This spring, the restoration of the shrine in the northern Iraqi city of Alqosh that houses—according to tradition—the tomb of the prophet Nahum was completed. Also restored was the adjacent synagogue, which dates back at least to the Middle Ages and whose walls and columns bear extensive Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic inscriptions. The project, led by Israeli experts, has its origins in 2016, when, shortly after the area was liberated from Islamic State control, a Jewish officer in the Maryland National Guard saw the tomb, robbed of its former glory. Tal Schneider tells the story, the details of which have been kept secret until now:
More about: Iraqi Jewry, ISIS, Kurds, Nahum, Synagogues