Geula Mualem lives in Jerusalem, but was born in northern Iraq. She was 12 years old during Israel’s War of Independence in 1948, when her extended family decided to leave the village where she was born and make the journey to the new Jewish state being established in the Land of Israel.

In a conversation with Al-Monitor, Geula explained that the motive behind the decision was, first and foremost, Zionism. In other words, her family wanted to immigrate to the Promised Land. At the same time, however, the environment in which they lived was becoming increasingly hostile to Jews as were the authorities. As Jews in Iraq suffered from repeated acts of violence and looting, the police did nothing to protect them, making their lives difficult.

As Geula tells it, one day the family patriarch left the keys to their home with a Muslim neighbor and asked him to continue to tend the family’s vineyards and orchards, where they grew grapes, peaches, and other fruits. The family then set off for Baghdad. Before leaving the country, they were forced to hand over all their remaining possessions, including cash and jewelry.

Geula remembers hearing people say, “Bring a bucket and demand that all the women of the family put their jewelry in it. If any of them takes their time about it, rip the earrings from their ears and the rings from their fingers.” She further remarked, “Then they put us in a room, ordered us to undress, and checked to make sure that we didn’t hide any money or jewelry in our clothes. We arrived in Israel with just the clothing on our backs. That’s all.”