But Where Do They Belong?

I was searching today for news about Saad Eskander, the Director of the Iraqi National Library and Archive, and to me, library hero of the century.  After the 2003 U.S invasion of Iraq the national library was heavily looted.  "About 60 percent of the records and documents of modern Iraq were lost, along with virtually all historical maps and photos, and perhaps 95 percent of rare books" Eskander reported.  And we're not just talking about telephone company records from Basra, we're talking the treasures of one of the worlds oldest and most influential civilizations.  Things of immense worldwide significance as well as being at the core of the Iraqi Identity.  In response to not taking the appropriate and previously utilized precautions when facing the possible destruction of cultural artifacts during times of war then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield said "Stuff Happens". 


If you can't tell, it makes my blood boil and I can't think about it for very long.


But what's so important about a bunch of old books?  If that's what a library is to you, then I can't convince you that it matters.  But to me, a library like this represents the heart, soul, and historic identity of a people.  It's utter destruction mirrors that of the Iraqi people, but it's resurrection could bring about great progress in the reunification of Iraq - from a symbolic perspective as well as a practical one.  Eskander has worked tirelessly to make this happen.  He has spoken not only of the rebuilding of the collection, but also of what a functioning national library could mean as a model for other institutions. "I want to make the library a democratic model of how Iraq should be. From the start I hired Sunnis, Kurds, Shias, women, men. The national library must be a place - perhaps even the most important place - where Iraqis from many different groups come together."


But anyway, I found this article today in the Los Angeles Times regarding the final resting place for a trove of rare Jewish books found in the Iraq library at the time of the invasion and sent to DC temporarily.  The Jewish community in Iraq is very ancient and almost non-existent today.  Eskander wants the books to be returned to Iraq because they represent a crucial part of Iraq's heritage (and that's where they came from) but Jewish groups in American and Israel say that they are the property of the Jewish people first and foremost and should be returned to Israel, partly out of concern for their safety.


So where should they go?  They came from Iraq and it make sense that they should go back.  But to these Jewish groups, that nature of the books as Jewish far out ways any claim on their Iraqi-ness.  It's a really telling example of how Israel sees itself, I think.   In fact, the mission of the Jewish National and University Library (Israel's National Library) is to collect all things Jewish and/or related to Hebrew.  It's a goal that supersedes country sovereignty and borders - but that becomes problematic when we are talking about a once shared history now greatly fractured. 


It's sticky.