Jewish Refugees

BACKGROUNDER: Palestinian Arab and Jewish Refugees

During and after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, both Arabs and Jews fled their homes. This overview corrects common myths about Palestinian refugees and the so-called "Nakba," and examines the neglected story of the Jewish refugees.

AFP Whitewashes History of Iraq’s Jews

An AFP article on Iraqi efforts to renovate ancient religious sites whitewashes the history of Iraqi Jews and raises more questions than it answers. Will the sites be restored to preserve their original Jewish character, or will renovations turn the Jewish sites into mosques?

AP Ignores Displaced Israelis

Since Hezbollah first attacked Israeli towns and troops on July 12, hundreds of thousands of Israeli and Lebanese civilians have fled their homes. While the Associated Press reports in story after story about Lebanese displaced, the wire service has had little to say about Israeli displaced.

Washington Post Publishes CAMERA Response to Cohen Column

A few days after Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen wrote on July 18 that Israel is a "mistake" because "the idea of creating a nation of European Jews in an area of Arab Muslims (and some Christians) has produced a century of warfare and terrorism," the newspaper published CAMERA's response.

AP Rewrites History of Moroccan Jews

When AP covers Palestinian refugees, the stories often uncritically present Palestinian grievances about purported Israeli "crimes." So why is it that when the wire service discusses Jewish refugees from Morocco, only glowing accounts of the Arab-Jewish relationship are cited, while the discrimination and pogroms faced by the community are overlooked completely?

The Forgotten Refugees (2005)

Directed by Michael Grynszpan Produced by The David Project and IsraTV 49 minutes, English
The film explores the history and destruction of Middle Eastern Jewish communities, some of which had existed for over 2,500 years.Featuring testimony from Jews who fled Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, Morocco and Iran, the film explores the rich heritage and destruction of the Middle East’s age-old Jewish communities. Personal stories of refugees are interspersed with dramatic archival footage, including the mission to rescue Yemenite Jews.

The Silent Exodus (2004)

Produced and Directed by Pierre Rehov 59 minutes
Filmmaker Rehov interviews several prominent scholars and survivors of the Arab pogroms including Bat Ye'or, the scholar who introduced the concept of "dhimmitude" (the legal and social conditions of Jews and Christians subjected to Islamic rule) into the lexicon. They vividly elucidate the circumstances precipitating the departure of these Jews from their longtime homes.