But Iraq's small Jewish community declined, saying its members were too old, the paper said.

"I hope you will be able to celebrate the next Seder (the traditional Passover meal) in Jerusalem," Sharon wrote in a letter that was delivered by five Italian journalists going to Bagdad.

Sharon's words were a direct reference to the traditional Jewish saying "Next year in Jerusalem," which is recited after each Seder meal on the first night of Passover.

The week-long feast celebrates the Jewish Biblical exodus from Egypt and the Israelites' liberation from slavery.

Tawfiq Sufer, an Iraqi Jew in his 90s, thanked the Israeli premier but declined the offer.

"We are too old, Jerusalem shall remain a dream," he said.

The Jewish presence in Mesopotamia dates back to around 600 BC, when 10,000 of Jerusalem's principal citizens were taken into captivity by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, after he conquered the kingdom of Judah, and 100,000 Jews were living in Iraq before the creation of Israel in 1948.

Ninety percent of those left Iraq for Israel after 1948, escaping via Kurdish areas in northern Iraq, while others transited via Holland on Dutch visas.

SPACE.WIRE