US Congress Recognizes Jewish Refugees

[nebula]

US Congress Recognizes Jewish Refugees From Arab Lands

by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) U.S. House Resolution 185, adopted on Tuesday, recognizes for the first time the rights of Jews who became refugees as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Resolution expresses "the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the creation of refugee populations."

The non-binding bill asks the President to ensure that in all international forums, when the issue of Middle East refugees is discussed, US representatives will make sure that any explicit reference to Palestinian Arab refugees is matched by a similar explicit reference to Palestinian Jewish and other refugees.

Many Jews lost their resources, their homes, and their heritage sites, fleeing in the face of persecution, pogroms, revolutions and brutal dictatorships.

The bill's sponsors aimed to increase awareness of the fact that not only is there an Arab/Palestinian refugee issue as a result of the Middle East conflict, but that Jews, as well, lost their homes and livelihoods under similar circumstances. It is estimated that 850,000 Jews were displaced from their homes, often under threats and with violence, as a result of Israel's War of Independence and afterwards.

Many note that while many of the Arabs living in the Land of Israel left their homes voluntarily, goaded on by Arab promises that they would come back as victors and be able to displace the Jews, the Jews in Arab countries were generally expelled under duress and violence.

"We believe this Resolution will produce a more balanced and accurate historical account," stated JIMENA (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa), "and ultimately, a more just resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict."

Full report here