Barhoom Golan is an Israeli lecturer in Bar Ilan. In this lecture he emphasis the role of this ancient Jewish population of Iraq dating back 3000 years, long before Islam. Unfortunately, the video is Hebrew and Arabic. According to Golan the Jews were indeed the indigenous population of the region. Golan is active in promoting peace through historical understanding of who the Jews of the region were throughout history. Here is the link.
The three largest families in Kef are the ALLALI and SABBAH families. Almost all of the Kef families are related through marriages. These three families constitute the central branch of all the Jewish families of Kef. The SMADJA, The BRAMI, ALLALI, The SCEMAMA. Other family names are the BELLAICHE, SARFATI, BORGEL, FITOUSSI, BIJAOUI, TOUITOU, ELFASSI, ASSUIED, ALLOUCHE, BELHASSEN, BOUBLIL, KRIEF, MIMOUNI, SIMAH, SROUSSI. Most family names date back to the 7th and century. Click here for the complete story.
