Florida museum extends archive deadline

So popular has its exhibition of the Iraqi-Jewish archive turned out to be, that  the Jewish Museum in Florida (JMOF - International University) is to extend the run by a month to 6 March. (With thanks: Maurice)

The exhibition at JMOF-Florida International University was due to close on 14  February. A delighted JMOF said: the exhibition “is being so well received, and we are getting visitors from all over the world”. 

The Iraqi-Jewish archive exhibition consists of highlights from a collection of documents salvaged from the flooded basement of the secret police headquarters in Baghdad in 2003 and restored over ten years by NARA, the US National Archives and Records Administration.

The archive was due to return to Iraq in June 2014 after NARA put on the 'Discovery and Recovery' exhibit in Washington DC and New York. However, the Jewish community outside Iraq protested that it was the rightful owner of the documents, which were seized from Jewish homes, schools and synagogues. The archive's final destination has since been a matter of dispute with the Iraqi government.  The deadline for its return to Iraq has been extended for two years. The exhibit has been touring the US. The archive will stay in  America  as long as new venues are found to host the exhibit.

In addition to extending the exhibition deadline, the JMOF management has decided to celebrate “Iraqi Jews” for their annual Florida Jewish History Month celebration on Sunday 3 January 2016 at 2:00 pm.  They are asking Florida Jews who are from Iraq or have Iraqi descent to come and share memories. Contact the Museum Director Jo Ann Arnowitz ( jmofdir@fiu.edu ) for more information.

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The sale of a very rare Bomberg Talmud invites speculation about how much the oldest document in the Iraqi-Jewish archive, a Talmud from 1568, might fetch at auction.

The Times of Israel reports that a 16th-century copy of the Talmud sold at auction Tuesday for $9.3 million in New York, a global record for any piece of Judaica, auctioneers Sothebys announced.

The extremely rare Babylonian Talmud had been expected to fetch between five and seven million dollars. 

“The extraordinary volume was purchased by Stephan Loewentheil for the 19th Century Rare Book & Photograph Shop” in New York, the auctioneers said.