Although exact numbers are impossible to come by, there were something like 600,000 Palestinian Arabs that became refugees in 1948. We all know how the Arab nations have done their best to prevent the implementation of any solution for these people and their descendants, who now number as many as 5 million, except for the impossible ‘right of return’ to Israel.
In all of the discussion about refugees, little is said about the Jewish refugees who fled Arab countries, starting in 1948. This is primarily because Israel and world Jewry — in contrast to the Arab world — facilitated their resettlement, mostly in Israel but also in other places.
In 1948, there were about 856,000 Jews living in various Arab countries. Today there are only a few thousand. Many of these became refugees as they fled to escape pogroms, torture and murder, and many lost all of their possessions in the process.
It seems to me that any compensation provided to the Arab refugees — who after all fled during a war that was started by the Arab nations — needs to be balanced by compensation of these refugees as well.
In order to document what happened to these Jewish refugees, both for the sake of history and so they can be compensated, an International Rights and Redress Campaign has been established.
It’s imperative, before eyewitnesses are gone and memories fade, that those Jews who fled Arab countries document their experiences and their losses. They can do this at the site linked above, where there are forms available in multiple languages.
The Arab nations, who like to talk about Palestinian human rights, are the worst rights violators of all. It’s time to pursue justice for Jewish refugees.
Technorati Tags: refugees, Jews, Jewish refugees
It’s interesting and instructive to see where it came from and how it got to the Middle East.
European Parliament: