“I’m a Lesbian, I’m Just Not Accepted” | Iraqi-Jewish Survivor | Pride Month | USC Shoah Foundation
Author: USC Shoah Foundation via YouTube
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To commemorate Pride Month and the anniversary of the Farhud*, we feature a clip from Joseph Daniel K.’s testimony. Joseph Daniel was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1932. When Joseph was 8 years old, he survived the Farhud, a violent mob attack against Jews in Baghdad, which occurred on June 1-2, 1941.
“I told her that I love her, and broke down. […] She doesn’t want to be invisible, and I don’t blame her.”
Joseph Daniel recalls life in Iraq as constantly dangerous, as Jews were regularly beaten in the streets, kidnapped, and not permitted to leave the country. Those who managed to escape were stripped of their assets and citizenship. When he was 18, Joseph Daniel escaped to Israel, and later immigrated to the United States.
Joseph Daniel was interviewed in California, USA in 1992 – a meaningful year for LGBT activism as California banned sexual orientation discrimination in the private sector, and the World Health Organization declassified “homosexuality” as a mental illness. In this clip from his testimony, Joseph Daniel recalls his daughter (name omitted for privacy) coming out as a lesbian, and her journey for acceptance – from the Jewish community as well as her family.
*The Farhud resulted from Iraq’s increasingly pro-Nazi government and widespread anti-Jewish propaganda on Arabic radio. During the attack, which occurred over two days, between 150-180 Jews were murdered, 600 were maimed, and an unknown number of women and children were raped. Afterwards, many Iraqi Jews found refuge in Iran and Lebanon. After its statehood was established in 1948, approximately 124,000 (out of 135,000) Iraqi Jews immigrated to Israel.
Names have been censored for privacy.
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