Remembering the 'Jewish Nakba'

As Palestinians and their supporters mark 63 years since their Nakba, the world forgets that the largest single group of refugees arising from the Arab-Israeli conflict was Jewish.

Although Jewish refugees were soon absorbed in Israel and the West, Arab states have never recognised their responsibility for some 800,000 Jewish refugees. Neither have they offered compensation for their suffering and losses.

The current turmoil in the Arab world presents an opportunity for Arab peoples to re-evaluate the rights of non-Muslim minorities in their midst, and to start afresh in their relationship with the Jews of the region, whose near-extinct communities predate Islam by 1,000 years. One hundred years ago, 40 percent of Baghdad was Jewish. Now there are seven Jews left in the whole of Iraq.

At an event taking place on Sunday in central London organised by Harif, an association of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa, we shall hear testimonies from individual Jewish refugees, and a person who helped in their rescue will be presented with a special award by the media commentator Tom Gross. In addition, you will learn of new ideas for raising awareness of this very important issue, which we believe is the key to peace and reconciliation between Israel and the Arab world.