All posts by Lael Dalal

About Lael Dalal

Lael Dalal is completing her M.L.I.S. with a concentration in Archival Management at Simmons College. She currently works as a Graduate Fellow for Simmons College's Department of Art and Music creating websites and digitizing the slide library, and has been an intern with the American Jewish Historical Society- New England Archives since 2011. She received her B.A. from Simmons in History. Her interests include cultural heritage, history, audio and moving image archives.

Mid-century migration from Iraq to Mexico to the United States

Family Stories, Research Methods, ,
Isak Aghassi
The Records of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Boston Office at the American Jewish Historical Society, New England Archives, http://digifindingaids.cjh.org/?pID=365459#a1

While interning at the American Jewish Historical Society—New England Archives and processing their collection of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), I came across the interesting case of the Isak Aghassi family, an Iraqi Jewish (or Mizrahi) family who for years struggled to immigrate to the United States, first from Iraq and then from Mexico. The Aghassis’ story is an extraordinary one of resolve and courage that epitomizes the struggle Iraqi Jews went through before, during, and after the period of the Second World War. Their story reveals another side of the Jewish struggle, one that is not as commonly known or understood. Continue reading Mid-century migration from Iraq to Mexico to the United States →