Cynthia Kaplan Shamash is a leading advocate for the preservation of Iraqi Jewish history who has spoken at the United Nations and many other venues. She is also the author of The Strangers We Became: Lessons in Exile from One of Iraq's Last Jews. Cynthia's family left Iraq in the early 1970s. They were among the last Jewish residents of Baghdad, a city that had been over 25% Jewish just a few decades before. Like tens of thousands of other Jews, Cynthia's family was forced out of Iraq due to state-sponsored persecution. This persecution ultimately put an end to the world's oldest Diaspora community, but not the memory or traditions of Iraqi Jews. A vegetarian dinner inspired by traditional Iraqi cuisine will be served.
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