In the bustling area of ​​Baghdad, workers are working hard to restore a centuries-old temple of a respected rabbi in search of reviving the long-standing legacy of the Iraqi Jewish community.

Just a few months ago, Rabbi Isaac Gaon’s grave was filled with garbage. Its doors were rusted, windows were broken, and the walls were turned black by decades of neglect.

Now, marble tiles cover what was once a small grave, and in the center stand a large tombstone engraved with poetry, the name of the rabbi and his death: 688.

"This is a dump, and we are not allowed to recover it," said Khalida Elyahu, 62, who heads the Iraqi Jewish community.

Iraq’s Jewish community was once one of the largest communities in the Middle East, but today only has fewer members reduced.

There is only one synagogue left in Baghdad, but there is no rabbis.

The restoration of the shrine was funded by the Jewish community and estimated cost is $150,000.

Elyahu said the project will bring about “a revival of communities both inside and outside Iraq”.

With the support of Iraqi officials, she expressed her hope to restore the further neglected sites.

There is little information about Rabbi Isaac. During a visit to the tomb earlier this year, Iraq's national security adviser Qasim Al-Araji said the rabbi was a financial official.

Rabbi Isaac was an outstanding figure in this commendable period, also known as the Rabbi era of the Babylonian Academy.

The title of “Gaon” might refer to his role as the head of such an academy.

Professor Simcha Gross of the University of Pennsylvania said his name was quoted by another rabbi in the 10th century, and he told a story.

According to the account, Rabbi Isaac led 90,000 Jews to meet with Ali Ibn Abi Talib, a fourth Islamic caliph and relative of the prophet Muhammad, who was respected by Shiite Muslims during his conquest in central Iraq.

"We have no other evidence to prove this incident, and there is reason to doubt it," Gross noted.

There is no even his religious point of view about Rabbi Isaac.

According to biblical tradition, the Jews arrived in Iraq in 586 BC and were prisonered by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, after he destroyed Solomon's temple in Jerusalem.

In Iraq, they compiled the Babylonian Talmud.

Thousands of years later, according to the Ottoman rule, Jews accounted for 40% of the Baghdad population.

Like other Arab countries, the history of Iraqi Jews changed dramatically after Nakba, Palestinian, which meant the Arabic “catastrophe” and the establishment of Israel in 1948.

Decades of conflict and instability - Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, the 2003 US-led invasion and subsequent violence, further reduced the community.

According to Elyahu, there are still 50 synagogues and Jewish sites in Iraq today. Most people are in the ruins, some are reused as warehouses.