The first Iraqi to attend classes at Hebrew College, Mohammed F. J. Harba may also be the first Iraqi scholar to study the Holocaust—ever.

"Before the war in 2003, Iraqis were forbidden to discuss the Holocaust," says Harba, a student in the Facing History and Ourselves Teaching the Holocaust 2006 Summer Institute.

"But I see this as a way to reach a new generation of students in Iraq—for them to see tragedy through their own tragedy, to remember the mass graves in 2003, and feel the horrible atrocities in human history. This is a way to build bridges to the "other.""

A native of southern Iraq, Harba remembers growing up with the dream of creating a bridge "to help his people see the "other," and help the other see us." He graduated from Al Mustansiriya University in Baghdad in 2004, and won a Fulbright scholarship last year to work on his master's degree in Comparative Literature at Binghamton University.

Last December, he was searching online for a place to improve his Hebrew and found Hebrew College. He moved to Boston for the summer and signed up for Ulpan, "Teaching the Holocaust" and an independent study in Holocaust translation with Dr. Barry Mesch.

Why the interest in Judaism? "Technically Iraq is the second democracy in the Middle East, after Israel," Harba says. "It is our responsibility to fight for this life we have been given and educate ourselves about the outside world."

Harba’s Fulbright has enabled his first trip to the United States, which he says has opened the door to possibilities he never imagined in Iraq. Studying the Holocaust would have bee impossible for the lack of resources there, he says, let alone interacting with Holocaust survivors themselves—experiences he describes as "breathtaking."

This summer, Harba also held an internship at the Harvard Divinity School that involved writing and translation for the Pluralism Project. He has several ongoing personal projects as well. One involves collecting and translating the eight history books taught in traditional Iraqi middle and high schools before 2003, and correcting the intentional lies written in them. He has also translated Annie Proulx's short story "Brokeback Mountain" into Arabic and is trying to publish it for distribution in Iraq. "It would be another way to help my people see the "other,"" he says.

When Harba finishes his master's degree at Binghamton next spring, he hopes to return to his hometown in Iraq and teach at Babylon University. "I want to create classes where students play an active role and learn how to be leaders, be responsible, have opinions and defend their opinions," he says. "I want them to be free of the labels and chains created by the former regime."

Harba called his Hebrew College classes "a dream," where students were able to play an active role, and bonded quickly with his classmates. His "Teaching the Holocaust" class threw a surprise party for his 26th birthday on July 21, and he’s received three invitations to Shabbat dinners and two invitations to seders for next spring.

Harba hopes to maintain contact with Hebrew College. His next major project upon his return to Iraq will be to create the first Judaic Studies Department in the country, at Babylon University. Well aware he will need professional advice, he is confident that Hebrew College is the perfect place to find it.



back to top

Article Index
An Iraqi Scholar Builds Bridges at HC
President Gordis to Retire in 2009
A Shaper of Modern Hebrew Comes to Hebrew College
A Very Good Year
Olam Haba: The World to Come
Religious Educators and Academics Visit the US, Gather at HC
Synagogue and State: Making Democracy Work in Israel
Calendar
Publication Credits and Additional Information