Justice for Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries

As part of its effort to raise awareness of the plight of Jews who were forced to flee Arab countries after 1948, the World Jewish Congress hosted two conferences in September 2012, one in Jerusalem and another at the United Nations in New York. “We will raise the flag of rights of Jewish refugees from Arab countries,” WJC Secretary General Dan Diker declared, adding: “It’s important that the world accept and recognize that most of them were forcibly exiled and subjected to the worst kind of anti-Semitic assault. Jews were attacked, assaulted, killed and robbed.”

At the Jerusalem conference WJC Secretary General Dan Diker, together with Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon and Senior Citizens Deputy Minister Lea Nass, welcomed over 200 participants from around the world at Jerusalem’s David Citadel Hotel for a symposium on ‘Justice for Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries’. The conference opened with a video greeting by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he said "The Arab world has neglected Arab refugees for decades and has used them as a battering ram against Israel, while Israel who was just born as a nation-state, has managed to absorb and resettle the Jewish refugees from Arab countries and turn them into productive citizens. This government has decided to promote the issue and therefore I raise this issue as well everywhere I go.”

Experts on the subject, including parliamentarians from various countries, heard testimonies from former refugees and discussed initiatives to raise the profile of issue on the international stage.