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A Jewish U.S. Army Chaplain in Nineveh

(Jerusalem Post) Carlos C. Huerta - Nineveh is the city of the prophet Jonah. Its present name is Mosul. There is a mosque at the site of Jonah's tomb; but hundreds of years ago, the Iraqis we work with tell me, it was a synagogue and the reason the site is so sacred is because of the sacredness in which the Jews held it. One day I came across a building missing half of its roof. The building's interior was three-quarters full of rotting garbage. I could just make out writing engraved on the walls; it was Hebrew. I had stumbled into the ancient synagogue of the city of Mosul-Nineveh, the first Jew to enter this holy place in over 50 years. The Iraqis told me that the houses in the streets surrounding the synagogue had been filled with Jews. They took me to the children's yeshiva. As I walked through the quarter I saw that many of the doorposts had an engraving of the lion of Judah on the top. Tears came to my eyes, but I had to hold them back lest I put myself and the soldier with me in a dangerous situation. I had to pretend that I was only mildly interested in what they were showing me. Since then I have gone back to the Jewish quarter of old Mosul with members of my congregation, Jewish soldiers of the 101st: infantrymen, artillerymen, medics, pilots, lawyers, doctors, all proud to be Jewish and serving their country. Together we have found five more synagogues, more yeshivot, and many Jewish homes. I have not yet discovered the ancient Jewish cemetery of Mosul-Nineveh. One native told me that a major highway had been built through it.
2003-07-25 00:00:00
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