Iraq: Jews In Baghdad Live In Fear After WikiLeaks Disclosure

Iraqi Jews Live In Fear After WikiLeaks Publication

The few remaining Jews living in Baghdad are living in fear after their names were published on the WikiLeaks website, a vicar has said.

The whistle-blowing website, which was due to reopen its submission system for government secrets on Monday, published the names of the seven remaining Jews in the city in October.

Many left, but the ones who remain now live under constant threat of attack.

Despite once being part of a thriving community, post-war Baghdad has seen the increasing persecution of Iraqi Jews, so much so that the ones who remain were only protected by their anonymity.

"We are trying to support them but the WikiLeaks publication is very, very dangerous," Canon Andrew White, an American vicar in the Iraqi capital, was quoted as saying by The Times.

The dwindling community recently asked Jewish diplomats from the American embassy to attend a religious ceremony. The names were included in diplomatic cables to Washington, which were subsequently published on the whistle-blowing website.

On Saturday, WikiLeaks posted a message on Twitter postponing its re-launch due to "the deteriorating state of Internet security ".

WikiLeaks is due to hold a press conference on Thursday to unveil a "new phase" in its operations.

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