While under Baath Party rule, from 1968 to 2003, the Iraqi people were barred from examining the issue of Jews living in Iraq, their forced emigration and their influence on Iraqi life. Everything about the Jewish community's contribution to Iraqi society was suppressed. Since 2003, however, Iraqis have begun revisiting their fellow Jews and their imprint on society. They have also begun to expose the methods used to displace them.
Jews had lived in Iraq for more than 2,500 years, mostly in Baghdad, but also in Babil, Mosul and other cities. They were estimated on average to represent 2.6% of the total Iraqi population. In the 1940s and early 1950s, the Jews became victims of looting and killings, which eventually led to their displacement. The first attacks against Jews took place in 1941, under the Nazi-allied government of Prime Minister Rashid Ali al-Gaylani.