Customer Reviews
Brought my own family history to life - By: Kilburn Towers, 03 Jul 2008 
'Last Daysin Babylon' left me frustrated & disappointed with myself for not finding out more about my own relatives' lives as Jewsin Baghdad, while I still had the chance.
'Last Days' superbly provided a moving true story, with a wonderful illustration of the social history of the lives of Baghdad Jewry between WW1 & the exodus of the 1950s. Reading it, I became so thoroughly absorbedin Benjamin's family's story that they felt like my own - & indeed - some of the traits & anecdotes of my late father began to make more sense.
Cleverly, the story doesn't end with the exodus from Babylon. It's brought straight up to the present through Benjamin's visitin 2004 to see the last remaining handful of Jews from what had been a thriving, prosperous & respected population.
If I have one small criticism, it's that Benjamin's negative critique of the attitude of the fledging State of Israel to the new immigrants from Iraq doesn't sufficiently consider the difficulties with which the State was facedin having to absorb so many refugees so quickly. (There were hundreds of thousands from other Arab countries as well as survivors from the European Holocaust). Whilst it is true that the European dominated government was somewhat prejudiced against the Mizrachi (Eastern) Jewsin these early years, they were soon absorbed & now play the same rolein society as their European counterparts.
Despite the above, "Last Daysin Babylon" is a wonderful book that I would recommend to anyone whose family may originate from that area. Thank you Ms Benjamin for bringing my own family story to life.
Nice photos, but not much substance - By: A Londoner, 18 Feb 2008 
This book has some valuable & beautiful photos of the life of the Jewsin Baghdadin the last two or three generations. It has interesting stories about the life of the author's family. This is not enough for publishing a book or buying it. The author admits that she grew up knowing nothing about her family history & roots. Unfortunately, the book proves that she has to learn much more before she can write meaningfully about that period.
This book is lackingin historical insight & presents a distorted interpretation. Such a distorted message was picked up by a reviewerin The Times. The review of the 16 of February 2008 issue says "Benjamin challenges a Shibboleth by criticising Israel's response. The promised land welcomed Iraqi Jews -but by putting themin crowded camps & employing them, at best, as labourers". Where else can a State house hundreds of thousands of penniless refugees who arrivedin the span of two or thre years after the state was established? Particularly when the total population of the new State of Israel was only six hundred thousands? Could Britain have coped with a flood of 30 or 40 million refugeesin one year, shortly after the end of the Second World War?
The Iraqi Jews were persecuted, humilated, threatened & robbd of their jobs, homes, property, furniture, jewellery -everything - by the Iraqi government. Their Muslim neighbours with whom & their ancestors they have been living peacefully for generations did not protest. The Iraqi Jews fled & found refuge among total strangers, mainly East Europeans - the Jewsin israel. At first they were given tents, then sheds, then subsided built houses. There were not enough jobs available but some were created artificially. The idea was to give some trainigin agriculture, & avoid the humiliation of giving dole money.
Professionals like doctors & teachers were sent to Hebrew crash courses & appointd to jobsin the government & public institutes, often caring for their fellow refugees.
There was a quick programme of Hebrew lessons & job related training. The refuges obtained jobs, bought subsidised housing, & then moved & excelledin all fields of the Econommy. It took one generation or two before the refugees recoverd from the dispossession by the Iraqi Geovernement.
It seems that the author has swallowed the Arab propagandists, & their habit always to accuse others. The book accuses everybody - including the inevitable "British Imperialism" - except the perpetrators of the ethnic cleansing - the Government & population of Iraq.
