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On International Refugee Day, Jews Expelled from Arab States Also Ask for Justice
(Sputnik-Russia) June 20 marks international refugee day. Etti Shlomo, who lives in Israel, was only eight when her parents fled Egypt after anti-Jewish sentiment rose in many Arab countries following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Between June and September 1948, a series of bombings that rocked Cairo's Jewish neighborhoods killed 70 and injured more than 200 others. Etti's family was terrified but chose to stay until one day a mob of Muslim rioters burst into her house. "All our property and money was left in Egypt...but we had no other choice, as we knew a threat was looming," she said. In November 1956, Egypt's ministry of the interior required all Jews, regardless of their citizenship, to report to the government body. Those who held foreign passports were asked to leave, while Egyptian citizens could choose between deportation or a concentration camp. Most Jews opted for the first option. All their property, estimated at $2 billion, was left behind.