. It had..we would do…on Shabbat…we had a chain on the ceiling. And the Shabbat candelabra…my mother would…every Shabbat…on the eve of Shabbat, she would light candles. No, she would make a wick and put oil and water. And (we) would light (it). Even the…on Hanukkah, my mother would make a wick, and put oil and water with it, and they would light it. On Hanukkah. I’m telling you that at seven years (old) I fasted…it was Taanit Ester…it was very, very hot in our place. Very. During the day we would go down to the basement, and at night we would go up to the roof to sleep. This (is how it was), when they said you should fast, we fasted. If (they would say) “don’t fast”, we wouldn’t. That’s it. We used to listen to whatever my mother said, and that’s all. (I swear) on my life…I never heard. Only the men would go, and the women and girls would not go. The boys (would) go, (and so would) the men…(and) talk between themselves…and we wouldn’t listen.

When we fasted on Yom Kippur, they would whisle the shofar. We would all go to the synagogue. We would go, they would sound the shofar. I remember my uncle fasted in the time of Hitler. He fasted for two days. He couldn’t even speak. He fasted for them. At night, he would go at two or three o’clock. They would knock on the door (and say), “get up! Sasson! Slihot! Slihot!”. They would go. They would all fast…on Tisha B’Av. Also they would get up in the morning. We even had a tank with water in it. We would pour the water. It was even…we were fasting, cleaning, and everyone would say there was blood in it…the angel of death came and put blood in it. We would all clean it…until ten o’clock. (Then) we had to go to the market, to finish all our work.

The man comes. If he sees the girl (and likes her), he goes and tells her (his mother), “Mother, I want to marry this person’s daughter.” The mother would come, and would speak to the father and mother (of the girl). After, they (her parents) would come and say to her, “if you want, take him.” Whatever they would say, the mother and father, the daughter would accept. He (the groom) would get engaged to her. (If) he wanted to marry her, how would they get married then? He would bring a ring and put it on her (and say) “you are dedicated to me”. That’s all. It would continue (like this) for two or three years, (and) in the end they would get married. As soon as he would bring the ring, they would do a small party for the family between themselves, and that’s (it). That’s how it was for us in Duz (Tuz Khurmatu). I don’t know…in Baghdad…I don’t know how it was. Sley (Sleymaniya). They (the engaged couple) wouldn’t go outside (date) or anything. Until they got married, she would talk to him. He would come to her place…if he and his mother and father came to see her…only on holidays he would come to her place to see her and talk to her. Until the wedding…and that’s it. They would do the henna ceremony, at the bride’s house. On the next day, he would be taken to the ritual bath, and she would go to the ritual bath. And she would invite all of her friends…(she would) invite her friends, (and) they would go to the ritual bath with her and throw a party at home. The girls would go to the house of the bride…(after the wedding) she would be only with the family of her husband.

I was the biggest (oldest)…with her I went out. I was big (older)…my brother and sister came to…take what was remaining in Baghdad. I was older, 16 years old. So I carried it all, I carried it on my shoulders because I was bigger than all of them. And my dad, they did to him…at age 80…they did eighty to him (they wrote his age as 80). He couldn’t work, and would cry all day. When we first came (to Israel), we went and worked in…they sent us to Pardes Hana. It was before Passover by one day. We came from Shaar HaAliyah, we came to Pardes Hana. Latif and I…people told us there was work here. We went down to Hadera, and worked. All day (we worked) for one Lira. We would go to the landlord. He would come on a cart on a horse, wanting two (or) three labourers. We would all go out on the horse. The landlord would shout, “I don’t want so many. I want […]. (I swear) on your life, on your life…(I swear) on your life, on your life, we don’t have anything to eat. Take us to work, I have the strength to work.” Every day for one Lira. We would return in the evening. And my dad would cry every day. I want to go. They organised for us to go to the transit camp, and they employed me to work. I would go to the employment bureau. I would tell him, “I want…in Tel Aviv.” He said to me, “The daughter of Menahem Daniel (a famous rich Iraqi Jew) doesn’t have such thing (luck, to be assigned in Tel-Aviv).” In the end I told him, “I want to be sent to Afula where…(my) family (is).” He said, “no. You cannot go (there). Search for another place.” They took me out to all the places. I went to see…in the end, we came to Tira.

We would make a sukka. My father built it…he would just come from the synagogue […] on the eve of Yom Kippur. (He would) bring and knock…wood. My uncle had a palm tree of…dates. We would go bring palm tree leaves. Dad and my brother would go to do the blessings at my uncle’s house. There was a palm tree there, and he would go and bring them from there. We used to put… dates… we would bring the date branches and put then in the sukka.. But…we (would) put it all around we used to put a mosquito net…we had a mosquito net, we would sleep on the roofs, we used to put (the mosquito net) in the sukka. On Sukkot, all of us, for eight days, we didn’t go to school. Only to the synagogue. We didn’t go outside. I don’t know if they were scared of the Muslims. I don’t know. They would only do it (Sukkot) in the synagogue. And at night, they would make meghli (a traditional hot drink made on Hoshana Rabba) all night…all night they would read (the Torah). Dad would make them meghli yes, he would make (it)…cardamon and cinnamon and…he would make it and bring it for my mother to drink. Ginger (too). He would make it so that they wouldn’t (need to) sleep all night. My dad was illiterate. He didn’t know how to read. His mother died when he was young and everyone would say, “poor (thing), (he is) an orphan”. His father went and got married (again)…(and) he (my father) did not study. But he used to go to the synagogue, and would say the blessings, but dad didn’t study.

On holidays we would all wear new (clothes) and bless (the wine and bread). As long as the Muslims didn’t know anything - they (should) not know how things went at home. Only we knew between ourselves. And we spoke our Arabic (dialect). They (Muslims) never knew (understood) how we spoke. We used to speak in Turkish with them there. And with…with my mother and siblings we spoke our Arabic (dialect). We would speak…we used to sing in Turkish. The woman stayed at home, just giving birth to children, and bringing children into the world, and raising children. The man (would) go work. The woman did not work in our case. And when a man came, the woman would have to do everything. The cooking, and bring (things) for him, and take it (away when he was finished). Everything. Whoever was the master of the house wouldn’t do anything. He (would) come from work and wash. Everything was ready and everyone would sit at the table and eat and drink. At night they would just sleep. I know my father…we were seven children. My father would just work. No…my (mother/grandmother) would also sew (things) for the Muslims on (their) holiday. My father had a spice shop. He used to sell…to send eggs and chickens to Baghdad. The mother would just…we used to do it all, me and my sister. We (would) go bring water. We didn’t have water in the house. I used to open the door, and the spring would go (flow) next to our house. We would bring it all. Until we grew older. (When) we were little, mother used to do it all at home. We were (like) big girls and such. I used to sing in Turkish.

When my grandmother…in the war. My grandfather was…handsome, like…blue eyes, and his hair was yellow (blond). He went with someone, his friend, who was Muslim. They (police) stopped him, (and asked) “where are you going?”. He (the Muslim friend) said to him, “leave him! Do not arrest him!”. He said to him, “we will give you whatever we have in our pockets. Just leave my friend”. (The officer) said to him, “no!”. This Muslim (friend) started to hit him (the officer). He said to him (to my grandmother), “Yaaqub, run!”. They stripped him of his clothes on the way, until he reached some place. They brought him a robe and put it on him because he was naked. And my grandmother remained, (with) three children…she had four children. She remained without food and without drink. Afterwards, the Muslim man came and took her to his house. Jews did not eat the meat of Muslims, so he would only give them vegetables. There were two girls and two boys. One of the girls was given milk to drink…she wouldn’t eat or drink. When she (finally) ate, she had a stomach ache and died. My grandmother used to tell me (this story). My uncle used to work in a hospital. (His son) said to him, “father, bring me Abd al-llah’s docto!”. He brought him, and he said to him, “what he has, this sickness, there is no cure for.” Then a Jew came. He said to him (to my uncle), “Abraham, you have a sewage pit (at home). (When) you clean it, does the smell remain on it or not?”. (My uncle) said to him, “it remains on it.” He (the Jew) said to him, “your son has this sickness. It has no cure”. In the end, he died.