In 1945 there were up to one million Jews living in the Middle East and North Africa outside the Palestine Mandate - many living in communities dating back more than three millennia. Today, there are several thousand.Who are these Jews? What precipitated their mass-exodus in the 20th century? Where did they go? And why don't we know their stories?
The first ever hearing in the British Parliament on the subject of Jewish refugees from Arab countries will take place on Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 7:00-9:00 pm in the House of Lords.
The Jerusalem Post's Ashley Perry has an excellent article on the eve of the first British Parliamentary hearing on the Arab expulsion of their indigenous Jewish peoples.
"Those who claim Israel carried out ethnic cleansing of Arabs can point to no official command to that effect. Jewish ethnic cleansing from Arab lands, on the other hand, was often official state policy.
Jews were formally expelled from many areas in the Arab world. The Arab League released a statement urging Arab governments to facilitate the exit of Jews from Arab countries, a resolution which was carried out through a series of punitive measures and discriminatory decrees that made it untenable for Jews to remain in their native lands."
When the issue of 'refugees' is raised within the context of the Middle East, people invariably refer only to 'Palestinian refugees'. Neither the mass violations of human rights, nor the displacement of Jews from Arab countries, has ever been adequately addressed by the international community. A Joint Briefing will underscore that two refugee populations emerged as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict; and will assess the most appropriate role that the UK should play in seeking to resolve issues affecting all Middle East refugees.
Featured speakers will include renowned historian Sir Martin Gilbert who will speak on the "Historical Narrative and the UK's Response to Middle East Refugees" and former Canadian Minister of Justice, The Hon. Irwin Cotler, MP who will speak on" International Law and Middle East Refugees." Two former refugees will testify on their flight from Iraq and Egypt and their resettlement in the UK.Convened by Labour MP John Mann and Lord Anderson of Swansea, this Joint Briefing is being organized by Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC) in association with the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
Recipient of Best Documentary Award from Spain's Marbella Film Festival, "The Forgotten Refugees" (produced by Boston's The David Project) depicts the mass exodus of Jews from Arab countries and Iran and its effects.
