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Acknowledging the Plight of Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries

[Guardian-UK ] Lyn Julius - This week, before an audience of peers and MPs, an 80-year-old Jewish refugee named Sarah told the story of her traumatic departure from Egypt in 1956 in the wake of the Suez crisis. She departed with nothing - along with 25,000 other Jews expelled by Nasser and forced to sign a document pledging that they would never return. Sarah was speaking at a House of Lords briefing as part of the Justice for Jews from Arab Countries congress. JJAC, an international coalition of 77 organizations, held its inaugural congress in London to highlight the neglected rights of (according to indisputable UN figures) 856,000 Jewish refugees like Sarah. The Jewish "catastrophe" not only emptied cities like Baghdad (a third Jewish); it tore apart the cultural, social and economic fabric in Arab lands. Jews lost homes, synagogues, hospitals, schools, shrines and deeded land five times the size of Israel. Their ancient heritage - predating Islam by 1,000 years - was destroyed.
2008-06-26 01:00:00
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