 |
|
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Nov. 1, 2007
/ 20 Mar-Cheshvan 5768
What About Jewish Refugees?
By
Stewart Ain
| 
|
|
|
|
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
|
