Jews
from Arab countries left behind $30B in assets
Jews
who emigrated from Arab countries between 1922 and 1952
left behind an estimated $30 billion in assets, according
to former internal security minister Moshe Shahal, who chairs
a world organization of Jews from Arab countries.
Shahal
told a news conference in Tel Aviv that the organization
was raising the issue to balance the claims of Palestinian
refugees in the peace negotiations. He maintained that Jews
should also be compensated for having been exiled from Arab
countries, including Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Libya,
Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
Shahal
said that a political settlement with the Palestinians should
take into account that some 850,000 Jews once lived in these
countries. Many were stripped of their assets and expelled
in the aftermath of Israel’s establishment in 1948,
or due to the rise of Arab nationalism in the 20th century.
In
all, some 600,000 Jews emigrated from Arab countries, while
other Jews of Middle Eastern origin emigrated from elsewhere.
Shahal
said his organization planned to submit a report about public
Jewish property in Arab countries, on the basis of affidavits
submitted by people once involved in community affairs in
those countries.
In
his statements after the Camp David summit in July, US President
Bill Clinton mentioned the need to resolve the issue of
Jews in Israel and abroad who became refugees due to Israel’s
founding.
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