Israeli Man's Iraqi-Jewish Arabic Videos Go Viral in Iraq

Guy Shweibel Shaul, a 24-year-old from Pardes Hanna, has gained significant traction on Instagram by posting videos in Iraqi-Jewish Arabic, a nearly extinct dialect spoken by his family. His content, which includes explanations of Jewish holidays, language lessons with his grandfather, and historical accounts like the 1941 Farhud pogrom in Baghdad, has garnered hundreds of thousands of views, primarily from Iraq.

Shaul's journey with Arabic began in a bilingual school in Jerusalem but faded after his family moved. He decided to relearn the language after the October 7th attacks, driven by a desire to bridge divides. He then discovered his family's unique dialect, Iraqi-Jewish Arabic, and began learning it from a teacher whose parents immigrated from Iraq. He now teaches the language to his own father.

The first video to go viral was a Passover song in the Iraqi-Jewish dialect, shared on a whim. To his surprise, it garnered millions of views, mostly from Iraq, revealing a strong interest among young Iraqis to learn about the Jewish community that once thrived there. Shaul believes there's a significant "thirst" among Iraqis to understand the history of Jews who left their country, a topic often neglected in their education.

While acknowledging some negative comments, Shaul emphasizes that the majority of responses are positive, with Iraqis expressing a sense of loss and identifying Jewish heritage as integral to their national identity. He sees his platform as a mission to reconnect with Iraqi Jews, preserve their heritage, and challenge negative stereotypes about Israelis. He has also begun adding Hebrew subtitles to reach an Israeli audience interested in their own Mizrahi heritage.