Middle Ages According to the memoirs of
Benjamin of Tudela and
Pethahiah of Regensburg, there were about 100 Jewish settlements and substantial Jewish population in
Kurdistan in the 12th century. Benjamin of Tudela also gives the account of
David Alroi, the
messianic leader from central Kurdistan, who rebelled against the Abbasid caliph
al-Muqtafi and had plans to lead the
Jews back to
Jerusalem. These travellers also report of well-established and wealthy Jewish communities in
Mosul, which was a commercial and spiritual center in close proximity to Kurdistan. Many Jews fearful of approaching
crusaders had fled from Syria and
Palestine to
Babylonia and Kurdistan. The Jews of Mosul enjoyed some degree of
autonomy in managing their own community.
Ottoman era When the Ottomans captured Kurdistan, the social situation of Jews improved. The Jews generally felt safer under Turkish rule than under the protection of Kurdish tribes. Jews and Christians relied on the protection of Kurdish tribes, who would often refer to their Jewish and Christian subjects as "cihûyê min" (my Jew) or "filehê min" (my Christian). During conflicts between Kurdish tribes, the primary targets were the Jewish and Christian subjects of the Kurdish tribe rather than the Kursiaj tribe itself. Tanna'it
Asenath Barzani, who lived in
Mosul from 1590 to 1670, was the daughter of Rabbi
Samuel Barzani of Kurdistan. She later married Jacob Mizrahi
, Rabbi of
Amadiyah (in Iraqi Kurdistan), who lectured at a
yeshiva. She was famous for her knowledge of the
Torah,
Talmud,
Kabbalah, and
Jewish law. After the early death of her husband, she became the head of the yeshiva at Amadiyah and eventually was recognized as the chief instructor of Torah in Kurdistan. She was called ''tanna'it'' (female Talmudic scholar), practiced mysticism, and was reputed to have known the secret names of God. Asenath is also well known for her poetry and excellent command of the
Hebrew language. She wrote a long poem of lament and petition in the traditional rhymed metrical form. Her poems are among the few examples of the early modern Hebrew texts written by women.
Soran era Under the rule of Mir Muhammad the
Jewish population was affected by
violence and
looting notably during the
Siege of Amadiya. They “were treated with merciless cruelty and oppression." Many were forced to migrate and some fled the city after its fall. Similar reports are mentioned for other towns under his control, including
Ranya,
Khoy,
Erbil,
Aqra, and
Zakho. After the Kurds sacked
Mosul during the Yazidi campaign, they also killed the local Jews and
Christians. Dr. Lobdell, an American missionary, visited Mir Muhammad in
Urmia, where he wrote: “The Pasha of Ravendooz told me that when he was first appointed to that district (Urmia), three years since, Jews were bought and sold by the Koords as commonly as don-keys.” Following the defeat of
Mir Muhammad, Amadiya came under the rule of the
Ottoman governor of Mosul. The situation of the Jewish community improved slightly.
The Times of Israel reported on September 30, 2013: "Today, there are almost 200,000 Kurdish Jews in Israel, about half of whom live in Jerusalem. There are also over 30 agricultural villages throughout the country that were founded by Kurdish Jews." On October 17, 2015, the
Kurdistan Regional Government named Sherzad Omar Mamsani as the representative of the Jewish community at the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs, who was later dismissed following a period of absence for health reasons, with members of the Israeli Jewish community claiming that there were no Jews remaining in the
Kurdistan Region, which they think was the reason for the resignation. In 2021 the sending of Hanukkah kits to Jews in Arab regions, including Kurdistan, indicates there may be remnants of Jewish communities there. There are no accurate statistics on the Jews of Kurdistan ==Historiography==