I am alarmed at what is being said about returning Jewish property that was stolen by the Iraqi government to the lawful owners of their descendants. It is not only the stolen property that can be identified that is at issue, our claims should include the phoney tax "reassessments" that were imposed on Jewish businesses and individuals, which were out and out robberies, plus damages for the suffering and humiliation visited upon the Jewish community.
The Jews are native to Iraq. If the other Iraqis say they are Arabs, then the Jews were there more then one thousand years before the Arabs appeared on the world stage.
The Europeans and Americans think of the Jewish community in terms they are familiar with. The Jews were relative newcomers in most Europe. They have to be made to understand that this picture does not apply to the Jews of Iraq, who are the "natives" population of the country. Iraq should be required to pay restitution money to the Iraqi Jewish community to compensate us for the uprooting and the resultant disruption of our lives.

Naim Mahlab, Montreal.