Talk:Assyrian Jews

Sephardi admixture

There is no genetic or cultural evidence that Sephardic Jew actually settled in the area and in general, eastward of Aleppo in significant numbers, Adoption of of Sephardi religious tradition through 'missionaries' does not indicate such changes, similar things happened in the rest of the Mizrahi Jewish communities well into Central Asia between the 17th-19th centuries.

Assyrian Jews are a biblically and historically attested since their exile to Assyria

Codex Ambrosiano (5th-7th century copy of the Aramaic Pshitta Tanakh) includes the following books within it alongside the traditionally accepted books, and are noted by Aran Younan as being “canonical” by Assyrian Jews:"

https://www.hebrewaramaic.org/pdf/Ancient_Versions_of_the_Bible.pdf

Dr. A. Mingana, the Syriac scholar and Orientalist, expresses the same conclusion, without noticing the important details cited here.34 He thinks that the Jewish population of Arbela “forced on this part of the old Assyrian Empire a reigning dynasty of Jewish blood”—an erroneous method of statement. As far away as Mosul, in sight of ruined Nineveh, the </nowiki>Assyrian Jews<nowiki> had a fort known as hisna ‘Ebraya, “the Hebrew fortress,” which stood till the time of the Saracen conquest

https://archive.org/stream/the-lost-tribes-a-myth-suggestions-towards-rewriting-hebrew-history/The%20Lost%20Tribes%20A%20Myth%20Suggestions%20Towards%20Rewriting%20Hebrew%20History_djvu.txt

The Assyrian Neo- Aramaic language group also consists of some Jewish Aramaic dialects such as Lishana Deni, Lishán Didán, and Lishanid Noshan. These dialects are used by Assyrian Jews in Syria."

https://www.studycountry.com/guide/SY-language.htm

https://www.assyrianjews.com/

https://patriciagkirkpatrick.com/assyrian-jews-in-captivity/

consequent return of Assyrian Jews to the land of Israel"

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3267187

This shows Assyrian Jews

https://www.assyriatv.org/2020/02/lecture-by-dr-yaacov-maoz-about-assyrian-jews-in-israel/

https://www.sbs.com.au/language/assyrian/en/podcast-episode/assyrian-jews-in-israel/4lgnglru4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOPyLa7Uiik

https://digitalcollections.smu.edu/digital/collection/eaa/id/777/

Tobias burying the Assyrian Jews who have been murdered by Niniveh.

https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/109K6E

The Arabic-speaking girls also work for their fellow countrymen, Assyrian Jews, who‬ commenced their economic life in America as peddlers"

https://www.nli.org.il/he/newspapers/epo/1916/10/13/01/page/4?&

The New York office of the Jewish

Legion for Palestine lias received an

order from the British Recruiting Sec

tion permitting the enlistment in the

Jewish Legion of Syrian and Assyrian

Jews, nominally subjects of Turkey. /

Many Syrian and Assyrian Jews unable

heretofore to offer their I services

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/120828104

Walapo (talk) 15:38, 7 September 2022 (UTC)

There is a lot of history about assyrian jews

First of all as of the first world war Jews were being killed by Armenians and Russians as revenge for killing Jesus and Kurds/turks/azaris/Persians killed Jews because of the masscers going against none Muslims at the time Jews had no one when they went to assyrian leadership where by that time Assyrians had an army successfully defeating Muslims in every battle and engagement the Jews asked Assyrian Christians for help and Assyrians helped them after they were deported by kurds when Kurdish Forces attacked and slaughtered them where they rounded up the Jews inside their synagogue and burned it while they were inside. The Jews joined assyrians in their fight for freedom winning the war 185.106.28.165 (talk) 11:02, 4 June 2023 (UTC)

Source on Armenians massacring Jews. This seems made up… ~2026-80653 (talk) 21:53, 4 January 2026 (UTC)

Modern-day Assyrians

There's no such thing as an "Assyrian Jew." This term refers to speakers of the Neo-Aramaic language spoken by Anatolian Assyrians, Iranian Assyrians, and Mesopotamian Assyrians. The Assyrians in the Levant are somewhat distinct, not just geographically but also through spoken dialect and genetic profile. This includes the Syriacs/Aramaens and Maronites in Syria and Lebanon. These so-called "Assyrian Jews" are Neo-Aramaic-speaking Kurdish Jews, Georgian Jews, Iraqi Jews, Iranian Jews, Mountain Jews, and Turkish Jews. They all speak Neo-Aramaic, some speak the Lishan Didan (spoken by some Turkish Jews, Iranian Jews, Georgian Jews), Lishana Deni (Kurdish and Iraqi Jews) or Lishanid Noshan (Kurdish Jews, Iraqi Jews, some Turkish Jews) who all spoke Jewish Neo-Aramaic (in Israel, they call it Aramit).

The Assyrians that originate in modern-day Turkey or Anatolia, are more genetically linked to the Armenians, Pontic/Anatolian Greeks, Georgians, Turkish Jews, Mountain Jews, and Georgian Jews. The Assyrian (Chaldeans) originating in Upper Mesopotamia (North Iraq) are closer to Syrian and Lebanese Christians, Mandaens, Iraqi Arabs, and Syrian Arabs, FJZAJV (talk) 03:54, 27 July 2025 (UTC)

There is much less reason to call them Kurdish Jews than Assyrian Jews, so your post just reads as anti-assyrian propaganda. BrooklynWilkes (talk) 13:42, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

Merge proposal

I propose merging Assyrian Jews into History of the Jews in Kurdistan. This article is predicated on the belief that Kurdish Jews should be better known as Assyrian Jews; see End of Story? Remnants of Kurdistan’s Jews in the 21st Century (2025): 'The Jews of Kurdistan also shared many cultural practices with neighbours. This included similarities with both Kurdish or Christian groups, especially the Assyrians with whom they shared the Aramaic language, though spoken in different dialects. This shared language connection therefore justifies referring to them as both “Assyrian Jews” and “Kurdish Jews”'. There is no distinction between "Kurdish Jews" and "Assyrian Jews". "Assyrian Jews" has 28 results in Google Scholar. "Kurdish Jews" has 1,450 results. Mugsalot (talk) 22:47, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

In the same way that Chaldeans refers to the Assyrian people page, I can understand merging Assyrian Jews and Kurdish Jews.

However I'm unsure if this is neutral and fear it could participate in the erasure of the Assyrian ethnic identity. There is currently a lot of gaps of knowledge circulating the real ethnic connection between Assyrians and other groups (Jews from Kurdistan, Caucasian Jews, Arameans, etc), and currently some wikipedia pages serve as notable sources of information regarding this topic.

Also just reading the talk page on the History of the Jews in Kurdistan, it is clear that there is long-standing asymmetrical conflict, assyrian erasure propaganda, and I am unsure if this new article will serve as neutral.

Overall, I think the merge is a good idea, I don't think there is sufficient information on this article to separate the two, and I believe this should be done respecting the term Assyrian Jews, it is certainly not less accurate than Kurdish Jews which is currently on there, as the few academic papers that directly tackle this issue acknowledge.

BrooklynWilkes (talk) 02:25, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

@BrooklynWilkes: you can edit the article History of the Jews in Kurdistan to note that Kurdish Jews are also known as Assyrian Jews.

Assyrian/Kurdish Jews

There is no such thing as Assyrian Jews. Prior to 2019 you would not find a single scientific study or journal articles or historical records mentioned Assyrians Jews. The fabrication of the Assyrians jews campaign was initiated by the Moaz Yaccov and after that there several articles, tv interviews and Wikipedia page was surfaced. Even the referces under Assyrian Jews Wikipedia did not have any content related to Assyrians Jews. I am not against those identify themselves as Assyrian jews, but attempting to erase the identity of the Kurds jews is unacceptable. ~2026-26773-94 (talk) 20:08, 2 May 2026 (UTC)

Assyrian Jews concept was invented in 2019 by Maoz Yaccov

There is no well-established historical or academic evidence supporting the existence of a distinct group identified as “Assyrian Jews.” Prior to around 2019, references to such an identity are virtually absent from peer-reviewed studies, historical records, or recognized academic literature. The emergence of the term appears to be relatively recent, gaining visibility through online articles, media interviews, and the creation of a Wikipedia page. Some accounts suggest that this narrative was promoted by individuals such as Moaz Yaccov, after which the concept began to circulate more widely in digital and media spaces. However, even the sources cited in online entries about “Assyrian Jews” often do not provide direct or substantial evidence supporting the existence of such a historically distinct group. It is important to clarify that this perspective is not meant to dismiss or invalidate personal identities. Individuals have the right to define and express their heritage as they see fit. However, concerns arise when newer identity claims appear to overshadow or reinterpret the established historical identity of Kurdish Jews, whose presence, culture, and documented history are well recognized. Preserving the integrity of that history is essential, and any narrative that risks erasing or conflating it should be approached with careful scrutiny. ~2026-26773-94 (talk) 20:11, 2 May 2026 (UTC)