In a bustling district of Baghdad, workers are labouring diligently to restore the centuries-old shrine of a revered rabbi, seeking to revive the long-faded heritage of Iraq’s Jewish community.
Just a few months ago, the tomb of Rabbi Isaac Gaon was filled with rubbish. Its door was rusted, the windows broken, and the walls blackened by decades of neglect.
Now, marble tiles cover the once-small grave, and at its centre stands a large tombstone inscribed with a verse, the rabbi’s name, and the year of his death: 688. A silver menorah hangs on the wall behind it.
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