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May 24, 2012
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Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
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May 23, 2012
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May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
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Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
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The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
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May 15, 2012
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May 14, 2012
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May 11, 2012
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The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
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May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Nov. 1, 2007
/ 20 Mar-Cheshvan 5768
What About Jewish Refugees?
By
Stewart Ain
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
As delegates from 10 countries gather in New York Sunday for a two-day conference focusing on Jews displaced from their Arab homelands, there is growing concern that this issue will not be a priority for the Olmert government when the topic of Palestinian refugees is raised at the Israeli-Palestinian summit in Annapolis, Md.
Officials of Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC), which will hold steering committee meetings here, insist that any discussion of the refugee problem must include Jewish refugees as well, since hundreds of thousands were forced to flee or were expelled, with untold losses in property. Ironically, the current Israeli government has been less than supportive of the effort, and the upcoming meeting here may provide a showdown of sorts since officials of
the government will attend.
Of particular concern were recent comments of Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who in September told the Knesset that a Palestinian state is "the integral national solution to the [Palestinian] refugee problem." She mentioned it again last month at the United Nations, but on neither occasion did she mention that there were Jewish refugees whose rights must also be addressed.
Just weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert spoke of the "hardship" Palestinians have endured because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but made no mention of the Jews who experienced similar travail, the organization pointed out.
Silvan Shalom, a prominent Sephardic political leader from the opposition Likud Party who served as Israeli foreign minister from 2003 to 2006, said he believes the Olmert government is "not committed" to the issue.
Shalom, who as foreign minister frequently spoke of Jews displaced from Arab lands, told The Jewish Week: "I think they are not doing it the same way I did; I think they are less committed."
He said that if it is decided that some compensation is due to Palestinians who became refugees because of Israel's War of Independence in 1948, the compensation should also be for Jews displaced from their Arab homelands.
"There should not be a situation where the Jews of Arab countries are forgotten," Shalom said. He added that compensation for Jews "should be based on equal rights and reciprocity" with the Palestinians.
Observers suggest that Livni and other members of the government are either tone deaf to the cause, primarily advocated by Sephardim, who make up the majority of Jews in Israel today, or worry that any focus on refugees will only increase attention on the Palestinian cause.
The fact that Israel absorbed so many refugees, at great expense and hardship, rather than leave them languishing, should not be used against Israel, say officials of JJAC.
To strengthen their case for the displaced Jews, Stan Urman, the group's executive director, said that while perusing United Nations archives to examine press coverage of this issue, he came across a front page article in the New York Times, dated May 16, 1948. The headline of the article was "Jews in Grave Danger in All Moslem Lands."
The article cited a law drafted by the Arab League that said the 900,000 Jews living in Arab countries would be considered "members of the Jewish minority state of Palestine." It said their bank accounts would be frozen and used to finance resistance to "Zionist ambitions in Palestine." Jews believed to be active Zionists would be interred and their assets confiscated. And it also detailed how Jews were being persecuted in different Arab countries.
"The Arab world today practices four Nos," Urman said. "It says there was never any large Jewish population in Arab states, that they were not ill treated, that they left of their own free will without leaving any property behind, and that they have no right to compensation."
The Arab League document, he said, demonstrates that those denials are "blatant falsehoods."
"We have the evidence that the political community of the Arab League in 1947 colluded among all seven Arab states to persecute their Jewish populations and to use them as weapons against the State of Israel," Urman said. "I have a litany of legislation adopted by Arab countries that mirror the draft law — stripping Jews of their citizenship and taking away their right to vote and own property."
For an Israeli-Palestinian peace to be "durable and enduring, it must resolve issues of relevance to all parties," Urman added. "To move forward to reconciliation we need truth and justice, just as South Africa set up commissions at which the whites had to admit the way they persecuted the black majority. It must be recognized that the Jews were also victims of the Arab-Israeli conflict and that the first injustice was the mass violation of human rights of Jews in Arab countries. We can't allow a second injustice."
Urman said the issue of Palestinian refugees will be on the table at Annapolis "and we want to make sure that the plight and flight of Jews from Arab countries is also on the table."
In addition, Urman said Washington lawmakers are examining two resolutions that say any explicit reference to Palestinian refugees must be matched by a reference to Jewish and Christian and other refugees.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Stewart Ain is a staff writer for the Jewish Week. Comment by clicking here.
© 2007, Jewish Week
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