Life & contribution
Baghdad-born politician and activist who played a major role in organizing the departure of Iraqi Jews during the mass migration of 1950–1951.
Detailed biography & historical context
Baghdad-born politician and activist who played a major role in organizing the departure of Iraqi Jews during the mass migration of 1950–1951.
The documented record currently assembled for Mordechai Ben-Porat includes the following: Born in Baghdad in 1923 and a survivor of the Farhud, he left Iraq for Mandatory Palestine in 1945. Returned clandestinely to Iraq to help organize the mass departure of Iraqi Jews in 1949–51 and later served as a member of Knesset and government minister.
This career is important to Iraqi Jewish history because it records direct Jewish participation in modern political and public institutions, rather than treating the community only as a religious minority. The dossier places that public service within the wider history of Iraq and the later dispersion of Iraqi Jewry.
Archive classification: Politics & Community History. Recorded life dates/status: 1923–2022.
This profile synthesizes the documentary sources listed below; where the record is limited or contested, the dossier avoids unsupported detail.
Additional documented context
- Born in Baghdad in 1923 and a survivor of the Farhud, he left Iraq for Mandatory Palestine in 1945.
- Returned clandestinely to Iraq to help organize the mass departure of Iraqi Jews in 1949–51 and later served as a member of Knesset and government minister.
Documentary references
Additional biographical details are tied to the source records below.
Permanent ID · IJHDA-PER-0032
This biographical figure record is integrated into Discover Jewish Iraq from the Virtual Embassy’s Iraqi Jewish heritage collection.