-Caveat Lector-
The Forgotten Refugees: Jews From Arab Lands
By ADA AHARONI and ALAIN ALBAGLI
It is inevitable that a Palestinian state will
be established, if only because the 1947 United
Nations resolution establishing Israel also
established Palestine. The nature of this new
state,
the process of its establishment and its
eventual relation to Israel represent awesome
challenges. Peaceful relations between theses
two states will not happen unless there is
grassroot reconciliation. But there cannot be
grassroot reconciliation unless past wrongs are
acknowledged. One wrong that has been ignored
for far too long is the plight of Jews from
Arab countries.
Few political leaders in Israel or the Arab
world acknowledge that the number of Jews who
were forced to leave Arab countries, 856,000,
surpassed the number of Palestinians who were
ousted or fled the newly formed State of
Israel, 650,000. As almost half the Jewish
citizens of
Israel, together with their descendants, are
from Arab countries, any peace effort must, of
necessity, acknowledge this exodus. We suggest
that to acknowledge the story of the Jewish
uprooting from Arab countries can facilitate
reconciliation, as it shows that there was forced
migration and claims of restitution on both
sides.
Jews from Arab countries are angry and hurt,
and they object to a reconciliation that does not
include their own heritage and history. They
express their frustrations by voting for
right-wing
parties who promise them recognition, although
they are ideologically and traditionally neither
extreme right nor extreme left. Their
intransigence toward their Palestinian neighbors
and the
establishment of a Palestinian state is a
touchstone in reconciliation. Putting their claims
in the
balance could enhance the promotion of the
establishment of a Palestinian state.
During the 1947 U.N. debates, the head of the
Egyptian delegation warned that "the lives of a
million Jews in Muslim countries will be
jeopardized by the establishment of the Jewish
state."
The chairman of the Palestine Arab Higher
Executive, Haj Amin el-Husseini, told that body:
"If a Jewish state were established in
Palestine, the position of the Jews in the Arab
countries
would become very precarious... Governments
have always been unable to prevent mob
excitement and violence." Indeed, soon after
partition, riots broke out throughout the Arab
world. Jewish homes, shops and synagogues were
burned and looted; hundreds of Jews were
murdered, thousands were imprisoned and many
were deprived of their citizenship.
Jews in Arab countries were confronted with a
political and social climate of unbearable
hostility. Although many had been prestigious
members of their country of birth, they were
removed from government agencies and their
admission to public office was severely
restricted. They became hated outcasts in
their own land, terrorized, imprisoned and often
banished.
Where once Jewish communities flourished and
thrived, as in Iraq and Egypt, their traces have
been erased, as they were compelled to leave
and abandon centuries of established culture and
tradition.
The outline of a lasting settlement — or at
least absence of hostilities — is becoming
clearer.
The vision includes a full Arab recognition of
Israel's legitimacy and not another colonial
enterprise to be tolerated momentarily like
the Frankish kingdom of Jerusalem. Other
considerations include the establishment of a
politically viable Palestinian state, the rollback
of
Jewish settlements, the termination of
Palestinian and Arab incitement to hatred and
terrorism,
the full acceptance and integration within
Israeli society of its Arab citizens and the
indemnification of Palestinian and Jewish
refugees.
Because of deep-rooted mistrust, the comfort
zone within which both parties can negotiate is
at present non-existent. Deep societal changes
have to occur before political leaders have room
for negotiation. Regrettably, one of the
lapses in the Oslo process has been the absence of
avenues for reconciliation at the community
level.
Fortunately, both Palestinian and Jewish
refugee communities are familiar with Sulh, the
Middle Eastern rituals of reconciliation .
Sulh rituals, used to resolve long-standing
vendettas,
incorporate cultural elements and stress the
link between the psychological and political
dimensions of reconciliation.
It is high time that emphasis in the peace
process be redirected to community leaders and
away
from top-down conflict-resolution processes.
Community leaders in the civic, religious,
education and media realms need to assume
their responsibility in pursuing reconciliation.
They
must acknowledge explicitly the legitimacy of
their opponent's claim and commit themselves to
rebuilding the image of the opponent.
Espousing a perverted image of the opponent even
in the
heat of debate negates efforts at
acknowledging legitimacy. Western support should
be limited
to those that pass this test.
This reciprocal acknowledgement is the
cornerstone upon which future political leaders
will be
able to build a viable peace process. Putting
the claims of Jewish refugees from Arab countries
into the balance would encourage both
populations to favor a two-state solution and the
election of pro-peace political leaders on
both the Israeli and Palestinian sides.
In conclusion, a more objective and balanced
approach to the tragedies of both Jews from
Arab countries and Palestinians could have a
moderating effect on both populations. Jews from
Arab countries would have their history and
heritage restored and would become more open to
a peaceful arrangement. In turn, the
Palestinians would realize that they are not the
only ones
who have suffered, making them more prone to
reconciliation. This conciliatory effect could
lead to a beneficial promotion of peace
between Israel and the Palestinians, and in the
Middle
East in general.
Ada Aharoni is a professor of cultural
sociology at the Technion Institute of Technology
in
Haifa and founder of the International Forum
for the Culture of Peace. Alain Albagli is a
consultant in international development and a
freelance journalist. Both were born and
raised in Egypt.
http://www.forward.com/issues/2002/02.11.29/oped3.html
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