November 20, 2001
5 Kislev, 5762
JerusalemSallai Meridor: The Jewish Agency is Fighting For Restoration of Jewish Property in Arab Lands. Calls on Government to Do Its Part
Itamar Levin, Author of New Book on Seizure of Jewish Property in Arab Lands: Document Claims Now. Tomorrow will be Too Late! The Palestinians are busy documenting their claims to property in Israel.
The Jewish Agency will fight for Jews from Arab lands to obtain compensation for confiscated property, Jewish Agency Chairman Sallai Meridor announced. He called on the Government of Israel to do its share in the battle. "We must wage this fight for the sake of historical justice," Meridor said, speaking to a crowd that filled the Beit Hatefutsot (Diaspora Museum) auditorium last night (November 19th) to mark the launching of Itamar Levin's new book Locked Doors: The Seizure of Jewish Property in Arab Lands (Ministry of Defense Publishing House), which was published with Jewish Agency assistance. Meridor lashed out against parallels drawn between Jewish refugees from Arab countries and Palestinian refugees. "The Jews did not rise up in revolt against the Arab countries in which they lived. They were loyal citizens. But Jews were driven out and their property confiscated. This was Arab anti-Semitism," he said.
"We must document property claims of Jews and Jewish communities of Arab lands Today! Tomorrow will be too late," said journalist author Itamar Levin, who had dedicated much of his professional career to documenting Nazi theft of Jewish property, before tackling the issue of Arab expropriation of Jewish property. "The possession of private property is an undisputed right," Levin said. "It is forbidden to nationalize private property, except in exchange for honest compensation. Over 865,000 Jews were driven out of Arab lands, simply because they were Jews. Some 600,000 came to Israel. This fact must be brought home into the consciousness of the world community. If Jewish claims against Nazi Germany and those who assisted Nazi Germany were possible, so much the more are those claims of Jews from Arab lands. A third of the Jews who left Arab countries are still alive today." According to Levin, in the course of future peace negotiations the subject of confiscated private and communal property will come up and we must be ready.
According M.K. Avraham Hirshson, who heads the Knesset Committee on Restitution, Jewish claims against Arab countries amount to many billions of dollars. Private property from Egypt, Syria and Iraq alone, amounted to over $10 billion." Communal property amounted to over twice that sum." Hirshson, former Minister and M.K. Mordechai Ben-Porat and Levin called for the establishment of the joint fund originally proposed by President Clinton, to deal with the problem. This fund, whose members would include the US, the European Union, Arab countries and Israel, would adjudicate and award compensation for claims by individual Jews and Jewish communities, against Arab countries, as well as any claims by Arabs against Israel. Compensation must be on an individual basis. not on a collective, national basis.
Former Minister and M.K. Mordechai Ben-Porat tracing the history of Iraqi Jewry, said that 124,000 Iraqi Jews came to Israel During the British mandate over Iraq (1921-33) they had held top positions in finance, banking, commerce the judicial system and agriculture. When the British left, their position deteriorated and in 1941, 1945 and 1949 they suffered pogroms and persecutions. "By miracle" in 1951, the Iraqi Government passed a law enabling Jews to leave Iraq, but they were permitted to take only 50 British Pounds with them. Ben-Porat who came to Israel in 1943, heads the World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries. Victor Nahmias, who immigrated to Israel in 1957 from Egypt, spoke of the hostility Jews felt in Egypt from 1948 to 1956. In 1956 Jews were forced to leave. The debacle occurred in 1967 when all Jews between the ages of 17 and late 70 were arrested and expelled. He recalled that in 1956 he obtained a ticket for Israel free of charge from a travel agency. Later he found out that it was the Jewish Agency who had paid for his transportation (and that of other Jews) to Israel. A well-known journalist and a diplomat, Nahmias said that he devoted six years to serving as director of communications for Keren Hayesod. He considers this the repayment of a moral debt to Israel. Moshe Cohen, Director General of a Bank Leumi department, recounted that the Jews of Syria and Lebanon flourished under the French Mandate. However, when the UN voted to create the State of Israel, Jews were attacked in Syria. As of 1948 Jews began to leave. Some of the richer Jews succeeded in taking out property. In 1964 the Syrian Government began to nationalize Jewish property. (Cohen cited a document captured by IDF troops in 1967, in which a Syrian general recorded that 85% of the Syrian Intelligence Corps budget was paid for by confiscated Jewish property). As of 1967 Syrian Jews were not permitted to travel four kms beyond their city of residence, and and communal property was confiscated. In 1973 Syrian Jews were denied admission to universities, and were required to carry ID cards with "Jew" stamped in red. Though many boys succeeded in escaping, girls remained behind and were unable to marry. Only international pressure enabled girls who were already engaged to be married to leave Syria. According to Cohen, today only 1,050 Jews remain in Syria. They are treated reasonably well by the authorities, but their property has been placed in custodianship. The Government has threatened to confiscate the grounds of the Ezra the Scribe Synagogue in Tadef on the claims that Ezra the Scribe, who lived over a thousand years before Mohmmad, was a Moslem.
Telephone numbers of participants:
M.K. Hirshson: 02-6753333
Victor Nahmias: 055-633336
Mordechai Ben-Porat: 03-5339278
Itamar Levin :03-9538888, 053-423224
Sallai Meridor via Spokesman of Jewish Agency: 02-6202215For further information:
Contact the Office of the Spokesman:
Michael Jankelowitz
Liaison to Foreign Press and Media JAFI
Tel: 972-2-6202780
Fax: 972-2-6202708
Mobile: 972-51-601706