Getting Recognition For Jews Who Fled Arab Countries

Hat Tip: The Astute Bloggers

From Haaretz:

World Jewish groups began a global campaign yesterday calling for recognition of Jews from Arab countries as refugees in the Middle East conflict.

"The world sees the plight of Palestinian refugees, and not withstanding their plight, there must be recognition that Jews from Arab countries are also victims of the Arab-Israeli conflict," said Stanley Urman, executive director of Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC).

JJAC, a U.S.-based coalition of Jewish organizations, is one of the groups coordinating the campaign, which aims to record testimonies of Jews who fled in the face of persecution, list asset losses and lobby foreign governments on their behalf.

Jewish groups have estimated that since 1948 at least 900,000 Jews have been forced to leave their homes in Arab countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.

At least 600,000 went to Israel. The rest sought sanctuary in France, Britain, the United States and other countries.

The Astute Bloggers notes that in contrast to the approximate 900,000 Jews who were forced to leave there homes in Arab countries, approximately 720,000 Arabs left then-Palestine in 1948.

On the one hand, Arabs will inflate the number of Arabs who fled.
On the other, how likely is it that this issue will get the attention it deserves from Europe in general or the UN in particular?

That would be the UN that established the UN Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, coming up on November 29. Last year, Kofi Annan attended--standing in front of a map of the Middle East with Israel missing and saying:

I invite everyone present to rise and observe a minute of silence in memory of all those who have given their lives for the cause of the Palestinian people and the return of peace between Israel and Palestine. [emphasis added]

I wish the JJAC luck.

Technorati Tag: Israel and UN and Refugees.