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In May 1941, pro Nazi regime caused Jewish shops to be looted by an mob. In 1942 the Zionist rally of Basra trained young Jews to use guns in anticipation of further attacks and organized groups for moving to Israel. In 1948, with the State of Israel just born, a military was founded in Iraq and many Jews were arrested and accused of cooperating with Israel. In 1949–50, the city served as a center for the flight of Jews to Iran, on their way to Israel, with the Jewish population rising to 13,000. In 1969, a lot of Basra's Jews were arrested and brought to Baghdad . Nine of them were hanged. In 1968 less than 300 Jews were living in Basra. After American and British forces infiltrated Iraq in 2003, the few remaining Jews in Basra and Baghdad emigrated to Israel, with the help of Jewish organizations.
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