THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 2 May 7, 1976 Purely Commentary By Philip Slomovitz Jews From Arab Lands, Evicted by the Persecuting Govern ments, Mobilize to Expose the Prejudices and to Demand Just Compensation as Refugees . . . Evidential Maps Reveal Terrors Looking at the Record of Egyptian and Syrian Brutalities Against their Jewish Residents ulty of Merton College, Oxford. The accompanying maps and charts are from this pamphlet. It is imperative that the facts revealed here should be known. The status of Jews in and from other Arab countries is exposed in this pamphlet. The crimes listed are indefensi- ble. The facts are vital to the entire Middle East situation. In dealing with the problem of refugees, the Jewish esca- pees from Moslem countries demand consideration and must receive it. If and when the refugee problem is to be dealt with, the Jewish refugees from Arab lands must re- ceive succor. There can be no compensation for Arabs with- out granting it also to the nearly million Jews who have suffered at the hands of the Arabs. The Organization of Jews from Arab Lands is coming to American Jewry for support in its battle for justice for the Jewish refugees. They must receive it in full measure. Israel's antagonists in the United Nations have made it a practice to level charges of mistreatment of Arabs in Is- rael and asserting Israel imposes brutal regulations upon them. At every opportunity, the Third World nations yielded to Arab pressures and adopted resolutions charging Israel with terrorism. The facts are that El Fatah and PLO activists have been arrested in Israel, that some have been expelled to Le- banon or Syria and that suspected terrorists were not tolerated. It is possible that some prisoners have been mistreated. There are unavoidable and very regrettable results from conflicts affecting the desired good relations between Jews and Arabs. But the guilty are seldom exposed. The record of Egyp- tian and Syrian outrages needs to be made public. After many years of silence, Jews from Arab lands have mobilized their forces to make their grievances known, to place on the record the facts about the cruelties which caused nearly a million Jews to run from persecutions in their Moslem homelands, most of them escaping to Israel. The Organization of Jews from Arab Lands, formed in Israel recently, provides factual data on the role of Jews in Moslem countries and their plight since the emergence of Israel as an independent state which has resulted in mass emigration due to unimaginable persecutions. This new organization has published several important documents stating the case of Jews from Arab lands, and among the most effective is "The Jews of Arab Lands: Their History in Maps," compiled by Martin Gilbert of the fac- * * * Revealing Historical Analyses Dr. Martin Gilbert renders a.valuable service with his data-laden history of Jews in Arab lands by means of maps in which he traces the struggles Jews encountered in Mos- lem lands not only in this century and since Israel's rebirth but also during the era of the settlement of the first Jews there prior to the Christian era. An example is the extensive revelatory map dealing with "The Jews of Iraq: 600 BC-1900 AD." Accompanying the descriptive map is the following resume of Jewish ex- periences during those years: The Jews of Iraq formed large communities from biblical times, and were settled in hundreds of towns and villages for more than 1,200 years before the Muslim conquest of 634 AD. After that conquest they continued to prosper, despite spasmodic and at times severe persecution. In 800 AD and again in 850 they were subjected to heavy taxation, restrictions of their residence, and forced to wear a yellow patch on their clothing. In 1000 AD they were subjected to severe oppression, including punitive taxation. In 1333 the synagogues of Baghdad were destroyed and much property looted. From 1750 to 1830, under Turkish rule, anti-Jewish measures were so severe that many fled to Persia and India. By 1900 the Jews of Iraq, after 2,500 years of continuous settlement, numbered more than 120,000 Similar tragic stories relate to Yemen. Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and other areas. They are ugly tales. They ref the claim that Jews had a paradise under Moslem rule. Perhaps there still is hope for happier days in the A ab-Israel relationships. They can come only with total rec- ognition of Israel's. sovereignty and an interchange of eco- nomic and cultural relations between the two related peoples, without restrictions and with an end to saber- rattling. In the process, as long as there is grumbling about ref- ugees, recognition of the existence of Jewish refugees from Arab lands is vital to every effort at attaining a solution to the issues that have made a battleground of the Middle East. Arabs must recognize this fact and the world powers must join in striving for a just solution by avoiding partis- anships. The facts are at hand. Is there hope for justice based on their historical admonitions? e I.SR A~ L 18 November 1945 Great Synagogue looted. Prayerbooks burnt in the street 2 December 1947 Anti-Jewish riots. Many Jews killed; 150 Jewish homes, 50 shops, 18 synagogues and 5 schools burned Apri11948 Further anti-Jewish riots. Many Jews in hiding, in fear of their lives FiONT1ERS0F;:i arnie Port Said Alexandria Mansura Suez Canal Zifta Damanhur Benha 0 1 Ismailia •-1 • • Cairo 1. Suez 0 ij Sinai 9 Fayyum 0 Beni Suef E SAUDI ARABIA / 1( Minya November 1950 Y E • • Kamishliye amat • P... • • River J • S Y R a I A 0 1938-39 Towns in which there were serious anti - Jewish riots and violent protests against Jewish immigration from Nazi Germany to Palestine the mob during anti-Jewish riots Aleppo Thirty Syrian Jews murdered at sea by Arab seamen paid to take them by boat to Israel. 20 bodies washed ashore at Haifa I Miles June 1967 Fifty seven Jews killed by R T • Motfala 1844, 1881, 1902 Jews accused of using human blood for ritual purposes 1882, 1919, 1921, 1924 Jews attacked in anti-foreigner riots Negev 0 0 20 40 60 JEWISH POPULATION 29,770 1943 18,000 1946 4, 000 1974 THE JEWS OF SYRIA 1936-71 I THE JEWS OF EGYPT Damascus Assuit R A Q 0 2 November 1945 'Balfour Day' riots throughout Egypt. 10 Jews killed, 350 injured. Shops looted and synagogues wrecked. Scrolls of the Law burnt in the streets 15 May 1948 2,000 Jews arrested. Two weeks later a Law was passed confiscating the property of those arrested 6 June 1948 New York Times reports large Jewish financial contributions to the anti-Israeli War Chest and to Arab refugee relief June -July 1948 Over 50 Jews killed, some after savage mutilations. Many Jewish homes destroyed. 22 September 1948 20 Jews killed and 61 injured after an explosion in the Jewish quarter of Cairo, followed by Arab looting of Jewish houses, and seizure of Jewish property by the Government 1956 4,000 Jews expelled. Some allowed to take only a single suitcase out of Egypt. Those expelled were forced to renounce all property rights and financial claims 1957 All Jews not in 'continuous residence' since 1900 deprived of citizenship 1960 Many synagogues closed down. Jewish orphanages, schools and old peoples' homes forced to close. The Jewish hospital confiscated; its medical staff arrested May - June 1967 All Jews in official employ dismissed. 500 Jews, including rabbis, arrested. Some brutally tortured, some released only in 1970, others expelled with only meagre personal belongings Golan Heights t 0 RESTRICTIONS IN FORCE SINCE 1967 rr Qena 1 Jews'right to emigrate is completely forbidden.ThiS co applies even to Jews in Syria who hold foreign passports kilometres 2 Jews are forbidden to move more than 3 JOR DAN 1936-9 Headquarters of anti-Jewish propaganda, intensified after visit of Nazi officers from Germany 1938 Jews frequently stabbed on streets June 1945 A Jewish educationalist murdered JEWISH POPULATION 75,000 1948 350 1974 [0 100 1 Miles 5 August 1949 Bomb thrown in synagogue on sabbath eve. 12 killed, 26 injured December 1949 Jewish Community Council dissolved 8 February 1967 Ministry of Defence Circular lists 47 Jewish merchants and forbids army personnel to trade with them March 1974 Four young Jewesses murdered while attempting to leave Syria. Since 1971 at least 50 Jews (men, women and children) arrested. Many tortured. Beatings in streets commonplace 0 Towns with flourishing Jewish communities in 1920 from their place of residence. Those wishing to travel further must apply for a special permit 3 Identity cards issued to Jews are stamped in red with the word 'Mussawi' (Jew) 4 Jews are normally subject to a 10 p.m. curfew. 5 Jews allowed six years elementary schooling only . 6 Jewish houses in Kamishliye are marked in red 7 Jews barred from jobs in the public service, in public institutions or in banks 8 Government and military personnel are forbidden to purchase from Jewish shops 9 Foreigners may not visit the Jewish quarter unescorted 10 Jews forbidden to own radios or telephones, or to maintain postal contact with outside world 11 No telephones are. installed in Jewish homes 12 The possessions of deceased Jews are confiscated by the Government. Their heirs must then pay for the use of the property. If they cannot, it is handed over to the Palestinian Arabs 13 Only two Jewish schools open in Damascus. Their directors and most of their teachers are Muslims. Exams usually ordered to be held on the sabbath Martin Gilbert 1975 Reproductions from "The Jews of Arab Lands: Their History in. Maps," Edited and Researched by Prof. Martin Gilbert, Merton College. Oxford <