Difference between revisions 109684476 and 109685133 on dewiki

{{see also|Antisemitism in the Arab world|Islam and Antisemitism}}
{{Antisemitism}}
The '''Jewish exodus from Arab lands''' refers to the 20th century expulsion or mass departure of Jew from [[Arab]] and Islamic countries. 

Most [[Mizrahi Jews]] migrated to Israel, however significant numbers also migrated to France and the United States. Migration began in the period 1900-1947, partially due to the influence of [[Zionism]]. However, after the announcement of the UN Partition Plan in 1947 there was a significant increase, and the exodus accelerated further after the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]] and the the departure of the French from [[the Maghreb]]. 900,000 Jews left their homes in Arab countries from 1948 until the early 1970s, mostly in the period 1948-1958<ref>Mlka Hillel Shulewitz, The Forgotten Millions: The Modern Jewish Exodus from Arab Lands, Continuum 2001 page 139</ref>. Most left voluntarily, however many were expelled or left due to political insecurity. Most were forced to abandon their property. Some 600,000 resettled in Israel. Their descendants, and those of Iranian and Turkish Jews, now number 3.06 million of Israel's 5.4 to 5.8 million Jewish citizens. <ref name=aiwwj>Schwartz, Adi. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/941518.html "All I wanted was justice"] ''[[Haaretz]]''. 10 January 2008.</ref>{{Failed verification|date=October 2008}} 

The World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries ([http://www.wojac.com/ WOJAC]) estimates that Jewish property abandoned in Arab countries would be valued today at more than $300 billion<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/04/america/nations.php Group seeks justice for 'forgotten' Jews - International Herald Tribune<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref name=ejhdoal>Lefkovits, Etgar.  [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195127517604&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull "Expelled Jews hold deeds on Arab lands.] ''[[Jerusalem Post]]''.  16 November 2007.  18 December 2007.</ref> and Jewish-owned real-estate left behind in Arab lands at 100,000 square kilometers (four times the size of the State of Israel). <ref name=aiwwj/><ref name=ejhdoal/>

==Reasons for emigration==
Violence and discrimination against Jews was a part of life in both independent and colonized Arab countries before 1947, however it escalated significantly after the British departure from Palestine and as more Arab countries won independence.  Sometimes the process was state sanctioned; at other times it was the result of mob violence ([[pogroms]]). Harassment, persecution and the confiscation of property often followed. 

In response to mistreatment of Jews, the [[Zionism|Zionist]] drive for Jewish immigration from Arab lands to Israel intensified.  The great majority of Jews in Arab lands eventually emigrated to the modern [[Israel|State of Israel]].<ref name=Stillmanxxi>Stillman, 2003, p. xxi.</ref>
Activist groups such as [[JJAC]] and [[JIMENA]] claim that there was a collusion among Arab states to persecute Jews as part of their struggle against Israel.<ref name="JJAC Press release">http://www.justiceforjews.com/pr_oct_23_07.pdf</ref>

The process grew apace as Arab nations under French, British and Italian [[colony|colonial rule]] or [[protectorate|protection]] gained independence. Further, anti-Jewish sentiment within the Arab-majority states was exacerbated by the Arab-Israeli wars. Within a few years after the [[Six Day War]] (1967) there were only remnants of Jewish communities left in most Arab lands. Jews in Arab lands were reduced from more than 800,000 in 1948 to perhaps 16,000 in 1991.<ref name=Stillmanxxi/>

Some claim that the Jewish exodus from Arab lands is a historical parallel to the [[Palestinian exodus]] during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, while others reject this comparison as simplistic.<ref name=Mendes>Mendes, Philip. [http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~ajds/mendes_refugees.htm THE FORGOTTEN REFUGEES: the causes of the post-1948 Jewish Exodus from Arab Countries], Presented at the 14 Jewish Studies Conference Melbourne March 2002. Retrieved June 12, 2007.</ref> 
<!--  Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:NYTimes 1948 Jews in Arab.jpg|right|frame|200px|''Jews in Grave Danger in All Moslem Lands'', article in ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[May 16]], [[1948]].]] -->

'''Jewish Population in Arab Countries in 1948 and 2008'''
{{Further|[[History of the Jews under Muslim rule]]}}

In 1948, there were between 758,000 and 866,000 Jews (see table below) living in communities throughout the Arab world. Today, there are fewer than 8,600. In some Arab states, such as [[Libya]] (which was once around 3% Jewish), the Jewish community no longer exists; in other Arab countries, only a few hundred Jews remain.

{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="5" colspan="3" width="450"
|+ '''Jewish Populations of Arab Countries: 1948 and 2001/2008'''
|-
! Country or territory
! 1948 Jewish<br>population
! Jewish % of total<br>population, 1948
! Estimated Jewish<br>population 2001<ref name=Shields>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/jewref.html|title=Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries|first=Jacqueline|last=Shields|accessdate=2006-05-22|publisher=Jewish Virtual Library}}</ref>
! Estimated Jewish<br>population 2008
|-
| Aden
| align="right" | 8,000<ref name="Avneri">Avneri, 1984, p. 276.</ref> 
| align="right" | 
| align="right" | ~0 
|-
| Algeria
| align="right" | 140,000<ref name="Avneri"/><ref name="Stearns">Stearns, 2001, p. 966.</ref>
| align="right" | 1.6%
| align="right" | ~0 
|-
| Bahrain
| align="right" | 550-600<ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/bahrain.html The Virtual Jewish History Tour - Bahrain<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
| align="right" | 0.5%
| align="right" | 36
| align="right" | around 30 people. See <ref>[[History of the Jews in Bahrain]]</ref>.
|-
| Egypt
| align="right" | 75,000<ref name="Avneri"/>-80,000<ref name="Stearns"/>
| align="right" | 0.4%
| align="right" | ~100 
| align="right" |Less than a hundred remain. See<ref>[[History of the Jews in Egypt]]</ref>
|-
| Iraq
| align="right" | 135,000<ref name="Avneri"/>-140,000<ref name="Stearns"/>
| align="right" | 2.6%
| align="right" | ~200
| align="right" | 20 in Baghdad and fewer than 100 remain. See <ref>[[History of the Jews in Iraq]]</ref>.
|-
| Lebanon
| align="right" | 5,000<ref name="Avneri"/>-20,000<ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/lebjews.html Jews of Lebanon<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
| align="right" | 0.4-2%
| align="right" | < 100 
| align="right" |around 40 in Beirut. See <ref>[[History of the Jews in Lebanon]]</ref>
|-
| Libya
| align="right" | 35,000<ref name="Stearns"/>-38,000<ref name="Avneri"/>
| align="right" | 3.6%
| align="right" | 0 
|-
| Morocco
| align="right" | 250,000<ref name="Stearns"/>-265,000<ref name="Avneri"/>
| align="right" | 2.8%
| align="right" | 5,230 
| align="right" | less than 7,000. See <ref>[[History of the Jews in Morocco]]</ref>
|-
| Qatar
| align="right" | ?
| align="right" | ?
| align="right" | ? 
| align="right" |a few Jews are reported. See <ref>[[History of the Jews in Qatar]]</ref>
|-
| Syria
| align="right" | 15,000<ref name="Stearns"/>-30,000<ref name="Avneri"/>
| align="right" | 0.4-0.9%
| align="right" | ~100 
| align="right" | fewer than 30 remain. See <ref>[[History of the Jews in Syria]]</ref>
|-
| Tunisia
| align="right" | 50,000<ref name="Stearns"/>-105,000<ref name="Avneri"/>
| align="right" | 1.4-3.0%
| align="right" | ~1,000 
| align="right" | in 2004 estimated 1,500 remain. See <ref>[[History of the Jews in Tunisia]]</ref>
|-
| Yemen
| align="right" | 45,000<ref name="Stearns"/>-55,000<ref name="Avneri"/>
| align="right" | 1.0%
| align="right" | ~200 
| align="right" | a few hundred remain. See <ref>[[Yemenite Jews]]</ref>
|-
| '''Total'''
| align="right" | '''758,000 - 881,000''' 
| align="right" |
| align="right" | '''<6,500'''
| align="right" | '''<8,600'''
|}

{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="5" colspan="3" width="450"
|+ '''Jewish Populations of non-Arab Muslim Countries: 1948 and 2001'''
|-
! Country or territory
! 1948 Jewish<br>population
! Estimated Jewish<br>population 2001
! Estimated Jewish<br>population 2008
|-
| Afghanistan
| align="right" | 5,000 
| align="right" | 1<ref>[http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4206909.stm BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | 'Only one Jew' now in Afghanistan<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
|-
| Iran
| align="right" | 70,000-120,000,<ref>[http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/10877/edition_id/208/format/html/displaystory.html j. - Iranian Jews in U.S. recall their own difficult exodus as they cling to heritage, building new communities<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> 100,000, 140,000–150,000 
| align="right" | 11,000-40,000
| align="right" | less than 40,000 remain. See <ref>[[History of the Jews in Iran]]</ref>.
|-
| Pakistan
| align="right" | 2,000 
| align="right" |  N/A
|-
| Turkey
| align="right" | 80,000<ref>http://ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/1950_7_WJP.pdf</ref>
| align="right" |  18,000-30,000<ref>[http://www.amyisrael.co.il/europe/turkey/ The Jewish Community of Turkey<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
|}

==Jews flee Arab states (1948-)==
{{seealso|History of Israel}}
Following the United Nations Resolution on the partition of Palestine there was an exodus of approximately 711,000 ([http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/93037e3b939746de8525610200567883!OpenDocument UN estimate]) Arab refugees (see the [[Palestinian Exodus]]), the creation of the state of [[Israel]], and the independence of Arab countries from European control, conditions for Jews in the Arab world deteriorated.  Over the next few decades, most would leave the Arab world.  Their departure and its motivations are covered country by country below.

Soon after the declaration of the establishment of Israel in 1948, over 45,000 Jews had emigrated from Arab countries to mandatory Palestine. Although most of the Jews who emigrated claimes it was because of the influence of Zionism that proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to return to their homeland, some Jews came to Israel as a result of persecution by Arab countries.<ref>[http://www.jcpa.org/jpsr/jpsr-beker-f05.htm The Forgotten Narrative: Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries] by Avi Beker, jcpa.org Access Date: 29-10-2008</ref> Gilbert (1999) maintains that Israeli officials were instrumental in facilitating population transfers from Muslim countries, known in Israel as the gathering of the exiles, because there was a shortage of manpower in Israel after 1948. 

There are controversial claims about the methods employed by Israeli officials. Gilbert (1999) and Hirst (1977) write that Israeli agents planted bombs in synagogues and Jewish businesses throughout the Middle East an attempt to stimulate emigration to Israel, but that view is rejected by others. Historian [[Moshe Gat]] contends that, in the most famous case in Iraq, the claim that the bombings were carried out by Zionists is contrary to the evidence, and in any event the impetus for the Jewish-Iraqi exodus was the imminent expiration of the denaturalisation law, not the bombing.<ref 2007.</ref> 

The United Nations Resolution on the partition of Palestine in November 1947, and the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948 led to anti-Jewish actions in Arab countries. At the same time, several Arab countries began to take a severe attitude against Jews who operated Zionist activities within Arab borders, further encouraging Jewish emigration to Israel.<ref>''[http://www.meforum.org/article/263 Why Jews Fled the Arab Countries]'' by Ya'akov Meron. ''Middle East Quarterly'', September 1995</ref><ref>''Jews in Grave Danger in All Moslem Lands'', ''The New York Times'', May 16, 1948, quoted in [http://www.jimena.org/faq/faq.htm#3 Was there any coordination between Arab governments in the expulsions of the Middle Eastern and North African Jews?] ([[JIMENA]])</ref>
Arab pogroms against Jews appeared to spread throughout the Arab world, and there were intensified riots in [[Yemen]] and [[Syria]] in particular. {{cite news |last=Aharoni |first= Ada|url=
http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/content/w91udxrhc7cf5a86|title= The Forced Migration of Jews from Arab Countries |publisher= Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group |date=Volume 15, Number 1/March 2003|}}</ref>.

By 1951, about 30 percent of the population in Israel consisted Jews from Arab countries and about 850,000 Jews emigrated  from Arab countries between 1948 and 1952. During this time 586,269 Jews came to Israel from Arab countries, and 3,136,436 people live in Israel today including their offspring, which account for about 41 per cent of the total population.<ref> {{cite news |last=Bermani |first= Daphna|url=http://wings.buffalo.edu/academic/department/law/jlsa/jews_arab_lands.htm|title= Sephardi Jewry at odds over reparations from Arab world |date= November 14, 2003|}}</ref>

===Algeria===
{{main|History of the Jews in Algeria}}

Almost all Jews in [[Algeria]] left upon independence in 1962.  Algeria's 140,000 Jews had French citizenship since 1870 (briefly revoked by Vichy France in 1940), and they mainly went to [[France]], with some going to [[Israel]].<ref>[http://www.theforgottenrefugees.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=63&Itemid=33 The Forgotten Refugees - Historical Timeline]</ref>

Following the brutal [[Algerian Civil War]] of 1990s there{{ndash}} in particular, the rebel [[Armed Islamic Group]]'s 1994 declaration of war on all non-Muslims in the country{{ndash}} most of the thousand-odd Jews previously there, living mainly in [[Algiers]] and to a lesser extent [[Blida]], [[Constantine, Algeria|Constantine]], and [[Oran]], emigrated.  The Algiers [[synagogue]] was abandoned after 1994.  These Jews themselves represented the remainder of only about 10,000 who had chosen to stay there in 1962  

Only a small number of Algerian origin Jews moved from France to Israel.

===Bahrain===
{{main|History of the Jews in Bahrain}}

[[Bahrain]]'s tiny Jewish community, mostly the descendants of immigrants who entered the country in the early 1900s from Iraq, numbered 600 in 1948.  

In the wake of the November 29, 1947 [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution|U.N. Partition vote]], demonstrations against the vote in the Arab world were called for December 2-5. The first two days of demonstrations in Bahrain saw rock throwing against Jews, but on December 5 mobs in the capital of [[Manama]] looted Jewish homes and shops, destroyed the synagogue, and beat any Jews they could find, and murdered one elderly woman.<ref>Stillman, 2003, p. 147.</ref>

Over the next few decades, most left for other countries, especially [[England]]; as of 2006 only 36 remained.<ref name=Luxner>Larry Luxner, [http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=17183&intcategoryid=1 Life’s good for Jews of Bahrain — as long as they don’t visit Israel], ''[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]'', October 18, 2006. Accessed 25 October 2006.</ref>

Relations between Jews and Muslims are generally considered good, with Bahrain being the only state on the Arabian Peninsula where there is a specific Jewish community and the only Gulf state with a synagogue. One member of the community, Rouben Rouben, who sells electronics and appliances from his downtown showroom, said “95 percent of my customers are Bahrainis, and the government is our No. 1 corporate customer. I’ve never felt any kind of discrimination.”<ref name=Luxner/>

Members play a prominent role in civil society: Ebrahim Nono was appointed in 2002 a member of Bahrain's upper house of parliament, the [[Consultative Council]], while a Jewish woman heads a human rights group, the [[Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society]]. According to the ''[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]'', the active Jewish community is "a source of pride for Bahraini officials".<ref name=Luxner/>

In Bahrain's [[Elections in Bahrain|2006 parliamentary election]], some candidates have specifically sought out the Jewish vote; writer [[Munira Fakhro]], Vice President of the Leftist [[National Democratic Action]], standing in [[Isa Town]] told the local press: "There are 20- 30 Jews in my area and I would be working for their benefit and raise their standard of living."<ref>Sandeep Singh Grewal, [http://www.womengateway.com/enwg/News/Political+News/2006/October/Women+Empowerment.htm Dr Munira Fakhro hopes for better future], WomenGateway, October 2006. Accessed 25 October 2006.</ref>

===Egypt===
{{see also|History of the Jews in Egypt}}

In 1948, approximately 75,000 Jews lived in [[Egypt]].  About 100 remain today, mostly in [[Cairo]].  In June 1948, a bomb exploded in Cairo's Karaite quarter, killing 22 Jews. In July 1948, Jewish shops and the Cairo Synagogue was attacked, killing 19 Jews.<ref name=aiwwj/>  Hundreds of Jews were arrested and had their property confiscated.  The 1954, the [[Lavon Affair]] served as a pretext for further persecution of Egyptian Jews. In October 1956, when the [[Suez Crisis]] erupted, 1,000 Jews were arrested and 500 Jewish businesses were seized by the government. A statement branding the Jews "enemies of the state" was read out in the mosques of Cairo and Alexandria. Jewish bank accounts were confiscated and many Jews lost their jobs. Lawyers, engineers, doctors and teachers were not allowed to work in their professions. In 1967, Jews were detained and tortured, and Jewish homes were confiscated.<ref name=aiwwj/>

In 1951, the fraudulent ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion|Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'' was translated into Arabic and promoted as an authentic historical document, fueling anti-Semitic sentiments in Egypt.<ref>Lewis, 1986, p. 199.</ref> In 1960, the ''Protocols'' were the subject of an article by Salah Dasuqi, military governor of Cairo, in ''al-Majallaaa'', the official cultural journal.<ref>Lewis, 1986, pp. 211, 271.</ref> In 1965, the Egyptian government released an English-language pamphlet titled ''Israel, the Enemy of Africa'' and distributed it throughout the English-speaking countries of [[Africa]]. The pamphlet used the ''Protocols'' and ''[[The International Jew]]'' as its sources and concluded that all the Jews were cheats, thieves, and murderers.<ref>Lewis, 1986, p. 210.</ref>

===Iraq===
{{main|History of the Jews in Iraq}}

In 1948, there were approximately 150,000 [[Jew]]s in [[Iraq]]. The community was concentrated in Baghdad, was well established and felt no urge to leave. However by 2003, there were only approximately 100 left of this previously thriving community.

In 1941, following [[Rashid Ali]]'s pro-[[Axis Powers|Axis]] coup, riots known as the ''[[Farhud]]'' broke out in [[Baghdad]] in which approximately 180 Jews were killed and about 240 were wounded, 586 Jewish-owned businesses were looted and 99 Jewish houses were destroyed.<ref>Levin, Itamar (2001). ''Locked Doors: The Seizure of Jewish Property in Arab Countries''. (Praeger/Greenwood) ISBN 0-275-97134-1, p. 6.</ref>

Like most [[Arab League]] states, Iraq initially forbade the emigration of its Jews after the 1948 war on the grounds that allowing them to go to Israel would strengthen that state. However, intense diplomatic pressure brought about a change of mind. At the same time, increasing government oppression of the Jews fueled by anti-Israeli sentiment, together with public expressions of anti-semitism, created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}

In March 1950, Iraq passed a law of one year duration allowing Jews to emigrate on condition of relinquishing their Iraqi citizenship. Iraq apparently believed it would rid itself of those Jews it regarded as the most troublesome, especially the Zionists, but retain the wealthy minority who played an important part in the Iraqi economy. Israel mounted an operation called "[[Operation Ezra and Nehemiah|Ezra and Nehemiah]]" to bring as many of the Iraqi Jews as possible to Israel, and sent agents to Iraq to urge the Jews to register for immigration as soon as possible.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}

At first, the zionist movement tried to regulate the amount of registrants, until several issues relating to their legal status were clarified. Later on it gave up on that position and allowed everyone to register. Two weeks after the law went into force, the Iraqi interior minister demaned a CID investigation as to why the Jews were not registering. A mere few hours after the movement allowed registrations, a bomb attack injured four Jews at a café on Abu-Nawas street in baghdad. 

In 21.8.1950, the Iraqi minister of interior threatened the company flying the Jews to have its license revoked if it does not fulfil the quota of 500 Jews per day. Later on, on 18.9.1950, Nuri As-said summoned a representative of the Jewish community and told him that he knows that Israel is behind the delay in the departure of the Jews, and threatened to "take them to the borders". On 12.10.1950, Nuri as-said summoned a senior official of the company and made similar threats again, equating the expulsion of Jews with the expulsion of Palestinians.

Two months before the expiry of the law, by which time about 85,000 Jews had registered, a bomb at the Masuda Shemtov [[Synagogue]] killed 3 or 5 Jews and injured many. The law expired in March 1951, but was later extended after the Iraqi government froze and later appropriated the assets of departing Jews (including those already left).In 1951 the Iraqi Government passed legislation that made affiliation with Zionism a felony and ordered, "the expulsion of Jews who refused to sign a statement of anti-Zionism." <ref>Pappe, 2004, p177</ref>  During the next few months, all but a few thousand of the remaining Jews registered for emigration, spurred on by a sequence of bombings that caused few casualties but had great psychological impact. However, four more bombing attack occurred after Jews were not allowed to register anymore. In total, about 120,000 Jews left Iraq.> "Historian Moshe Gat argues that there was little direct connection between the bombings and exodus. He demonstrates that the frantic and massive Jewish registration for denaturalisation and departure was driven by knowledge that the denaturalisation law was due to expire in March 1951. He also notes the influence of further pressures including the property-freezing law, and continued anti-Jewish disturbances which raised the fear of large-scale pogroms. In addition, it is highly unlikely the Israelis would have taken such measures to accelerate the Jewish evacuation given that they were already struggling to cope with the existing level of Jewish immigration. Gat also raises serious doubts about the guilt of the alleged Jewish bombthrowers. Firstly, a Christian officer in the Iraqi army known for his anti-Jewish views, was arrested, but apparently not charged, with the offences. A number of explosive devices similar to those used in the attack on the Jewish synagogue were found in his home. In addition, there was a long history of anti-Jewish bomb-throwing incidents in Iraq. Secondly, the prosecution was not able to produce even one eyewitness who had seen the bombs thrown. Thirdly, the Jewish defendant Shalom Salah indicated in court that he had been severely tortured in order to procure a confession. It therefore remains an open question as to who was responsible for the bombings, although Gat suggests that the most likely perpetrators were members of the anti-Jewish Istiqlal Party. Certainly memories and interpretations of the events have further been influenced and distorted by the unfortunate discrimination which many Iraqi Jews experienced on their arrival in Israel." Mendes, Philip. ''[http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~ajds/mendes_refugees.htm The Forgotten Refugees: the causes of the post-1948 Jewish Exodus from Arab Countries],'' Presented at the 14th Jewish Studies Conference Melbourne March 2002. Retrieved June 12, According to [[Norman Stillman]], "[n]either side, however, has provided truly convincing evidence, and for any detached observer the point must remain moot."<ref>Stillman, 2003, p. 162.</ref> 

In May and June 1951, the arms caches of the [[Zionism|Zionist]] underground in Iraq, which had been continuosly supplied from Palestine/Israel since the [[Farhud]] of 1941, were discovered. Many Jews were arrested and two Zionist activists, Yusuf Basri and Ibrahim Salih, were tried and hanged for three of the bombings, all of which happened after the expiration of the law. A secret Israeli inquiry in 1960 reported that most of the witnesses believed that Jews had been responsible for the bombings, but found no evidence that they were ordered by Israel.<ref>B. Morris and I. Black, Israel's Secret Wars (Grove Press, 1992), p93.</ref> The issue remains unresolved: some Iraqi activists in Israel still regularly charge that Israel used violence to engineer the exodus, while Israeli officials of the time vehemently deny it. According to historian Moshe Gatt, few historians believe that Israel was actually behind the bombing campaign -- based on factors such as records indicating that Israel did not want such a rapid registration rate and that bomb throwing at Jewish targets was common before 1950, making the Istiqlal Party or the CID a more likely culprit than the Zionist underground.  In any case, the remainder of Iraq's Jews left over the next few decades. and had mostly gone by 1970. In 1969 eleven Jews were hanged, nine of them on January 27 in the public squares of Baghdad and Basra. The 2,500 remnant of the community almost entirely fled shortly thereafter.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}

===Lebanon===
{{Main|History of the Jews in Lebanon}}

In 1948, there were approximately 5,000 Jews in Lebanon, with communities in [[Beirut]], and in villages near [[Mount Lebanon]], [[Deir al Qamar]], [[Barouk]], and [[Hasbayah]].  While the French mandate saw a general improvement in conditions for Jews, the [[Vichy regime]] placed restrictions on them.  The Jewish community actively supported Lebanese independence after World War II and had mixed attitudes toward Zionism.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}  

Negative attitudes toward Jews increased after 1948, and, by 1967, most Lebanese Jews had emigrated - to the United States, Canada, France, and Israel.  The remaining Jewish community was particularly hard hit by the civil wars in Lebanon, and, by 1967, most Jews had emigrated. In 1971, Albert Elia, the 69-year-old Secretary-General of the Lebanese Jewish community was kidnapped in Beirut by Syrian agents and imprisoned under torture in Damascus along with Syrian Jews who had attempted to flee the country. A personal appeal by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Prince Sadruddin Agha Khan to the late President Hafez al-Assad failed to secure Elia's release. In the 1980s, [[Hizballah]] kidnapped several Lebanese Jewish businessmen, and in the 2004 elections, only one Jew voted in the municipal elections.  There are now less than 100 Jews remaining in Lebanon. <ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3292543,00.html Beirut’s last Jews - Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

===Libya===
{{Main|History of the Jews in Libya}}

In 1948, about 38,000 Jews lived there.<ref name="Avneri"/><ref>Stillman, 2003, p. 155-156.</ref>  

A series of pogroms started in [[Tripoli]] in November 1945; over a period of several days more than 130 Jews (including 36 children) were killed, hundreds were injured, 4,000 were left homeless, and 2,400 were reduced to poverty. Five synagogues in Tripoli and four in provincial towns were destroyed, and over 1,000 Jewish residences and commercial buildings were plundered in Tripoli alone.<ref> Stillman, 2003, p. 145.</ref> The pogroms continued in June 1948, when 15 Jews were killed and 280 Jewish homes destroyed.<ref>Harris, 2001, pp. 149-150.</ref>  

Between the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and Libyan independence in December 1951 over 30,000 Libyan Jews emigrated to Israel. In 1967, during the [[Six-Day War]], the Jewish population of 4,000 was again subjected to pogroms in which 18 were killed, and many more injured. The Libyan government "urged the Jews to leave the country temporarily", permitting them each to take one suitcase and the equivalent of $50. In June and July over 4,000 traveled to Italy, where they were assisted by the Jewish Agency. 1,300 went on to Israel, 2,200 remained in Italy, and most of the rest went to the United States. A few scores remained in Libya.<ref>Harris, 2001, pp. 155-156.</ref><ref>Simon, 1999, pp. 3-4.</ref>

In 1970 the Libyan government issued new laws which confiscated all the assets of Libya's Jews, issuing in their stead 15 year bonds. However, when the bonds matured no compensation was paid. Libyan leader [[Muammar al-Gaddafi]] justified this on the grounds that "the alignment of the Jews with Israel, the Arab nations' enemy, has forfeited their right to compensation."<ref>Harris, 2001, p. 157.</ref>

Although the main synagogue in Tripoli was renovated in 1999, it has not reopened for services.  The last Jew in Libya, Esmeralda Meghnagi died in February, 2002.  Israel is home to about 40,000 Jews of Libyan descent, who maintain unique traditions.[http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/JewsofLibya/LibyanJews/thejews.html] [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/libyajews.html]

===Morocco===
{{main|History of the Jews in Morocco}}


In June 1948, soon after [[Israel]] was established and in the midst of the first Arab-Israeli war, riots against Jews broke out in [[Oujda]] and [[Djerada]], killing 44 Jews.  In 1948-9, 18,000 Jews left the country for Israel.  After this, Jewish emigration continued (to Israel and elsewhere), but slowed to a few thousand a year.  Through the early fifties, [[Zionism|Zionist]] organizations encouraged emigration, particularly in the poorer south of the country, seeing Moroccan Jews as valuable contributors to the Jewish State:

{{quote|''...These Jews constitute the best and most suitable human element for settlement in Israel's absorption centers. There were many positive aspects which I found among them: first and foremost, they all know (their agricultural) tasks, and their transfer to agricultural work in Israel will not involve physical and mental difficulties. They are satisfied with few (material needs), which will enable them to confront their early economic problems.'' |Yehuda Grinker, ''The Emigration of Atlas Jews to Israel'' <ref>Yehuda Grinker (an organizer of Jewish emigration from the Atlas), ''The Emigration of Atlas Jews to Israel'', Tel Aviv, The Association of Moroccan Immigrants in Israel, 1973.[http://rickgold.home.mindspring.com/Emigration/emigration12.htm]</ref>}}

In 1956, Morocco attained independence. Jews occupied several political positions, including three parliamentary seats and the cabinet position of Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. However, that minister, Leon Benzaquen, did not survive the first cabinet reshuffling, and no Jews was appointed again to a cabinet position.<ref>Stillman, 2003, pp. 172-173.</ref> Although the relations with the Jewish community at the highest levels of government were cordial, these attitudes were not shared by the lower ranks of officialsdom, which exhibited attitudes that ranged from traditional contempt to outright hostility".<ref name=Stillman173>Stillman, 2003, p. 173.</ref> Morocco's increasing identification with the Arab world, and pressure on Jewish educational institutions to arabize and conform culturally added to the fears of Moroccan Jews.<ref name=Stillman173/> Emigration to Israel jumped from 8,171 in 1954 to 24,994 in 1955, increasing further in 1956.  Beginning in 1956, emigration to [[Israel]] was prohibited until 1961; during that time, however, clandestine emigration continued, and a further 18,000 Jews left Morocco. On January 10, 1961, a boat carrying Jews attempting to flee the country sank off the northern coast of the country; the negative publicity associated with this prompted King [[Mohammed V of Morocco|Muhammad V]] to again allow emigration, and over the three following years, more than 70,000 Moroccan Jews left the country.<ref>Stillman, 2003, p. 174.</ref> By 1967, only 50,000 Jews remained.<ref name=Stillman175>Stillman, 2003, p. 175.</ref>

The [[Six-Day War]] in 1967 led to increased Arab-Jewish tensions worldwide, including Morocco, and Jewish emigration continued. By the early 1970s the Jewish population was reduced to 25,000; however, most of this wave of emigration went to [[France]], [[Belgium]], [[Spain]], and [[Canada]], rather than [[Israel]].<ref name=Stillman175/>

Despite their current small numbers, Jews continue to play a notable role in Morocco; the king retains a Jewish senior adviser, [[André Azoulay]], and Jewish schools and synagogues receive government subsidies.  However, Jewish targets have sometimes been attacked (notably in the bombing of a Jewish community center in [[Casablanca]], see [[2003 Casablanca bombings|Casablanca Attacks]]), and there is sporadic anti-Semitic rhetoric from radical Islamist groups. The late King [[Hassan II]]'s invitations for Jews to return have not been taken up by the people who emigrated; in 1948, over 250,000<ref name="Stearns"/>-265,000<ref name="Avneri"/> Jews lived in Morocco. By 2001 an estimated 5,230 remained.<ref name=Shields/>

According to Esther Benbassa, the migration of Jews from the [[Maghreb]] countries was prompted by uncertainty about the future. <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=UaiipUj3SJ8C&pg=PA186&dq=Tunisia+Jews+france+emigrate&sig=R85tQZA3rOnH19LU2zStrMSnvTY Esther Benbassa, ''The Jews of France: A History from Antiquity to the Present'']</ref>

===Syria===
{{main|History of the Jews in Syria}}

Rioters in Aleppo in 1947 burned the city's Jewish quarter and killed 75 people.<ref name="Pipes"> Daniel Pipes, Greater Syria: The History of an Ambition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990) p. 57, records 75 victims of the Aleppo massacre.</ref> In 1948, there were approximately 30,000 Jews in [[Syria]].  The Syrian government placed severe restrictions on the Jewish community, including on emigration.  Over the next decades, many Jews managed to escape, and the work of supporters, particularly [[Judy Feld Carr]],<ref name="levin">Levin, 2001, pp. 200-201.</ref> in smuggling Jews out of Syria, and bringing their plight to the attention of the world, raised awareness of their situation.  Following the [[Madrid Conference of 1991]] the [[United States]] put pressure on the Syrian government to ease its restrictions on Jews, and on Passover in 1992, the government of Syria began granting exit visas to Jews on condition that they do not emigrate to [[Israel]]. At that time, the country had several thousand Jews; today, under a hundred remain. The rest of the Jewish community have emigrated, mostly to the [[United States]] and [[Israel]]. There is a large and vibrant Syrian Jewish community in South [[Brooklyn]], [[New York]]. In 2004, the Syrian government attempted to establish better relations with the emigrants, and a delegation of a dozen Jews of Syrian origin visited Syria in the spring of that year.  <ref>[http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/L/Joshua.M.Landis-1/syriablog/2005/10/jews-of-syria-by-robert-tuttle.htm SyriaComment.com: "The Jews of Syria," By Robert Tuttle<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

===Tunisia===
{{main|History of the Jews in Tunisia}}


In 1948, approximately 105,000 Jews lived in [[Tunisia]].  About 1,500 remain today, mostly in [[Djerba]], [[Tunis]], and [[Zarzis]].  Following Tunisia's independence from France in 1956, a number of anti-Jewish policies led to emigration, of which half went to Israel and the other half to France.  After attacks in 1967, Jewish emigration both to Israel and [[France]] accelerated.  There were also attacks in 1982, 1985, and most recently in 2002 when a bomb in [[Djerba]] took 21 lives (most of them German tourists) near the local synagogue, in a terrorist attack claimed by [[Al-Qaeda]]. (See [[Ghriba synagogue bombing]]). 

The Tunisian government makes an active effort to protect its Jewish minority now and visibly supports its institutions.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}

===Yemen===
{{main|Yemenite Jews}}

If one includes [[Aden]], there were about 63,000 Jews in [[Yemen]] in 1948. Today, there are about 200 left. In 1947, riots killed at least 80 Jews in Aden, a British colony in southern Yemen. In 1948 the new [[Zaidiyyah|Zaydi]] Imam [[Ahmad bin Yahya]] unexpectedly allowed his Jewish subjects to leave Yemen, and tens of thousands poured into Aden. The Israeli government's [[Operation Magic Carpet (Yemen)|Operation Magic Carpet]] evacuated around 44,000 Jews from Yemen to Israel in 1949 and 1950.<ref name=Stillman156-157>Stillman, 2003, pp. 156-157.</ref> Emigration continued until 1962, when the civil war in Yemen broke out. A small community remained unknown until 1976, but it appears that all infrastructure is lost now.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}

In later years, the Yemenite government has taken some steps to protect the Jewish community in their country.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}

==Absorbing Jewish refugees==
<!-- Image with inadequate rationale removed: [[Image:Maabarah children.jpg|thumb|250px|Vast transit camps called ma'abarot were established in Israel to cope with the 1948-1955 immigration to Israel.]] -->
Of the nearly 900,000 Jewish refugees, approximately 680,000 were absorbed by Israel; the remainder went to Europe and the Americas.<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1185379004431 Congress mulls Jewish refugee cause] by Michal Lando. ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]''. July 25, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign+Relations/Israels+Foreign+Relations+since+1947/1947-1974/VI-+THE+ARAB+REFUGEES-+INTRODUCTION.htm Historical documents. 1947-1974 VI - THE ARAB REFUGEES - INTRODUCTION] MFA Israel</ref> 

Hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees to Israel were temporarily settled in the numerous tent cities called [[ma'abarot]] (transit camps) in Hebrew. The ma'abarot existed until 1963. Their population was gradually absorbed and integrated into Israeli society, a substantial logistical achievement, without help from the [[United Nations]]' various refugee organizations.

Absorption was not without its problems, however. Many of the refugees had a hard time adjusting to the new dominant culture and change of lifestyle and there were also several claims of discrimination against the refugees. In 1971, these sentiments would burst into protest led by the [[Israeli Black Panther]] movement.

==Jewish refugee advocacy==
There are a number of advocacy groups acting on behalf of Jewish refugees from Arab countries. Some examples include:
* ''Justice for Jews from Arab Countries'' seeks to secure rights and redress for Jews from Arab countries who suffered as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.<ref>[http://www.justiceforjews.com/ Justice for Jews from Arab countries] (JJAC)</ref>
* ''Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa'' (JIMENA) publicizes the history and plight of the 900,000 Jews indigenous to the [[Middle East]] and [[North Africa]] who were forced to leave their homes and abandon their property, who were stripped of their citizenship.<ref>[http://www.jimena.org/ Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa] (JIMENA)</ref>
* ''Historical Society of the Jews from Egypt''<ref>[http://www.hsje.org Historical Society of the Jews from Egypt]</ref> and ''International Association of Jews from Egypt''<ref>[http://www.iajegypt.org International Association of Jews from Egypt]</ref>
* ''Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center''<ref>[http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/english/index.html Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center]</ref>

In March 2008, "[f]or the first time ever, ... a Jewish refugee from an Arab country" appeared before the [[United Nations Human Rights Council]].  Regina Bublil-Waldman, a Jewish Libyan refugee and founder of JIMENA, "appeared before the UN Human Rights Council wearing her grandmother's Libyan wedding dress."<ref>[http://www.justiceforjews.com/geneva2008.html "JJAC at 2008 United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva."] ''Justice for Jews from Arab Countries''.  19 March 2008.  30 March 2008.</ref> Justice for Jews from Arab Countries presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council about oppression Jews faced in Arab countries that forced them to find amnesty elsewhere.

At a July 2008 joint session of the United Kingdom’s House of Commons and House of Lords convened by Labour MP John Mann and Lord Anderson of Swansea, in co-operation with Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC) and the Board of Deputies of British Jews,  Canadian MP [[Irwin Cotler]] said ''Arab countries and the League of Arab States must acknowledge their role in launching an aggressive war against Israel in 1948 and the perpetration of human rights violations against their respective Jewish nationals.'' Cotler cited evidence from a report titled Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries: The Case for Rights And Redress which documented for the first time a pattern of state-sanctioned repression and persecution in Arab countries – including Nuremberg-like laws – that targeted Jewish populations.<ref>{{cite web|last=anonymous|title=Cotler briefs UK parliament on Jewish refugees|publisher=Canadian Jewish News|date=2008-07-03|url=http://www.cjnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14960&Itemid=86|accessdate=2008-07-03}}</ref>

Among other notable advocates are historian [[Bat Ye'or]] who considers herself an Egyptian refugee and considers that experience as one that shaped her perspective.

===Compensation Issues===
The concept that Jewish emigrants from Arab lands should be considered refugees has received mixed reactions from both Zionist and Non-Zionist circles.

Iraqi-born [[Ran Cohen]], a former member of the [[Knesset]], said: "I have this to say: I am not a refugee. I came at the behest of Zionism, due to the pull that this land exerts, and due to the idea of redemption. Nobody is going to define me as a refugee;" Yemeni-born [[Yisrael Yeshayahu]], former Knesset speaker, Labor Party, stated: "We are not refugees. [Some of us] came to this country before the state was born. We had messianic aspirations;" and Iraqi-born [[Shlomo Hillel]], also a former speaker of the Knesset, Labor Party, claimed: "I don't regard the departure of Jews from Arab lands as that of refugees. They came here because they wanted to, as Zionists."<ref name=Shenhav>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=329736&contrassID=2&subContrassID=15&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y "Hitching a ride on the magic carpet"] ''Haaretz''.  15 August 2003.</ref>

The Orthodox Sephardi party, [[Shas]], recently announced its intention to seek compensation for Jewish refugees from Arab states.<ref> http://jewishrefugees.blogspot.com/2008/11/shas-to-make-jewish-refugees-electoral.html </ref> 

The type and extent of linkage between the Jewish exodus from Arab lands and the [[Palestinian Exodus]] has also been the source of controversy. Advocacy groups have suggested that there are strong ties between the two processes and some of them even claim that decoupling the two issues is unjust.<ref name=jfaq>[http://www.jimena.org/faq.htm Jimena Faq<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/25/middleeast.middleeastthemedia Lyn Julius: Recognising the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/23/israelandthepalestinians.middleeast "A different kind of catastrophe."] ''The Guardian'',  23 June 2008.</ref><ref name=Mendes/>

==See also==
*[[Aliyah]]
*[[Arab-Israeli conflict]]
*[[Anti-Semitism]]
*[[Arab anti-Semitism]]
*[[Islam and anti-Semitism]]
*[[Jewish history]]
*[[Jewish population]]
**[[Historical Jewish population comparisons]]
*[[Jewish refugees]]
*[[Jews by country]]
*[[Jews outside Europe under Nazi occupation]]	
*[[Maghen Abraham Synagogue]]	
*[[Jews of the Bilad el-Sudan (West Africa)]]
*[[Arab Jews]]
*[[Mizrahi Jews]]
*[[Population transfer]]

==References==	
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==	
*Avneri, Arieh (1984). ''Claim of Dispossession: Jewish Land-Settlement and the Arabs, 1878-1948''. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-87855-964-7	
*Cohen, Hayyim J. (1973). ''The Jews of the Middle East, 1860-1972'' Jerusalem, Israel Universities Press. ISBN 0-470-16424-7	
*Cohen, Mark (1995) ''Under Crescent and Cross'', Princeton, Princeton University Press.	
*De Felice, Renzo (1985). ''Jews in an Arab Land: Libya, 1835-1970''. Austin, University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-74016-6	
*Gat, Moshe (1997), ''The Jewish Exodus from Iraq, 1948-1951'' Frank Cass.	
*Gilbert, Sir Martin (1976). The Jews of Arab lands: Their history in maps. London. World Organisation of Jews from Arab Countries : Board of Deputies of British Jews. ISBN 0-9501329-5-0	
*Gruen, George E. (1983) Tunisia's Troubled Jewish Community (New York: American Jewish Committee, 1983)
*Harris, David A. (2001). ''In the Trenches: Selected Speeches and Writings of an American Jewish Activist, 1979-1999''. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 0-88125-693-5	
*Levin, Itamar (2001). ''Locked Doors: The Seizure of Jewish Property in Arab Countries''. Praeger/Greenwood. ISBN 0-275-97134-1	
*Lewis, Bernard (1984). ''The Jews of Islam''. Princeton. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00807-8
*Lewis, Bernard (1986). ''Semites and Anti-Semites: An Inquiry into Conflict and Prejudice, W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-02314-1
*Nini, Yehuda (1992), ''The Jews of the Yemen 1800-1914''. Harwood Academic Publishers. ISBN 3-7186-5041-X	
*Pappe, Ilan (2004), ''A History of Modern Palestine One Land Two Peoples'', Cambridge University Press, ISBN  0 521 55632 5
*Rejwan, Nissim (1985) ''The Jews of Iraq: 3000 Years of History and Culture'' London. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-78713-6	
*Roumani, Maurice (1977). ''The Case of the Jews from Arab Countries: A Neglected Issue'', Tel Aviv, World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries, 1977 and 1983
*Schulewitz, Malka Hillel. (2001). ''The Forgotten Millions: The Modern Jewish Exodus from Arab Lands.'' London. ISBN 0-8264-4764-3	
*Schulze, Kristen (2001) The Jews of Lebanon: Between Coexistence and Conflict. Sussex. ISBN 1-902210-64-6
*Simon, Rachel (1992). ''Change Within Tradition Among Jewish Women in Libya'', University of Washington Press. ISBN 0295971673
*Stearns, Peter N. {{worldhistory}}	
*Stillman, Norman (1975). ''Jews of Arab Lands a History and Source Book''. Jewish Publication Society
*Stillman, Norman (2003). ''Jews of Arab Lands in Modern Times''. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia. ISBN 0-8276-0370-3
*Zargari, Joseph (2005). ''The Forgotten Story of the ''Mizrachi'' Jews''. Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal (Volume 23, 2004-2005).

==External links==
*[http://justiceforjews.com/ Justice for Jews from Arab Countries]
* [http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=3&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=253&PID=0&IID=2091&TTL=The_Palestinian_Refugee_Issue:__Rhetoric_vs._Reality The Palestinian Refugee Issue:  Rhetoric vs. Reality by Sidney Zabludoff]This article compares the losses of Jewish refugees to Palestinians.
*''The Silent Exodus - A film by Pierre Rehov'' [http://www.PierreRehov.com]
* [http://www.sixdaywar.co.uk/jews_in_arab_countries_intro.htm The impact of the Six Day War on Jews in Arab lands] 	
*[http://www.dinur.org/resources/resourceCategoryDisplay.aspx?categoryid=780&rsid=478 Resources >Modern Period>20th Cent.>History of Israel>State of Israel] The Jewish History Resource Center, Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem	
*[http://www.jimena.org/index.htm JIMENA]: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa	
*[http://www.wzo.org.il/en/resources/view.asp?id=897 Founding of WOJAC], which closed in 1999.	
*[http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/middleeast/The_Middle_Easts_Forgotten_Refugees.asp The Middle East's Forgotten Refugees] by Semha Alwaya	
*[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mf15.html The Treatment of Jews in Arab/Islamic Countries] by Mitchell G. Bard	
*[http://www.samuelfreedman.com/articles/jinterest/nyt10132003.html Are Jews Who Fled Arab Lands to Israel Refugees, Too?] by Samuel Freedman	
*[http://www.jcpa.org/jl/jl102.htm The Other Refugees: Jews of the Arab World] by George E. Gruen	
*[http://www.meforum.org/article/263 Why Jews fled Arab countries] by Ya'akov Meron 	
*[http://iraqijews.awardspace.com/ Baghdadi Jews who fled from Iraq in the 1960's and 1970's]	
*[http://www.dangoor.com/74017.html Jews from Arab countries left behind $30B in assets] ''The Scribe: Journal of Babylonian Jewry''.	
*[http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/ The Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center]	
*[http://www.middle-east-info.org/gateway/refugees/index.htm Jewish and Arab Palestinian Refugees] from Middle-East-Info.org. Partisan link that argues that the world unequally supports Palestinian refugees over Jewish refugees.	
*[http://www.theforgottenrefugees.com/ The Forgotten Refugees] a film produced by The David Project and IsraTV	
*[http://middleeastinfo.org/article2596.html The Forgotten Refugees: the causes of the post-1948 Jewish Exodus from Arab Countries] (focuses on Iraq)
*[http://www.meforum.org/article/263 Why Jews Fled the Arab Countries]
*[http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/isljew.htm In the Islamic Mideast, Scant Place for Jews]
*[http://www.guernicamag.com/features/240/the_last_jews_of_cairo/ "The Last Jews of Cairo" in Guernica Magazine (guernicamag.com)]  
*[http://www.netanyahu.org/jewinarcounb.html]
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,940033,00.html?promoid=googlep Exodus] Time magazine
*[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3553189,00.html The forgotten refugees] Ynetnews - article about Jewish refugees from Arab states just as important as Palestinian refugees
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6611667.stm] Israelis from Iraq remember Babylon 
*[http://www.bt.com.bn/en/focus/2008/05/07/arab_jews_still_do_not_relate_to_israel] Reuters
{{Mizrahi Jews topics}}
{{Jews and Judaism}}
{{Antisemitism topics|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Aliyah]]
[[Category:Arab-third-party|date=July 2012}}
[[File:Op Magic Carpet (Yemenites).jpg|thumb|240px|[[Yemenite Jew]]s en route from [[Aden]] to [[Israel]], during the Magic Carpet operation (1949–1950).]]
[[File:Bet Lid Immigration Camp1949.jpg|right|thumb|240px|Bet Lid [[Immigrant camps (Israel)|immigrant camp]] in 1949.]]
The '''Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries''' (<!--{{lang-he|יציאת יהודים ממדינות ערב}}, ''Yetziat yehudim mi-medinot Arav''; -->{{lang-ar|التهجير الجماعي لليهود من الدول العربية والإسلامية}} ''{{transl|ar|ALA-LC|at-tahjīr al-jamāʻī lil-yahūd min ad-duwal al-ʻArabīyah wal-Islāmīyah}}'') was a mass departure, flight<ref name=meron1995/> and expulsion of Jews, primarily of [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardi]] and [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahi]] background, from [[Arab]] and [[Muslim world|Muslim countries]], from 1948 until the early 1970s. Though Jewish migration from Middle Eastern and North African communities began in the late 19th century, and Jews began leaving some Arab countries in the 1930s and early 1940s, it did not become significant until the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]]. In the three years following the [[1948 Palestine war]], about 700,000 Jews immigrated to Israel, residing mainly along the borders and in former Arab lands.<ref>Benny Morris, ''Righteous Victims'', chap. VI.</ref> Jews from Arab and Muslim countries amounted for 56% of the total immigration to the newly founded [[State of Israel]].<ref name=colin63/> Only 136,000 of the immigrants were in fact remnats of the displaced Jews of World War II.<ref name="ushmm2007">[http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005462 Displaced Persons] retrieved on 29 October 2007 from the US Holocaust Museum.</ref>

From the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]] until the early 1970s, 800,000–1,000,000 Jews left, fled, or were expelled from their homes in Arab countries; 260,000 of them reached Israel between 1948 and 1951; and 600,000 by 1972.<ref name="Schwartz">{{cite news|url=http://www.adi-schwartz.com/israeli-arab-conflict/all-i-wanted-was-justice/|title=All I Wanted was Justice|last=Schwartz|first=Adi|date=January 4, 2008|work=[[Haaretz]]}}</ref><ref name=Shulewitz>Malka Hillel Shulewitz, ''The Forgotten Millions: The Modern Jewish Exodus from Arab Lands'', Continuum 2001, pp. 139 and 155.</ref><ref name=Aharoni>Ada Aharoni [http://www.hsje.org/forcedmigration.htm "The Forced Migration of Jews from Arab Countries], Historical Society of Jews from Egypt website. Accessed February 1, 2009.</ref> [[Lebanon]] was the only Arab country to see an increase in its Jewish population after 1948, which was due to an influx of refugees from other Arab countries.<ref name=Parfitt>Parfitt, Tudor. (2000) p. 91.</ref> However, by the 1970s the Jewish community of Lebanon too dwindled due to hostilities of the [[Lebanese Civil War]]. By 2002 Jews from Arab countries and their descendants constituted almost half of Israel's population.<ref name=Aharoni/>

The reasons for the exodus included push factors such as persecution, [[antisemitism]], political instability and expulsion, together with pull factors, such as the desire to fulfill [[Zionism|Zionist]] yearnings or find a better economic and secure home in Europe or the Americas. A significant proportion of Jews left due to political insecurity and the rise of [[Arab nationalism]], and later also due to policies of some Arab governments, who sought to present the expulsion of Jews as a crowd-driven retaliatory act for the exodus of [[Palestinian refugees|Arab refugees from Palestine]].<ref name=meron1995>[http://www.meforum.org/263/why-jews-fled-the-arab-countries]</ref> Most Libyan Jews fled to Israel by 1951, while the citizenship of the rest was revoked in 1961, and the community remnants were finally evacuated to Italy following the [[Six Day War]]. Almost all of Yemeni and Adeni Jews, were [[Operation Magic Carpet (Yemen)|evacuated during 1949–1950]] in fear of their security. Iraqi and Kurdish Jews were encouraged to leave in 1950 by the Iraqi Government, which had eventually ordered in 1951 "the expulsion of Jews who refused to sign a statement of anti-Zionism".<ref name=pappe176>[http://books.google.com/books?id=G2wAxqCqKrUC&pg=PA176&dq=%22the+expulsion+of+Jews+who+refused+to+sign+a+statement+of+anti-Zionism&hl=en&ei=u7EwTrPwHYymsAK_2KjpCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22the%20expulsion%20of%20Jews%20who%20refused%20to%20sign%20a%20statement%20of%20anti-Zionism&f=false A history of modern Palestine: one land, two peoples, by Ilan Pappé, 2004, p. 176]</ref> The Jews of Egypt began fleeing the country in 1948,<ref>Racheline Barda. ''The modern Exodus of the Jews of Egypt''. [http://www.nebidaniel.org/documents/Whence%20_%20Hence%20by%20R.Barda.doc] "The 1948 War triggered their first exodus, forced or otherwise. In fact, the Jewish Agency records showed that 20,000 Jews, a sizable 25% of the total Jewish population of about 75000 to 85,000, left during 1949–1950 of whom 14,299 settled in Israel."</ref> and most of the remaining, some 21,000, were expelled in 1956.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=5H7pfJLQE2sC&pg=PA34&dq=jews+of+egypt+expelled+in+1956&hl=en&ei=YrgwTv2gMY7DsQKd7NHnCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=jews%20of%20egypt%20expelled%20in%201956&f=false The Sephardim of Sydney: coping with political processes and social pressures by Naomi Gale, p. 34]</ref> The Jews of Algeria were deprived of their citizenship in 1962 and had mostly immediately left the country for [[France]] and [[Israel]]. Moroccan Jews began leaving for Israel, as a result of the 1948 pogroms, with most of the community leaving in 1960s. Many Jews were required to sell, abandon, or [[smuggle]] their property out of the countries they were fleeing.<ref name=abc/><ref name=Shulewitz2>Malka Hillel Shulewitz, ''The Forgotten Millions: The Modern Jewish Exodus from Arab Lands'', Continuum 2001, pp. 52, 71, 87, 92, 100, 110, 113–114, 116, 135, 139.</ref><ref name=rayyum>Rayyum Al-Shawaf, ''Iraqi Jews: A story of mass exodus'', Democratiya 7 2006.</ref>

By the October War of 1973, most of the Jewish communities throughout the Arab World were practically non-existent. The immigration however continued and further emptied Arab countries from any Jewish presence, most notably Lebanon through the mid 1970s and Syria through early 1990s. Among the non-Arab Muslim countries, the exodus of Iranian Jews peaked following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when around 80% of Iranian Jews left the war-torn country for US and Israel. Turkish Jewry had mostly immigrated due to economic reasons and Zionist aspirations, but since the 1990s increasing terrorist attacks against Jews caused security concerns, with the result that many Jews left for Israel.

== Historic background ==
{{main|Islam and antisemitism|Antisemitism in the Arab world}}
Many Jews had experienced tension within Arab countries, similar to other minorities. Conversely, the idea of Zionism and of a Jewish state was appealing to the Jews; however, this entailed leaving the land in which they had lived for many generations. Insecurity was exacerbated by the process of the Arab struggle for independence and the conflict in Palestine and in some cases this led to physical expulsion and appropriation of property.

===Ottoman times===
A constant flow of Jews from European, Middle Eastern and North African communities increased during the Ottoman period. However, only by the end of the 19th century a more significant immigration from Middle Eastern communities had begun. The Yemeni Jews, first to arrive, were driven primarily by Messianic and religious Zionist aspirations, even though they faced periodic suppression and violence. Yet, the waves of anti-Jewish [[pogrom]]s in the 19th and the early 20th century across the Middle East and North Africa provided a solid ground for many Jews to consider a new home, whether Israel or elsewhere.

=== Rise of modern antisemitism in the Middle East ===
{{Antisemitism}}
{{See also|Jews outside Europe under Nazi occupation}}
{{further2|[[Islam and antisemitism#Support for the Third Reich|Support for the Third Reich in Muslim countries]]}}

The [[Kingdom of Iraq (British administration)|British mandate over Iraq]] came to an end in June 1930, and in October 1932 the country became independent. The Iraqi government response to the demand of [[Assyria]]n autonomy (a Semitic tribe, affiliated to Nestorian church), turned into a [[Simele massacre|bloody massacre]] by Iraqi army in August 1933. This event was the first sign to the Jewish community that minority rights were meaningless under Iraqi monarchy. King Faisal, known for his liberal policies, died in September 1933, and was succeeded by Ghazi, his nationalistic anti-British son. Ghazi began promoting Arab nationalist organizations, headed by Syrian and Palestinian exiles. With [[1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine]], they were joined by rebels, such as the [[Amin al-Husayni|Mufti of Jerusalem]]. The exiles preached pan-Arab ideology and fostered anti-Zionist propaganda.<ref>Gat, M. The Jewish exodus from Iraq, 1948–1951. p. 17.</ref>

Under Iraqi nationalists, the Nazi propaganda began to infiltrate the country, as Nazi Germany was anxious to expand its influence in the Arab world. Dr. Fritz Grobba, who resided in Iraq since 1932, began vigorously and systematically to disseminate hateful propaganda against Jews. Among other things, Arabic translation of ''Mein Kampf'' was published and Radio Berlin had begun broadcasting in Arabic language. Anti-Jewish policies had been implemented since 1934, and the confidence of Jews was further shaken by the growing crisis in Palestine in 1936. Between 1936 and 1939 ten Jews were murdered and on eight occasions bombs were thrown on Jewish locations.<ref>Gat, M. The Jewish exodus from Iraq, 1948–1951. p. 18.</ref>

In June 1941 a [[1941 Iraqi coup d'état|pro-Nazi regime was formed in Iraq]], headed by Rashid Ali al-Galyani. Following a widespread propaganda campaign, an [[Farhud|anti-Jewish pogrom]] erupted in the final days of the regime in Baghdad, leading to deaths of 180 Jews. The [[Farhud]] pogrom was a shocking event to Iraqi Jewish community, with much of Jewish property seized and as many as 50,000 Iraqi Jews affected. Many displaced Iraqi Jews began fleeing for Israel reaching a rate of 1,000 per year by 1949.<ref name="Simon, Reguer, and Laskier, p.365">Simon, Reguer, and Laskier, p. 365</ref> Some 10,000 Jews left Iraq in 1941–1949, following the [[Farhud]].

During the Second World War Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya came under [[Afrika Korps|Nazi]] or [[Vichy_France#Vichy_French_colonies|Vichy French occupation]] and these Jews were subject to various persecution. In 1942, German troops fighting the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in North Africa occupied the Jewish quarter of [[Benghazi]], plundering shops and deporting more than 2,000 Jews across the desert. Sent to work in [[labor camp]]s, more than one-fifth of that group of Jews perished. At the time, most of the Jews were living in cities of Tripoli and Benghazi and there were smaller numbers in [[Bayda, Libya|Bayda]] and [[Misrata]].<ref name=berkeley>[http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/JewsofLibya/LibyanJews/thejews.html History of the Jewish Community in Libya]". Retrieved July 1, 2006</ref>

In other areas Nazi propaganda targeted Arab populations in order to incite them against British or French rule.<ref>The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda during World War II and the Holocaust, by Jeffrey Herf, Harvard Belknap, 2006, 390 pp. [http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&TMID=111&LNGID=1&FID=388&PID=0&IID=1702]</ref> National Socialist propaganda contributed to the transfer of [[racial antisemitism]] to the Arab world and is likely to have unsettled Jewish communities.<ref>''Jewish Political Studies Review'' 17:1–2 (Spring 2005) "National Socialism and Anti-Semitism in the Arab World", Matthias Küntzel</ref>

Following the liberation of North Africa by allied forces, antisemitic incitements were still on the high. The most severe [[1945 Tripoli pogrom|racial violence erupted in Tripoli (Libya)]] in November 1945. Over a period of several days more than 130 Jews (including 36 children) were killed, hundreds were injured, 4,000 were left homeless (displaced) and 2,400 were reduced to poverty. Five synagogues in Tripoli and four in provincial towns were destroyed, and over 1,000 Jewish residences and commercial buildings were plundered in Tripoli alone.<ref name="Stillman, 2003, p. 145">Stillman, 2003, p. 145.</ref> The same year, violent anti-Jewish pogroms occurred in other cities across the [[Arab World]], including [[1945 Cairo pogrom|Cairo (Egypt)]], which resulted in 10 Jewish victims.

== Exodus from Arab countries (1947–1972) ==
{{Plitim}}
With the November 1947 declaration of [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine]], severe anti-Jewish pogroms with massive casualties erupted across the [[Arab World]]. Arab pogroms against Jews in [[1947 Aden pogrom|Yemen]] and [[Aleppo pogrom|Syria]] were particularly violent.{{cn|date=July 2012}} The violence prompted a severe increase in Jewish exodus, with the Aleppo Jewish community deteriorating into decline and soon after the [[1947 Aleppo pogrom|pogrom]] half the city's Jewish population had left.<ref name="Shindler2008">{{cite book|author=Colin Shindler|title=A history of modern Israel|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=u0sD-8r7I5QC&pg=PA63|accessdate=18 October 2010|year=2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-61538-9|page=63}}</ref> In 1948, the violence had spread to Egypt, Morocco and Iraq as well, practically covering all Arab countries.{{cn|date=July 2012}} At the same time, independent Arab countries began to encourage Jewish emigration to Israel.<ref>Ya'akov Meron. [http://www.meforum.org/article/263 "Why Jews Fled the Arab Countries"], ''Middle East Quarterly'', September 1995.</ref><ref>"Jews in Grave Danger in All Moslem Lands'', ''The New York Times'', May 16, 1948, quoted in [http://www.jimena.org/faq/faq.htm#3 Was there any coordination between Arab governments in the expulsions of the Middle Eastern and North African Jews?] ([[JIMENA]])</ref><ref name="JJAC Press release">{{cite web|url=http://www.justiceforjews.com/pr_oct_23_07.pdf|title=Newly-discovered Documents from U.N. Archives Reveal Collusion among Arab Countries in 1948 to Persecute Jews in Struggle Against Israel |format=PDF}}</ref>

In [[Libya]], Jews were deprived of citizenship, and in Iraq, their property was seized. Those Jews who were forced to emigrate were not allowed to take their property. From 1948 to 1949, the Israeli government [[Operation Magic Carpet (Yemen)|secretly airlifted 50,000 Jews from Yemen]] and from 1950 to 1952, 130,000 Jews were airlifted from Iraq. From 1949 to 1951, 30,000 Jews fled Libya to Israel. In these cases over 90% of the Jewish population opted to leave, despite the necessity of leaving their property behind.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Aharoni|first= Ada|url=http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/content/w91udxrhc7cf5a86|title= The Forced Migration of Jews from Arab Countries|journal= Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice|publisher=Routledge|year=2003|volume=15|pages=53–60|unused_data=Number 1|ref=harv}}</ref>

In total it is estimated that 800,000 to 1,000,000 Jews were forced out or fled from their homes in Arab countries from 1948 until the early 1970s. Some place the emigration peak to a slightly earlier time window of 1944 to 1964, when some 700,000 Jews moved to Israel from Arab countries and were dispossessed of nearly their entire property.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4068854,00.htm |title=How Arabs stole Jewish property |publisher=Ynet |accessdate=2011-07-27 }}</ref>

A body representing the Jewish refugees, the [[World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries]] (WOJAC) estimated in 2006, that Jewish property abandoned in Arab countries would be valued at more than $100 billion, later revising their estimate in 2007 to $300 billion. They also estimated Jewish-owned real-estate left behind in Arab lands at 100,000 square kilometers (four times the size of the state of Israel).<ref name=Schwartz/><ref name=abc>[http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&TMID=111&LNGID=1&FID=388&PID=0&IID=2196 The Palestinian Refugee Issue: Rhetoric vs. Reality by Sidney Zabludoff]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=38842 |title=Jews forced out of Arab countries seek reparations |publisher=www.jpost.com |accessdate=2011-01-16 }}</ref><ref name=ejhdoal>{{cite web |url=http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=82191 |title=Expelled Jews hold deeds on abandoned property in Arab lands |publisher=www.jpost.com |accessdate=2011-01-16 }}</ref> estimated by Sidney Zabludoff to be at minimum $700 million in period prices and $6 billion today.<ref name=abc /> The organization asserts that a major cause of the Jewish exodus was a deliberate policy decision taken by the [[Arab League]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wojac.com/history.html|title=?}}{{dead link|date=January 2011}}</ref> In 2007, a Jewish advocacy group JJAC (Justice for Jews from Arab Countries) has too alleged that [[Arab League]] members formulated a coordinated policy to expel or force the departure of the Jewish population.<ref>[http://www.justiceforjews.com/legal.html Justiceforjews.com]</ref><ref>[http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/112/the-forgotten-jewish-refugees-from-arab-states Jeqishpolicycenter.org]</ref><ref>[http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/pics/112.png Jewishpolicycenter.org]</ref>

===Algeria===
{{See also|History of the Jews in Algeria}}
[[File:Oran synagogue.jpg|left|thumb|120px|[[Great Synagogue of Oran]], Algeria, confiscated and turned into a mosque after the departure of Jews]]

Almost all Jews of [[Algeria]] left upon independence in 1962, particularly as "the Algerian Nationality Code of 1963 excluded non-Muslims from acquiring citizenship",<ref>[[Tarek Fatah]] (2010). ''The Jew Is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths That Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism''. Random House. p. 102.</ref> allowing citizenship only to those Algerians who had Muslim paternal fathers and grandfathers.<ref>Malka Hillel Shulewitz (2001). ''The forgotten millions: the modern Jewish exodus from Arab lands''. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 93.</ref> Algeria's 140,000 [[Jews]], who had French citizenship since 1870 (briefly revoked by Vichy France in 1940) left mostly for [[France]], although some went to [[Israel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theforgottenrefugees.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=63&Itemid=33|title=The Forgotten Refugees - Historical Timeline}}</ref>

Following the [[Algerian Civil War]] most of the thousand-odd Jews living mainly in [[Algiers]] and [[Blida]], [[Constantine, Algeria|Constantine]], and [[Oran]], left the country. The Algiers [[synagogue]] was consequently abandoned after 1994.

Jewish migration from North Africa to France led to the rejuvenation of the [[French Jews|French Jew]]ish community, which is now the third largest in the world.

===Bahrain===
{{See also|History of the Jews in Bahrain|1947 Manama pogrom}}
[[Bahrain]]'s tiny Jewish community, mostly the Jewish descendants of immigrants who entered the country in the early 20th century from Iraq, numbered 600 in 1948. In the wake of the November 29, 1947, [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|U.N. Partition vote]], demonstrations against the vote in the Arab world were called for December 2–5. The first two days of demonstrations in Bahrain saw rock throwing against Jews, but on December 5, mobs in the capital of [[Manama]] [[1947 Manama pogrom|looted]] Jewish homes and shops, destroyed the synagogue, beat any Jews they could find, and murdered one elderly woman.<ref>Stillman, 2003, p. 147.</ref>

Over the next few decades, most left for other countries, especially [[England]]; as of 2006 only 36 remained.<ref name=Luxner>Larry Luxner, [http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=17183&intcategoryid=1 Life's good for Jews of Bahrain — as long as they don't visit Israel], ''[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]'', October 18, 2006. Accessed 25 October 2006.</ref>

===Egypt===
{{See also|History of the Jews in Egypt|Expulsion of Egyptian Jews (1956)}}
[[File:BenEzraAnnex.jpg|right | thumb | [[Ben Ezra Synagogue]], Cairo]]

In 1948, approximately 75,000 Jews lived in [[Egypt]]. About 100 remain today, mostly in [[Cairo]]. The exodus of Egyptian Jews had begun following the [[1945 Cairo pogrom]], though was not significant until 1948. In June 1948, a bomb exploded in Cairo's Karaite quarter, killing 22 Jews. In July 1948, Jewish shops and the Cairo Synagogue were attacked, killing 19 Jews.<ref name=Schwartz/> Hundreds of Jews were arrested and had their property confiscated. Nearly 40% of the Jewish population of Egypt had left the country by 1950.<ref name=colin63/>

In 1951, the fraudulent ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion|Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'' was translated into Arabic and promoted as an authentic historical document, fueling anti-Semitic sentiments in Egypt.<ref>Lewis, 1986, p. 199.</ref> In 1954, the [[Lavon Affair]] served as a pretext for further persecution of Egyptian Jews.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}

In October 1956, when the [[Suez Crisis]] erupted, 1,000 Jews were arrested and 500 Jewish businesses were seized by the government. A statement branding the Jews as "Zionists and enemies of the state" was read out in the mosques of Cairo and Alexandria. Jewish bank accounts were confiscated and many Jews lost their jobs. Lawyers, engineers, doctors and teachers were not allowed to work in their professions. Thousands of Jews were ordered to leave the country. They were allowed to take only one suitcase and a small sum of cash, and forced to sign declarations "donating" their property to the Egyptian government. Foreign observers reported that members of Jewish families were taken hostage, apparently to insure that those forced to leave did not speak out against the Egyptian government. Some 25,000 Jews, almost half of the Jewish community left, mainly for Europe, the United States, South America and Israel, after being forced to sign declarations that they were leaving voluntarily, and agreed with the confiscation of their assets. Similar measures were enacted against British and French nationals in retaliation for the invasion. By 1957 the Jewish population of Egypt had fallen to 15,000.<ref name=JVL>
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/jewref.html</ref>

In 1960, the ''Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' were the subject of an article by Salah Dasuqi, military governor of Cairo, in ''al-Majallaaa'', the official cultural journal.<ref>Lewis, 1986, pp. 211, 271.</ref> In 1965, the Egyptian government released an English-language pamphlet titled ''Israel, the Enemy of Africa'' and distributed it throughout the English-speaking countries of [[Africa]]. The pamphlet used the ''Protocols'' and ''[[The International Jew]]'' as its sources and concluded that all the Jews were cheats, thieves, and murderers.<ref>Lewis, 1986, p. 210.</ref> In 1967, Jews were detained and tortured, and Jewish homes were confiscated.<ref name=Schwartz/> Following the Six Day War, the community practically ceased to exist, with the exception of several dozens of elderly Jews.

===Iraq===
{{main|Operation Ezra and Nehemiah}}
{{see also|History of the Jews in Iraq|Baghdadi Jews|Kurdish Jews}}

[[File:Immigrants 1951.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Iraqi Jews leaving [[Lod airport]] (Israel) on their way to [[Ma'abarot|ma'abara]] transit camp, 1951]]
In 1948, there were approximately 150,000 [[Jew]]s in [[Iraq]]. The community was concentrated in Baghdad and Basra. By 2003, there were only approximately 100 left of this previously thriving community. In 1941, following [[Rashid Ali]]'s pro-[[Axis Powers|Axis]] coup, riots known as the ''[[Farhud]]'' broke out in [[Baghdad]] in which approximately 180 Jews were killed and about 240 were wounded, 586 Jewish-owned businesses were looted and 99 Jewish houses were destroyed.<ref>Levin, Itamar (2001). ''Locked Doors: The Seizure of Jewish Property in Arab Countries''. (Praeger/Greenwood) ISBN 0-275-97134-1, p. 6.</ref>

Like most [[Arab League]] states, Iraq initially forbade the emigration of its Jews after the 1948 war on the grounds that allowing them to go to Israel would strengthen that state. However, by 1949 Jews were escaping Iraq at about a rate of 1,000 a month.<ref name="Simon, Reguer, and Laskier, p.365"/>

Hoping to stem the flow of assets from the country, in March 1950 Iraq passed a law of one year duration allowing Jews to emigrate on condition of relinquishing their Iraqi citizenship. They were motivated, according to Ian Black, by "economic considerations, chief of which was that almost all the property of departing Jews reverted to the state treasury" and also that "Jews were seen as a restive and potentially troublesome minority that the country was best rid of." Israel was at first reluctant to absorb all the Jews, but eventually yielded and mounted an operation called "[[Operation Ezra and Nehemiah|Ezra and Nehemiah]]" to bring as many of the Iraqi Jews as possible to Israel.

At first, the Zionist movement tried to regulate the amount of registrants, until several issues relating to their legal status were clarified. Later on it gave up on that position and allowed everyone to register. Two weeks after the law went into force, the Iraqi interior minister demanded a CID investigation as to why the Jews were not registering. A mere few hours after the movement allowed registrations, a bomb attack injured four Jews at a café on Abu-Nawas street in Baghdad.

On August 21, 1950, the Iraqi minister of interior threatened the company flying the Jews to have its license revoked if it does not fulfill the quota of 500 Jews per day. Later on, on September 18, 1950, Nuri As-said summoned a representative of the Jewish community and told him that he knows that Israel is behind the delay in the departure of the Jews, and threatened to "take them to the borders". On October 12, 1950, Nuri as-said summoned a senior official of the company and made similar threats again, equating the expulsion of Jews with the expulsion of Palestinians.

Two months before the expiry of the law, by which time about 85,000 Jews had registered, a [[1950–1951 Baghdad bombings|bombing campaign]] against Jews in Baghdad began. During the months after the first bomb, all but a few thousand of the remaining Jews registered for emigration. In total, about 120,000 Jews left Iraq. 

Between April 1950 and June 1951, five bombings of Jewish targets in [[Baghdad]] occurred. Iraqi authorities eventually arrested 3 Jews as Zionist activists responsible for the bombings, sentencing two — Shalom Salah Shalom and Yosef Ibrahim Basri—to death and a third—Yehuda Tajar—to 10 years in jail.<ref name="Hirst">{{Cite book|last=Hirst |first=David |authorlink=David Hirst (journalist) |title=The gun and the olive branch: the roots of violence in the Middle East |publisher=Nation Books |date=2003-08-25 |pages=400 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ALVtAAAAMAAJ |isbn=1-56025-483-1 |accessdate=2010-04-05}}</ref> In May and June 1951, arms caches of the Zionist underground in Iraq, which had been supplied from the [[Yishuv]] since the [[Farhud]] of 1941, were discovered.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}} Over the decades, there has been much heated debate over whether the bombs were in fact planted by the [[Mossad]] in order to encourage [[Iraqi Jews]] to emigrate to the newly created state of [[Israel]] or whether they were the work of genuine anti-Jewish extremists in Iraq. The issue has been the subject of lawsuits and inquiries in Israel.<ref name="Fischbach">{{Cite web |url=http://www.merip.org/mer/mer248/fischbach.html |title=Claiming Jewish Communal Property in Iraq |publisher=[[Middle East Report]] |date=Fall 2008 |accessdate=2010-04-05 |last=Fischbach|first=Michael R.|authorlink=Michael R. Fischbach}}</ref> 

The emigration law expired in March 1951, but was later extended after the Iraqi government froze and later appropriated the assets of departing Jews (including those who had already left). In 1951, the Iraqi Government passed legislation that made affiliation with Zionism a felony and ordered, "the expulsion of Jews who refused to sign a statement of anti-Zionism".<ref name=pappe176 />

In 1969, some 50 of the remaining Iraqi Jews were executed, 11 were publicly executed after show trials and several hundred thousand Iraqis marched past the bodies amid a carnival-like atmosphere.<ref>''Republic of fear: the politics of modern Iraq'' By Kanan Makiya, chapter 2 "A World of Fear", University of California 1998</ref>

===Lebanon===
{{see also|History of the Jews in Lebanon}}
[[File:Maghen Abraham Synagogue (side).JPG|thumb|300px|[[Maghen Abraham Synagogue]] in [[Beirut, Lebanon]]]]
The area now known as [[Lebanon]] was the home of one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, dating back to at least 300 BCE. In 1948, there were approximately 24,000 Jews in Lebanon.<ref>Hendler, Sefi (August 19, 2006). "Beirut's last Jews". Ynet. Retrieved on 2007-05-22.</ref> The largest communities of Jews in Lebanon were in [[Beirut]], and the villages near [[Mount Lebanon]], [[Deir al Qamar]], [[Barouk]], [[Bechamoun]], and [[Hasbaya]]. While the French mandate saw a general improvement in conditions for Jews, the [[Vichy regime]] placed restrictions on them. The Jewish community actively supported Lebanese independence after World War II and had mixed attitudes toward Zionism.{{Citation needed|date=May 2007}}

Unlike in other Arab countries, the Lebanese Jewish community did not face grave peril during the 1948 Arab-Israel War and was reasonably protected by governmental authorities. Lebanon was also the only Arab country that saw a post-1948 increase in its Jewish population, principally due to the influx of Jewish refugees coming from Syria and Iraq.<ref name="Parfitt" />

However, negative attitudes toward Jews increased after 1948, and, by 1967, most Lebanese Jews had emigrated—to Israel, the United States, Canada, and France. In 1971, Albert Elia, the 69-year-old Secretary-General of the Lebanese Jewish community was kidnapped in Beirut by Syrian agents and imprisoned under torture in Damascus along with Syrian Jews who had attempted to flee the country. A personal appeal by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Prince Sadruddin Agha Khan to the late President Hafez al-Assad failed to secure Elia's release.

The remaining Jewish community was particularly hard hit by the [[Lebanese civil war|civil war]] in Lebanon, and, by mid 1970s, the community collapsed. In the 1980s, [[Hezbollah]] kidnapped several Lebanese Jewish businessmen, and in the 2004 elections, only one Jew voted in the municipal elections. There are now only between 20 and 40 Jews living in Lebanon.<ref name="jewcy.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.jewcy.com/religion-and-beliefs/jews_lebanon_another_perspective|title=The Jews of Lebanon: Another Perspective<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref><ref name="ynetnews.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3292543,00.html |title=Beirut's last Jews - Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref>

===Libya===
{{see also|History of the Jews in Libya}}
In 1948, about 38,000 Jews lived in Libya.<ref name="Avneri"/><ref>Stillman, 2003, pp. 155–156.</ref> A [[1945 Tripoli pogrom|series of pogroms started in Tripoli]] in November 1945; over a period of several days more than 130 Jews (including 36 children) were killed, hundreds were injured, 4,000 were left homeless, and 2,400 were reduced to poverty. Five synagogues in Tripoli and four in provincial towns were destroyed, and over 1,000 Jewish residences and commercial buildings were plundered in Tripoli alone.<ref name="Stillman, 2003, p. 145"/> The pogroms continued in June 1948, when 15 Jews were killed and 280 Jewish homes destroyed.<ref>Harris, 2001, pp. 149–150.</ref>

Between the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and Libyan independence in December 1951 over 30,000 Libyan Jews emigrated to Israel. In 1967, during the [[Six-Day War]], the Jewish population of 4,000 was again subjected to pogroms in which 18 were killed, and many more injured. The Libyan government "urged the Jews to leave the country temporarily", permitting them each to take one suitcase and the equivalent of $50. In June and July over 4,000 traveled to Italy, where they were assisted by the Jewish Agency. 1,300 went on to Israel, 2,200 remained in Italy, and most of the rest went to the United States. A few scores remained in Libya.<ref>Harris, 2001, pp. 155–156.</ref><ref>Simon, 1999, pp. 3–4.</ref>

In 1970 the Libyan government issued new laws which confiscated all the assets of Libya's Jews, issuing in their stead 15 year bonds. However, when the bonds matured no compensation was paid. Libyan leader [[Muammar Gaddafi]] justified this on the grounds that "the alignment of the Jews with Israel, the Arab nations' enemy, has forfeited their right to compensation."<ref>Harris, 2001, p. 157.</ref>

Although the main synagogue in Tripoli was renovated in 1999, it has not reopened for services. The last Jew in Libya, Esmeralda Meghnagi, died in February 2002. Israel is home to about 40,000 Jews of Libyan descent, who maintain unique traditions.<ref>[http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/JewsofLibya/LibyanJews/thejews.html Sunsite.berkeley.edu]</ref><ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/libyajews.html Jewishvirtuallibrary.org]</ref>

===Morocco===
{{main|Operation Yakhin}}
{{see also|History of the Jews in Morocco}}
[[File:Jüdische Hochzeit in Marokko-1024.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Jewish Wedding in Morocco by [[Eugène Delacroix]], [[Louvre]], [[Paris]]]]

In Morocco the [[Vichy France|Vichy]] regime during [[World War II]] passed discriminatory laws against Jews; for example, Jews were no longer able to get any form of credit, Jews who had homes or businesses in European neighborhoods were expelled, and quotas were imposed limiting the percentage of Jews allowed to practice professions such as law and medicine to two percent.<ref>Stillman, 2003, pp. 127–128.</ref> [[Mohammed V of Morocco|King Muhammad V]] expressed his personal distaste for these laws, and assured Moroccan Jewish leaders that he would never lay a hand "upon either their persons or property". While there is no concrete evidence of him actually taking any actions to defend Morocco's Jews, it has been argued that he may have worked behind the scenes on their behalf,<ref>Stillman, 2003, pp. 128–129.</ref> though this has been refuted by local research.<ref>[http://www.telquel-online.com/274/couverture_274.shtml Des camps de concentration au Maroc]</ref>

In June 1948, soon after [[Israeli Declaration of Independence|Israel was established]] and in the midst of the first Arab-Israeli war, [[1948 Oujda and Jerada pogrom|violent anti-Jewish riots]] broke out in [[Oujda]] and [[Djerada]], leading to deaths of 44 Jews. In 1948–9, after the massacres, 18,000 Moroccan Jews left the country for Israel. Later, however, the Jewish exodus from [[Morocco]] slowed down to a few thousand a year. Through the early 1950s, [[Zionism|Zionist]] organizations encouraged emigration, particularly in the poorer south of the country, seeing Moroccan Jews as valuable contributors to the Jewish State:

{{quote|The more I visited in these (Berber) villages and became acquainted with their Jewish inhabitants, the more I was convinced that these Jews constitute the best and most suitable human element for settlement in Israel's absorption centers. There were many positive aspects which I found among them: first and foremost, they all know (their agricultural) tasks, and their transfer to agricultural work in Israel will not involve physical and mental difficulties. They are satisfied with few (material needs), which will enable them to confront their early economic problems. |Yehuda Grinker, ''The Emigration of Atlas Jews to Israel''<ref>Yehuda Grinker (an organizer of Jewish emigration from the Atlas), ''The Emigration of Atlas Jews to Israel'', Tel Aviv, The Association of Moroccan Immigrants in Israel, 1973. [http://rickgold.home.mindspring.com/Emigration/emigration12.htm Rickgold.home.mindspring.com]</ref>}}
[[File:Jews of Fez.jpg|thumb|250px|Jews of [[Fes, Morocco|Fez]], c. 1900]]
In 1956, Morocco attained independence. Jews occupied several political positions, including three parliamentary seats and the cabinet position of Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. However, that minister, Leon Benzaquen, did not survive the first cabinet reshuffling, and no Jew was appointed again to a cabinet position.<ref>Stillman, 2003, pp. 172–173.</ref> Although the relations with the Jewish community at the highest levels of government were cordial, these attitudes were not shared by the lower ranks of officialdom, which exhibited attitudes that ranged from traditional contempt to outright hostility".<ref name=Stillman173>Stillman, 2003, p. 173.</ref> Morocco's increasing identification with the [[Arab world]], and pressure on Jewish educational institutions to arabize and conform culturally added to the fears of [[Moroccan Jews]].<ref name=Stillman173/> As a result, emigration to Israel jumped from 8,171 persons in 1954 to 24,994 in 1955, increasing further in 1956.

Between 1956 and 1961, emigration to [[Israel]] was prohibited by law; clandestine emigration continued, and a further 18,000 Jews left Morocco. On January 10, 1961, a boat carrying Jews, attempting to flee the country sank off the northern coast of Morocco; the negative publicity associated with this prompted King [[Mohammed V of Morocco|Muhammad V]] to allow Jewish emigration, and over the three following years, more than 70,000 [[Moroccan Jews]] left the country.<ref>Stillman, 2003, p. 174.</ref> By 1967, only 50,000 Jews remained.<ref name=Stillman175>Stillman, 2003, p. 175.</ref>

The 1967 Six-Day War led to increased Arab-Jewish tensions worldwide, including Morocco, and significant Jewish emigration out of the country continued. By the early 1970s, the Jewish population of Morocco was reduced to 25,000; however, most of this wave of emigration went to [[France]], [[Belgium]], [[Spain]], and [[Canada]], rather than Israel.<ref name=Stillman175/>

Despite their dwindling numbers, Jews continue to play a notable role in Morocco; the King retains a Jewish senior adviser, [[André Azoulay]], and Jewish schools and synagogues receive government subsidies. Despite this, Jewish targets have sometimes been attacked (notably the [[2003 Casablanca bombings|2003 bombing attacks]] on a Jewish community center in [[Casablanca]]), and there is sporadic anti-Semitic rhetoric from radical Islamist groups. The late King [[Hassan II]]'s invitations for Jews to return to Morocco have not been taken up by the people who had emigrated.

According to Esther Benbassa, the migration of Jews from the [[Maghreb]] countries was prompted by uncertainty about the future.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/?id=UaiipUj3SJ8C&pg=PA186&dq=Tunisia+Jews+france+emigrate|title=Esther Benbassa, ''The Jews of France: A History from Antiquity to the Present'' | isbn=978-0-691-09014-6 | year=2001 | publisher=Princeton University Press}}</ref> In 1948, over 250,000<ref name="Stearns"/>-265,000<ref name="Avneri"/> Jews lived in Morocco. By 2001 an estimated 5,230 remained.<ref name=Shields/>

===Sudan===
{{see also|History of the Jews in Sudan}}
The Jewish community in Sudan was concentrated in the capital Khartoum, and had been established in the late 19th century. By the middle of the 20th century the community included some 350 Jews, mainly of Sephardic background, who had constructed a synagogue and a Jewish school. Between 1948 and 1956, some members of the community left the country, and it finally ceased to exist by the early 1960s.<ref name=cohen>M. Cohen, ''Know your people, Survey of the world Jewish population''. 1962.</ref><ref name=nakham>I. Nakham, ''The notebook of the Jewish community of Sudan''.</ref>

===Syria===
{{see also|History of the Jews in Syria}}
[[File:Aleppo-Jewish201914.jpg|thumb|left|Jewish wedding in [[Aleppo]], [[Syria]], 1914.]]
In 1947, rioters in Aleppo [[1947 Aleppo pogrom|burned the city's Jewish quarter]] and killed 75 people.<ref name="Pipes">Daniel Pipes, ''Greater Syria: The History of an Ambition'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990) p. 57, records 75 victims of the Aleppo massacre.</ref> As a result, nearly half of the Jewish population of [[Aleppo]] opted to leave the city.<ref name=colin63>Shindler, Colin. ''A history of modern Israel.'' Cambridge University Press 2008. pp. 63–64.</ref> In 1948, there were approximately 30,000 Jews in [[Syria]]. The Syrian government placed severe restrictions on the Jewish community, including on emigration. Over the next decades, many Jews managed to escape, and the work of supporters, particularly [[Judy Feld Carr]],<ref name="levin">Levin, 2001, pp. 200–201.</ref> in smuggling Jews out of Syria, and bringing their plight to the attention of the world, raised awareness of their situation.

Following the [[Madrid Conference of 1991]] the [[United States]] put pressure on the Syrian government to ease its restrictions on Jews, and on Passover in 1992, the government of Syria began granting exit visas to Jews on condition that they do not emigrate to [[Israel]]. At that time, the country had several thousand Jews; today, under a hundred remain. The rest of the Jewish community have emigrated, mostly to the [[United States]] and [[Israel]]. There is a large and vibrant Syrian Jewish community in South [[Brooklyn]], [[New York]]. In 2004, the Syrian government attempted to establish better relations with the emigrants, and a delegation of a dozen Jews of Syrian origin visited Syria in the spring of that year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/L/Joshua.M.Landis-1/syriablog/2005/10/jews-of-syria-by-robert-tuttle.htm|title=SyriaComment.com: "The Jews of Syria," By Robert Tuttle<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref>

===Tunisia===
{{see also|History of the Jews in Tunisia}}
[[File:Juifs tunisiens.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Jews of Tunis, c. 1900. From the [[Jewish Encyclopedia]].]]
In 1948, approximately 105,000 Jews lived in [[Tunisia]]. About 1,500 remain today, mostly in [[Djerba]], [[Tunis]], and [[Zarzis]]. Following Tunisia's independence from France in 1956, a number of anti-Jewish policies led to emigration, of which half went to Israel and the other half to France. After attacks in 1967, Jewish emigration both to Israel and [[France]] accelerated. There were also attacks in 1982, 1985{{Citation needed|date=May 2007}}, and most recently in 2002 when a bomb in Djerba took 21 lives (most of them German tourists) near the local synagogue, in a terrorist attack claimed by [[Al-Qaeda]]. (See [[Ghriba synagogue bombing]]).

===Yemen, Aden and Djibouti===
{{main|Operation Magic Carpet (Yemen)}}
{{see also|Yemenite Jews|History of the Jews in Aden}}
If one includes [[Aden]], there were about 63,000 Jews in [[Yemen]] in 1948. Today, there are about 200 left. In 1947, [[1947 Aden pogrom|rioters killed at least 80 Jews in Aden]], a British colony in southern Yemen. In 1948 the new [[Zaidiyyah|Zaydi]] Imam [[Ahmad bin Yahya]] unexpectedly allowed his Jewish subjects to leave Yemen, and tens of thousands poured into Aden. The Israeli government's [[Operation Magic Carpet (Yemen)|Operation Magic Carpet]] evacuated around 44,000 Jews from Yemen to Israel in 1949 and 1950.<ref name=Stillman156-157>Stillman, 2003, pp. 156–57.</ref> Emigration continued until 1962, when the [[North Yemen Civil War|civil war in Yemen]] broke out. A small community remained unknown until 1976, but it appears that all infrastructure is lost now.{{Citation needed|date=May 2007}}

=== Jewish population in Arab countries, 1948–2008 ===

[[File:Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue in Alexandria.jpg|right|thumb |[[Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue (Alexandria)|Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue]] in Alexandria, Egypt]]
In 1948, there were between 758,000 and 881,000 Jews (see table below) living in communities throughout the Arab world. Today, there are fewer than 8,600. In some Arab states, such as [[Libya]], which was about 3% Jewish, the Jewish community no longer exists; in other Arab countries, only a few hundred Jews remain.

{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="5" colspan="3" width="450"
|+ '''Jewish Populations of Arab Countries: 1948, 1972, 2000 and 2008'''
|-
! Country or territory
! 1948 Jewish<br />population
! 1972 Jewish<br />population
! 2001 Jewish<br />population<ref name=Shields>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/jewref.html|title=Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries|first=Jacqueline|last=Shields|accessdate=2006-05-22|publisher=Jewish Virtual Library}}</ref>
! 2008 Jewish<br />population
|-
| Aden
| align="right" | 8,000<ref name="Avneri">{{cite book |last=Avneri |first=Aryeh L. |title=The claim of dispossession: Jewish land-settlement and the Arabs, 1878-1948 |year=1984 |publisher=Yad Tabenkin Institute |isbn=0-87855-964-7 |page=276}}</ref>
| align="right" |
| align="right" | ~0
| align="right" | ~0
|-
| Algeria
| align="right" | 140,000<ref name="Avneri"/><ref name="Stearns">Stearns, 2001, p. 966.</ref>
| align="right" | 1,000<ref name=wjp/>
| align="right" | ~0
| align="right" | ~0
|-
| Bahrain
| align="right" | 550–600<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/bahrain.html|title=The Virtual Jewish History Tour - Bahrain}}</ref>
| align="right" |
| align="right" | 36
| align="right" | around 50<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7426806.stm |title=Bahrain Names Jewish Ambassador |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=2008-05-29 |accessdate=2008-05-29}}</ref>
|-
| Egypt
| align="right" | 75,000<ref name="Avneri"/>–80,000<ref name="Stearns"/>
| align="right" | 500<ref name=wjp/>
| align="right" | ~100
| align="right" | 100 in 2006<ref name="jewishvirtuallibrary.org">[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/jewpop.html Jewish Virtual Library]</ref>
|-
| Iraq
| align="right" | 135,000<ref name="Avneri"/>–140,000<ref name="Stearns"/>
| align="right" | 500<ref name=wjp/>
| align="right" | ~200
| align="right" | fewer than 100<ref>[http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1121568339673 Jerusalem Post]</ref>{{Dead link|date=November 2010}}<br/>7-12 in Baghdad<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/770027.html Baghdad's last rabbi to leave Iraq], ''[[Haaretz]]''</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/world/middleeast/01babylon.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all Baghdad Jews Have Become a Fearful Few], ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1647740,00.html | work=Time | first=David | last=Van Biema | title=The Last Jews of Baghdad | date=July 27, 2007}}</ref>
|-
| Lebanon
| align="right" | 5,000<ref name="Avneri"/>–20,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/lebjews.html|title=Jews of Lebanon}}</ref>
| align="right" | 2,000<ref name=wjp/>
| align="right" | < 150
| align="right" | 20–40 exclusively in Beirut<ref name="jewcy.com" /><ref name="ynetnews.com" />
|-
| Libya
| align="right" | 35,000<ref name="Stearns"/>–38,000<ref name="Avneri"/>
| align="right" | 50<ref name=wjp/>
| align="right" | 0
| align="right" | 0
|-
| Morocco
| align="right" | 250,000<ref name="Stearns"/>–265,000<ref name="Avneri"/>
| align="right" | 31,000<ref name=wjp/>
| align="right" | 5,230
| align="right" | 3,000 in 2006<ref name="jewishvirtuallibrary.org"/>
|-
| Palestine Mandate (Jordanian part)
| align="right" | 10,000 (dwindled to zero after 1948 Palestine War)
| align="right" | 0 (West Bank repopulated)
| align="right" | 0 (West Bank repopulated)
| align="right" | 0 (West Bank repopulated)
|-
| Sudan
| align="right" | 350<ref name=cohen/>
| align="right" |
| align="right" | ~0<ref name=nakham/>
| align="right" | ~0
|-
| Syria
| align="right" | 15,000<ref name="Stearns"/>–30,000<ref name="Avneri"/>
| align="right" | 4,000<ref name=wjp/>
| align="right" | ~100
| align="right" | 100 in 2006<ref name="jewishvirtuallibrary.org"/>
|-
| Tunisia
| align="right" | 50,000<ref name="Stearns"/>–105,000<ref name="Avneri"/>
| align="right" | 8,000<ref name=wjp/>
| align="right" | ~1,000
| align="right" | Estimated 1,100 in 2006.<ref name="jewishvirtuallibrary.org"/>
|-
| Yemen
| align="right" | 45,000<ref name="Stearns"/>–55,000<ref name="Avneri"/>
| align="right" | 500<ref name=wjp/>
| align="right" | 400–600
| align="right" | 330<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/jews-of-yemen-reportedly-to-be-relocated-in-wake-of-deadly-attack-1.259756 Haaretz.com]</ref>–350.<ref>[[Yemenite Jews]]{Note: on November 1, 2009, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reports in June 2009 an estimated 350 Jews were left—of whom by October 2009–60 had immigrated to the United States and 100 were considering to leave}</ref>
|-
| '''Total'''
| align="right" | '''758,350–881,350'''
| align="right" |
| align="right" | '''<7,300'''
| align="right" | '''<6,400'''
|}

== Exodus from non-Arab Muslim countries ==
{{Further2|[[History of the Jews under Muslim rule]]}}

=== Afghanistan ===
{{see also|History of the Jews in Afghanistan}}
By 1948, about 5,000 Jews existed in Afghanistan, and after they were allowed to emigrate in 1951, most of them moved to Israel and the United States.<ref name="RFL">NEW YORK, June 19, 2007 ([[Radio Free Europe|RFE/RL]]), [http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/6/c837c590-c06b-4c30-9017-36f29fc98437.html U.S.: Afghan Jews Keep Traditions Alive Far From Home]</ref> By 1969, some 300 remained, and most of these left after the Soviet invasion of 1979, leaving 10 Afghan Jews in 1996, most of them in Kabul. More than 10,000 Jews of Afghan descent presently live in Israel. Over 200 families of Afghan Jews live in [[New York City]] in USA.<ref name="RFL"/>

=== Iran ===
{{see also|History of the Jews in Iran|Persian Jews|Exodus of Iran's Jews}}
The violence and disruption in Arab life associated with the founding of [[Israel]] in 1948 drove an increased anti-Jewish sentiment in neighbouring Iran as well. This continued until 1953, in part because of the weakening of the central government and strengthening of clergy in the political struggles between the shah and prime minister [[Mohammad Mossadegh]]. From 1948–1953, about one-third of Iranian Jews, most of them poor, emigrated to Israel.<ref name="sanasarian1">Sanasarian (2000), p. 47</ref> [[David Littman (historian)|David Littman]] puts the total figure of emigrants to Israel in 1948–1978 at 70,000.<ref name="littman3">Littman (1979), p. 5.</ref>

After the deposition of Mossadegh in 1953, the reign of shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] was the most prosperous era for the Jews of Iran. Prior to the Islamic revolution in 1979, some 80,000 Jews lived in Iran, primarily in the capital Teheran. Since the revolution, the Persian Jewish community has experienced a collapse, plunging to about one fourth of its size within three decades, and continues to shrink to this day. Most of Iranian Jews found their way to the US, with lesser numbers arriving to Europe and Israel. About 15% of the Persian Jewish community in Israel were admitted between 1975 and 1991. They emigrated from Iran chiefly because of [[religious persecution]].<ref>[http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=424 Migration Information Source – Iran: A Vast Diaspora Abroad and Millions of Refugees at Home]. Migrationinformation.org. Retrieved on 2011-05-29.</ref>

=== Pakistan ===
{{see also|History of the Jews in Pakistan}}
At the time of Pakistani independence in 1947, some 1,300 Jews remained in Karachi, most of them [[Bene Israel]] Jews, observing [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardic]] Jewish rites. The exodus of Jewish refugees from Pakistan to Bombay and other cities in India came just prior to the creation of [[Israel]] in 1948, when many Muslims, including [[Muhajir people|Muhajir]]s, committed violent [[anti-Semitic]] acts against the Bene Israel Jews of Karachi and other Jewish communities in Pakistan. By 1953, less than 500 Jews were reported to reside in all of Pakistan. Anti-Jewish sentiment and violence often flared during ensuing conflicts in the Middle East, resulting in a further movement of Jewish refugees out of Pakistan.

=== Turkey ===
{{see also|History of the Jews in Turkey|2003 Istanbul bombings}}
The Jews of Turkey were little affected by the 1948 events in the Arab World, and thus no significant Jewish immigration emerged from Turkey due to persecution, but rather Zionist reasons.

Even though historically speaking [[Populism|populist]] [[Antisemitism]] was rarer in the [[Ottoman Empire]] and [[Anatolia]] than in Europe,<ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/02/turkeys_prime_minister_leads_h.html</ref> since the [[Declaration of Independence (Israel)|establishment]] of the state of [[Israel]] in 1948, there has been a rise in Antisemitism. On the night of 6/7 September 1955, the [[Istanbul Pogrom]] was unleashed. Although primarily aimed at the city's [[Greeks in Turkey|Greek population]], the [[Jew]]ish and [[Armenians|Armenian]] communities of [[Istanbul]] were also targeted to a degree. The caused damage was mainly material - a total of over than 4,000 shops and 1,000 houses, belonging to Greeks, Armenians and Jews – were destroyed, it deeply shocked minorities throughout the country, and 10,000 Jews subsequently fled Turkey.<ref>Dilek Güven, Nationalismus, Sozialer Wandel und Minderheiten: Die Ausschreitungen gegen die Nichtmuslime der Tuerkei (6/7 September 1955), Universitaet Bochum, 2006</ref>

Since 1986, increased attacks on Jewish targets throughout Turkey impacted the security of the community, and urged many to immigrate. The [[Neve Shalom Synagogue]] in [[Istanbul]] has been attacked by [[Islamic fundamentalism|Islamic militants]] three times.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dozens-killed-as-suicide-bombers-target-istanbul-synagogues-735840.html | work=The Independent | location=London | title=Dozens killed as suicide bombers target Istanbul synagogues | first1=James C. | last1=Helicke | date=15 November 2003 | accessdate=4 May 2010}}</ref> First on 6 September 1986, Arab terrorists gunned down 22 Jewish worshippers and wounded 6 during ''[[Shabbat]]'' services at Neve Shalom. This attacked was blamed on the [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] militant [[Abu Nidal]].<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/16/world/20-in-istanbul-die-in-bombings-at-synagogues.html | work=The New York Times | title=20 in Istanbul Die in Bombings At Synagogues | first1=Sebnem | last1=Arsu | first2=Dexter | last2=Filkins | date=16 November 2003 | accessdate=4 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mystery-surrounds-suicide-of-abu-nidal-once-a-ruthless-killer-and-face-of-terror-640464.html | work=The Independent | location=London | title=Mystery surrounds 'suicide' of Abu Nidal, once a ruthless killer and face of terror | first=Phil | last=Reeves | date=20 August 2002 | accessdate=4 May 2010}}</ref><ref name="foxnews.com">{{cite news| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,103157,00.html | work=Fox News | title=Bombings at Istanbul Synagogues Kill 23 | date=16 November 2003}}</ref> In 1992, the [[Lebanon]]-based [[Shia Islam|Shi'ite Muslim]] group of [[Hezbollah]] carried out a bomb against the Synagogue, but nobody was injured.<ref name="nytimes.com"/><ref name="foxnews.com"/> The Synagogue was hit again during the [[2003 Istanbul bombings]] alongside the [[Bet Israel Synagogue (Istanbul, Turkey)|Beth Israel Synagogue]], killing 20 and injuring over 300 people, both [[Judaism|Jews]] and [[Islam|Muslims]] alike.

Despite the increasing anti-Israeli{{citation needed|date=January 2012}} and anti-Jewish{{citation needed|date=January 2012}} attitudes in modern Turkey, Jewish community there is still believed to be the largest among Muslim countries, numbering about 23,000.

=== Jewish population in non-Arab Muslim countries, 1948–2008 ===

{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="5" colspan="3" width="450"
|+ '''Jewish populations of non-Arab Muslim countries and territories: 1948, 1972, 2000 and 2008'''
|-
! Country or territory
! 1948 Jewish<br />population
! 1972 Jewish<br />population
! 2001 Jewish<br />population
! 2008 Jewish<br />population
|-
| Afghanistan
| align="right" | 5,000
| align="right" | 500<ref name=wjp/>
| align="right" |
| 1<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4206909.stm|title='Only one Jew' now in Afghanistan | date=January 25, 2005 | accessdate=January 5, 2010|work=BBC News|location=London}}</ref>
|-
| Bangladesh
| align="right" | Unknown
|
|
| 175, up to 3,500<ref name="americanchronicle.com">[http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/119744 Americanchronicle.com]</ref>
|-
| Iran
| align="right" | 70,000–120,000,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/10877/edition_id/208/format/html/displaystory.html|title= Iranian Jews in U.S. recall their own difficult exodus as they cling to heritage, building new communities<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref> 100,000, 140,000–150,000
| align="right" | 80,000<ref name=wjp/>
|
| align="right" | 10,800 in 2006<ref name="jewishvirtuallibrary.org"/>
|-
| Pakistan
| align="right" | 2,000, 2,500<ref>[http://www.imageusa.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=435 Imageusa.com]</ref>
| align="right" | 250<ref name=wjp/>
|
| aling="right" | A tiny community in Karachi, about 200.<ref name="americanchronicle.com"/>
|-
| Turkey
| align="right" | 80,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/1950_7_WJP.pdf|title=World Jewish Population |format=PDF}}</ref>
| 30,000<ref name=wjp>Leon Shapiro, ''World Jewish Population, 1972 Estimates.'' American Jewish Year Book vol. 73 (1973), pp. 522–529.</ref>
|
| align="right" | 17,800 in 2006<ref name="jewishvirtuallibrary.org"/>
|-
| '''Total'''
| align="right" | '''202,000–282,500'''
| align="right" |'''110,750'''
| align="right" |
| align="right" | '''32,100'''
|}

==Jewish refugee absorption==
{{Aliyah}}
{{main|Immigrant camps (Israel)|Maabarot|Development Town}}
[[File:Maabara1950.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Ma'abarot]] transit camp, 1950]]
Within a few years by the [[Six Day War]] (1967) there were only remnants of Jewish communities left in most Arab countries. Jews in Arab countries were reduced from more than 800,000 in 1948 to perhaps 16,000 in 1991.<ref name=Stillmanxxi>Stillman, 2003, p. xxi.</ref> Most Jews in Arab countries eventually immigrated to the modern State of Israel,<ref name=Stillmanxxi/> and by 2003 they and their offspring, (including those of mixed lineage) comprised 3,136,436 people, or about 61% of Israel's Jewish population.<ref name=Bermani>{{cite news |last=Bermani |first= Daphna|url=http://wings.buffalo.edu/academic/department/law/jlsa/jews_arab_lands.htm|title= Sephardi Jewry at odds over reparations from Arab world |date= November 14, 2003}}</ref>{{Dead link|date=February 2011}} As of 2011 the Jewish refugees from Arab countries and their descendants (including those of mixed lineage) number between 3,500,000 and 4,000,000. France was also a major destination and about 50% (300,000 people) of French Jews now originate from North Africa.

[[File:Beit Lid Maabara 1950.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Bet Lid camp. Israel, 1950]]
Of the nearly 900,000 Jewish refugees, approximately 680,000 were absorbed by Israel; the remainder went to Europe (mainly to France) and the Americas.<ref>[http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1185379004431 Congress mulls Jewish refugee cause] by Michal Lando. ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]''. July 25, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign+Relations/Israels+Foreign+Relations+since+1947/1947-1974/VI-+THE+ARAB+REFUGEES-+INTRODUCTION.htm Historical documents. 1947-1974 VI - The Arab refugees - introduction], MFA.gov.il</ref> Hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees to Israel were temporarily settled in the numerous [[Immigrant camps (Israel)|tent camps]]. Those were later transformed into [[ma'abarot]] (transit camps), where tin dwellings were provided to house up to 220,000 residents. The ma'abarot existed until 1963.

The population of transition camps was gradually absorbed and integrated into Israeli society, a substantial logistical achievement, without help from the [[United Nations]]' various refugee organizations. Many of the refugees had a hard time adjusting to the new dominant culture, change of lifestyle and there were claims of discrimination.

==Views==
===Claims of deliberate expulsion policy===
According ot Yaacov Meron, the exodus of the Jews was a matter expected and even planned policy of the Arab League members. He cites the warning statement of Heykal Pasha, an Egyptian delegate, before the Political Committee of the U.N. General Assembly on November 14, 1947, just five days before that body voted on the partition plan for Palestine. Pasha made the following key statement in connection with that plan:
:''The United Nations... should not lose sight of the fact that the proposed solution might endanger a million Jews living in the Moslem countries. Partition of Palestine might create in those countries an anti-Semitism even more difficult to root out than the anti-Semitism which the Allies were trying to eradicate in Germany... If the United Nations decides to partition Palestine, it might be responsible for the massacre of a large number of Jews.''<ref name=UNGA1947>U.N. General Assembly, Second Session, Official Records, Ad Hoc Committee on the Palestinian Question, Summary Records of Meetings, Lake Success, N.Y., Sept. 25-Nov. 15, 1947, p. 185. The original language of this statement is French, so we have altered the U.N's English translation to bring it into harmony with the equally official French text.</ref>
Heykal Pasha then issued a threat to the Jewish communities, perticularly in Egypt:
:''A million Jews live in peace in Egypt [and other Muslim countries] and enjoy all rights of citizenship. They have no desire to emigrate to Palestine. However, if a Jewish State were established, nobody could prevent disorders. Riots would break out in Palestine, would spread through all the Arab states and might lead to a war between two races.''<ref name=UNGA1947/>

Another indication that Arab rulers coordinated the expulsion of Jews from their terrorites comes from a Beirut meeting one and a half years later of senior diplomats from all the Arab States.<ref name=meron1995/> By March 1949, the Arab states had already lost the first Arab-Israeli war and used this defeat to justify an expulsion that had been officially proclaimed before the war even began. As reported in a Syrian newspaper, "If Israel should oppose the return of the Arab refugees to their homes, the Arab governments will expel the Jews living in their countries."<ref name=meron1995/>

===Jewish refugee advocacy ===
Advocacy groups acting on behalf of Jewish refugees from Arab countries include:
* ''[[Justice for Jews from Arab Countries]]'' seeks to secure rights and redress for Jews from Arab countries who suffered as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.<ref>[http://www.justiceforjews.com/ Justice for Jews from Arab countries] (JJAC)</ref>
* ''[[JIMENA]]'' (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa) publicizes the history and plight of the 900,000 Jews indigenous to the [[Middle East]] and [[North Africa]] who were forced to leave their homes and abandon their property, who were stripped of their citizenship.<ref>[http://www.jimena.org/ Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa] (JIMENA)</ref>
* ''[[Historical Society of the Jews from Egypt]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hsje.org|title=Historical Society of the Jews from Egypt}}</ref> and ''[[International Association of Jews from Egypt]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iajegypt.org|title=International Association of Jews from Egypt}}</ref>
* ''[[Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/english/index.html|title=Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center}}</ref>
* ''[[World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries]] (WOJAC)''.<ref>[http://www.jcpa.org/jl/jl102.htm]</ref>

In March 2008, "[f]or the first time ever,&nbsp;... a Jewish refugee from an Arab country" appeared before the [[United Nations Human Rights Council]]. Regina Bublil-Waldman, a Jewish Libyan refugee and founder of JIMENA, "appeared before the UN Human Rights Council wearing her grandmother's Libyan wedding dress".<ref>[http://www.justiceforjews.com/geneva2008.html "JJAC at 2008 United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva"] ''Justice for Jews from Arab Countries''. 19 March 2008. 30 March 2008.</ref> Justice for Jews from Arab Countries presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council about oppression Jews faced in Arab countries that forced them to find amnesty elsewhere.

At a July 2008 joint session of the United Kingdom's House of Commons and House of Lords convened by Labour MP John Mann and Lord Anderson of Swansea, in co-operation with Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC) and the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Canadian MP [[Irwin Cotler]] said ''Arab countries and the League of Arab States must acknowledge their role in launching an aggressive war against Israel in 1948 and the perpetration of human rights violations against their respective Jewish nationals.'' Cotler cited evidence from a report titled Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries: The Case for Rights And Redress which documented for the first time a pattern of state-sanctioned repression and persecution in Arab countries—including Nuremberg-like laws—that targeted Jewish populations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cotler briefs UK parliament on Jewish refugees |publisher=[[Canadian Jewish News]] |date=2008-07-03 |url=http://www.cjnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14960&Itemid=86 |accessdate=2008-07-03}}</ref>

Among other notable advocates are the Egyptian born writer [[Bat Ye'or]], who considers herself an Egyptian refugee and considers that experience as one that shaped her perspective.

===Jewish "Nakba"===
In response to the Palestinian [[Nakba]] narrative, the term "''Jewish Nakba''" is sometimes used to refer to the persecution and expulsion of Jews from Arab countries in the years and decades following the creation of the State of Israel. Israeli columnist [[Ben Dror Yemini]], himself a [[Mizrahi]] Jew, wrote:<ref>{{cite news |first=Ben |last=Dror Yemini |title=The Jewish Nakba: Expulsions, Massacres and Forced Conversions |url=http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/891/209.html |work=Maariv |date=May 16, 2009 |accessdate=June 23, 2009 |language=Hebrew }}</ref>
<blockquote>
<p>However, there is another Nakba: the Jewish Nakba. During those same years [the 1940s], there was a long line of slaughters, of pogroms, of property confiscation and of deportations against Jews in Islamic countries. This chapter of history has been left in the shadows. The Jewish Nakba was worse than the Palestinian Nakba. The only difference is that the Jews did not turn that Nakba into their founding ethos. To the contrary.</p></blockquote>

Professor Ada Aharoni, chairman of The World Congress of the Jews from Egypt, argues in an article entitled "What about the Jewish Nakba?" that exposing the truth about the expulsion of the Jews from Arab states could facilitate a genuine peace process, since it would enable Palestinians to realize they were not the only ones who suffered, and thus their sense of "victimization and rejectionism" will decline.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ada|last=Aharoni |title=What about Jewish Nakba? |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3743829,00.html |work=YnetNews |date=July 10, 2009 |accessdate=July 10, 2009 }}</ref>

Additionally, Canadian MP and international human rights lawyer [[Irwin Cotler]] has referred to the "double Nakba". He criticizes the Arab states' rejectionism of the Jewish state, their subsequent invasion to destroy the newly formed nation, and the punishment meted out against their local Jewish populations:<ref>{{cite news |first=Irwin |last=Cotler |title=The double Nakba |work=[[Jerusalem Post]] |date=June 30, 2008 |accessdate=May 22, 2011 |quote= |url=http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=106021 }}</ref>
<blockquote>
<p>The result was, therefore, a double Nakba: not only of Palestinian-Arab suffering and the creation of a Palestinian refugee problem, but also, with the assault on Israel and on Jews in Arab countries, the creation of a second, much less known, group of refugees—Jewish refugees from Arab countries.</p></blockquote>

Israeli historian [[Yehoshua Porath]] has rejected the comparison, arguing that while there is a superficial similarity, the ideological and historical significance of the two population movements are entirely different. Porath points out that the immigration of Jews from Arab countries to Israel, expelled or not, was the "fulfilment of a national dream". He also argues that the achievement of this Zionist goal was only made possible through the endeavors of the Jewish Agency's agents, teachers, and instructors working in various Arab countries since the 1930s. Porath contrasts this with the Palestinian Arabs' flight of 1948 as completely different. He describes the outcome of the Palestinian's flight as an "unwanted national calamity" that was accompanied by "unending personal tragedies". The result was "the collapse of the Palestinian community, the fragmentation of a people, and the loss of a country that had in the past been mostly Arabic-speaking and Islamic. "<ref>{{cite news |first=Yehoshua|last=Porath |title=Mrs. Peters’s Palestine |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1986/jan/16/mrs-peterss-palestine/?pagination=false |work= ''The New York Review of Books |date=January 16, 1986 |accessdate=February 19, 2012 }}</ref>

=== Objecting views ===
The assertion that Jewish emigrants from Arab countries should be considered refugees has received mixed reactions from various quarters.

Iraqi-born [[Ran Cohen]], a former member of the [[Knesset]], said: "I have this to say: I am not a refugee. I came at the behest of [[Zionism]], due to the pull that this land exerts, and due to the idea of redemption. Nobody is going to define me as a refugee". Yemeni-born [[Yisrael Yeshayahu]], former Knesset speaker, Labor Party, stated: "We are not refugees. [Some of us] came to this country before the state was born. We had messianic aspirations". And Iraqi-born [[Shlomo Hillel]], also a former speaker of the Knesset, Labor Party, claimed: "I do not regard the departure of Jews from Arab lands as that of refugees. They came here because they wanted to, as Zionists."<ref name=Shenhav>[http://www.haaretz.com/hitching-a-ride-on-the-magic-carpet-1.97357 "Hitching a ride on the magic carpet"] ''Haaretz''. 15 August 2003.</ref>

Historian [[Tom Segev]] stated: "Deciding to emigrate to Israel was often a very personal decision. It was based on the particular circumstances of the individual's life. They were not all poor, or 'dwellers in dark caves and smoking pits'. Nor were they always subject to persecution, repression or discrimination in their native lands. They emigrated for a variety of reasons, depending on the country, the time, the community, and the person."<ref>[http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15627 "Arab Jews and Myths of Expulsion and Exchange"] The Palestine Chronicles.</ref>{{Better source|date=November 2010}}

Iraqi-born Israeli historian [[Avi Shlaim]], speaking of the wave of Iraqi Jewish migration to Israel, concludes that, even though Iraqi Jews were "victims of the Israeli-Arab conflict", Iraqi Jews aren't refugees, saying that "nobody expelled us from Iraq, nobody told us that we were unwanted".<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050814015754/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/611505.html No peaceful solution] ''Haaretz'' August 11, 2005.</ref> He restated that case in a review of [[Martin Gilbert]]'s book, ''In Ishmael’s House''<ref>[http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/8ae6559c-b169-11df-b899-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1u5I93QVU "In Ishmael's house"] ''[[Financial Times]]''. August 30, 2010</ref>.

[[Yehuda Shenhav]] has criticized the analogy between Jewish emigration from Arab countries and the [[Nakba|Palestinian exodus]]. He also says "The unfounded, immoral analogy between Palestinian refugees and Mizrahi immigrants needlessly embroils members of these two groups in a dispute, degrades the dignity of many Mizrahi Jews, and harms prospects for genuine Jewish-Arab reconciliation." He has stated that "the campaign's proponents hope their efforts will prevent conferral of what is called a "right of return" on Palestinians, and reduce the size of the compensation Israel is liable to be asked to pay in exchange for Palestinian property appropriated by the state guardian of "lost" assets".<ref>name="HaaretzMagicCarpet">{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hitching-a-ride-on-the-magic-carpet-1.97357 |title=Hitching a Ride on the Magic Carpet |date=2003-08-15 |accessdate=2011-05-11 |newspaper=[[Haaretz]] |first=Shenhav |last=Yehuda |authorlink=Yehuda Shenhav}}</ref>

== Compensation ==
The official position of the Israeli government is that Jews from Arab countries are considered refugees, and it considers their rights to property left in countries of origin as valid and existent.<ref name=MOJ>{{cite web|url=http://www.justice.gov.il/MOJEng/Rights+of+Jews+from+Arab+Lands/|title=Rights of Jews from Arab Lands}}</ref>

In 2008, the Orthodox Sephardi party, [[Shas]], announced its intention to seek compensation for Jewish refugees from Arab states.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/shas-to-seek-payout-for-jews-deported-from-arab-countries-1.258142|title=Shas to seek payout for Jews deported from Arab countries}}</ref>
In 2009, Israeli lawmakers introduced a bill into the [[Knesset]] to make compensation for Jewish refugees an integral part of any future peace negotiations by requiring compensation on behalf of current Jewish Israeli citizens, who were expelled from Arab countries after Israel was established in 1948 and leaving behind a significant amount of valuable property. In February 2010, the bill passed its first reading. The bill was sponsored by MK [[Nissim Ze'ev]] (Shas) and follows a resolution passed in the [[United States House of Representatives]] in 2008, calling for refugee recognition to be extended to Jews and Christians similar to that extended to Palestinians in the course of Middle East peace talks.<ref>Kliger, Rachelle [http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=169043 Israel vies to bring Mideast Jewish refugees into talks] (18/02/2010) in ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]''</ref>

The type and extent of linkage between the Jewish exodus from Arab countries and the [[Palestinian Exodus]] has also been the source of controversy. Advocacy groups have suggested that there are strong ties between the two processes and some of them even claim that decoupling the two issues is unjust.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/25/middleeast.middleeastthemedia|title=Lyn Julius: Recognising the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries | work=The Guardian |location=London | date=June 25, 2008 | accessdate=May 6, 2010}}</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/23/israelandthepalestinians.middleeast "A different kind of catastrophe"] ''The Guardian'', 23 June 2008.</ref><ref name=Mendes>Mendes, Philip. [http://mefacts.org/cached.asp?x_id=10985 The forgotten refugees: the causes of the post-1948 Jewish Exodus from Arab Countries], Presented at the 14 Jewish Studies Conference Melbourne March 2002. Retrieved June 12, 2007.</ref>

[[Holocaust restitution]] expert Sidney Zabludoff has published a calculation that the losses sustained by the Jews who fled Arab countries since 1947 amounts to $6 billion, in contrast to the losses of the Palestinian Arab refugees which he estimates at $3.9 billion (both sums in 2007 dollars).<ref>"[http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&TMID=111&LNGID=1&FID=388&PID=0&IID=2196 The Palestinian Refugee Issue: Rhetoric vs. Reality]", Sidney Zabludoff, ''Jewish Political Studies Review'' 20:1–2 (Spring 2008)</ref>

== Films about the exodus ==
* ''I Miss The Sun'' (1984), USA, produced and directed by Mary Hilawani. Filmmaker Mary Halawani profiles her grandmother, Rosette Hakim, in this illuminating documentary short. A prominent Egyptian-Jewish family, the Halawanis fled their homeland in 1959 when anti-Zionist sentiments were on the rise and hundreds of Jews were interned in detention camps for alleged pro-Communist activities. Rosette, the family matriarch, chose to remain in Egypt until every member of the large family was free to leave.

* ''The Dhimmis: To Be a Jew in Arab Lands'' (1987), director Baruch Gitlis and David Goldstein a producer. This comprehensive documentary details the centuries of persecution endured by Jews living in Arab lands. Using rare film footage, photographs, maps and interviews, we are presented with a country by country recounting of Jewish life that flourished in the midst of ongoing conflict.

* ''[[The Forgotten Refugees]]'' (2004) is a documentary film by [[The David Project Center for Jewish Leadership|The David Project]], describing the events of collapse of Jewish communities across the Middle East and North Africa, following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

* ''The Silent Exodus'' (2004) by [[Pierre Rehov]]. In 1948 nearly one million Jews lived in Arab countries. But In barely twenty years, they have become forgotten fugitives, expelled from their native lands, forgotten by history and where the victims themselves have hidden their fate under a cloak of silence. ''Silent Exodus'' was selected at the International Human Rights Film Festival of Paris (2004) and presented at the UN Geneva Human Rights Annual Convention (2004).

* ''The Last Jews of Libya'' (2007). At the end of [[World War]] II, [[Libyan Jews|36,000 Jews lived in Libya]]. Today, there are none. Filmmaker Vivienne Roumani-Denn tells how European colonialism, Italian fascism and the rise of Arab nationalism contributed to the disappearance of Libya's once vibrant Sephardic Jewish community.

* ''The Farhud'' (2008) is a documentary by Itzhak Halutzi, describing the bloody events of the [[Farhud]] in Iraq of 1941. The Farhud has become one of the major acts of [[Islam and antisemitism#Antisemitism in the Islamic Middle East|Anti-Jewish violent explosions in the Middle East]], which led to massive departure of [[Iraqi Jews|Jews from Iraq]] in the following years.

==See also==
*[[Arab anti-Semitism]]
*[[Arab Jews]]
*[[Jewish population]]
**[[Historical Jewish population comparisons]]
*[[Jewish refugees]]
*[[Jews by country]]
*[[Jews of the Bilad el-Sudan (West Africa)]]
*[[Jews outside Europe under Nazi occupation]]
*[[1948 Palestinian exodus]]
*[[Kurdish refugees]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{third-party|date=July 2012}}
{{Refbegin|colwidth=50em}}
*[[André Chouraqui]] (2002), "Between East and West: A History of the Jews of North Africa". ISBN 1-59045-118-X
*Beinin, Joel (1998), [http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft2290045n/ ''The Dispersion Of Egyptian Jewry Culture, Politics, And The Formation Of A Modern Diaspora''], University of California Press, c1998. Amer Univ in Cairo Pr, 2005, ISBN 977-424-890-2
*Cohen, Hayyim J. (1973). ''The Jews of the Middle East, 1860–1972'' Jerusalem, Israel Universities Press. ISBN 0-470-16424-7
*Cohen, Mark (1995) ''Under Crescent and Cross'', Princeton, Princeton University Press.
*De Felice, Renzo (1985). ''Jews in an Arab Land: Libya, 1835–1970''. Austin, University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-74016-6
*Gat, Moshe (1997), ''The Jewish Exodus from Iraq, 1948–1951'' Frank Cass.
*Gilbert, Sir Martin (1976). The Jews of Arab lands: Their history in maps. London. World Organisation of Jews from Arab Countries : Board of Deputies of British Jews. ISBN 0-9501329-5-0
*Gruen, George E. (1983) Tunisia's Troubled Jewish Community (New York: American Jewish Committee, 1983)
*Harris, David A. (2001). ''In the Trenches: Selected Speeches and Writings of an American Jewish Activist, 1979–1999''. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 0-88125-693-5
* Lagnado, Lucette (2007) ''The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: A Jewish Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World ''. Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0-06-082212-5
*Levin, Itamar (2001). ''Locked Doors: The Seizure of Jewish Property in Arab Countries''. Praeger/Greenwood. ISBN 0-275-97134-1
*Lewis, Bernard (1984). ''The Jews of Islam''. Princeton. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00807-8
*Lewis, Bernard (1986). ''Semites and Anti-Semites: An Inquiry into Conflict and Prejudice, W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-02314-1
*Morris, Benny. Black, Ian. (1992). ''Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services''. Grove Press. ISBN 978-0-8021-3286-4
*Nini, Yehuda (1992), ''The Jews of the Yemen 1800–1914''. Harwood Academic Publishers. ISBN 3-7186-5041-X
*<span id="refParfitt" class="citation">Parfitt, Tudor. ''Israel and Ishmael: Studies in Muslim-Jewish Relations '', [[St. Martin's Press]], 2009. ISBN 978-0-312-22228-4</span>
*Parfitt, Tudor (1996) The Road to Redemption: The Jews of the Yemen 1900-1950. Brill's Series in Jewish Studies vol. XVII. Leiden: Brill.
*Rejwan, Nissim (1985) ''The Jews of Iraq: 3000 Years of History and Culture'' London. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-78713-6
*Roumani, Maurice (1977). ''The Case of the Jews from Arab Countries: A Neglected Issue'', Tel Aviv, World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries, 1977 and 1983
*Schulewitz, Malka Hillel. (2001). ''The Forgotten Millions: The Modern Jewish Exodus from Arab Lands.'' London. ISBN 0-8264-4764-3
*Schulze, Kristen (2001) The Jews of Lebanon: Between Coexistence and Conflict. Sussex. ISBN 1-902210-64-6
*Simon, Rachel (1992). ''Change Within Tradition Among Jewish Women in Libya'', University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-97167-3
*Stearns, Peter N. {{worldhistory}}
*Stillman, Norman (1975). ''Jews of Arab Lands a History and Source Book''. Jewish Publication Society
*Stillman, Norman (2003). ''Jews of Arab Lands in Modern Times''. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia. ISBN 0-8276-0370-3
*Zargari, Joseph (2005). ''The Forgotten Story of the ''Mizrachi'' Jews''. Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal (Volume 23, 2004 – 2005).
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.sixdaywar.co.uk/jews_in_arab_countries_intro.htm The impact of the Six Day War on Jews in Arab lands]
*[http://www.jimena.org/index.htm JIMENA]: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa
*[http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/middleeast/The_Middle_Easts_Forgotten_Refugees.asp The Middle East's Forgotten Refugees] by Semha Alwaya
*[http://www.meforum.org/article/263 Why Jews fled Arab countries] by Ya'akov Meron
*[http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/isljew.htm In the Islamic Mideast, Scant Place for Jews]
*[http://uk.reuters.com/article/2008/05/05/uk-israel-palestinians-1948-jews-idUKL0272854620080505 Israel's advent altered outlook for Middle East Jews] Reuters
*[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4068854,00.html How Arabs stole Jewish property] by Tani Goldstein
* Adi Schwartz, [http://azure.org.il/article.php?id=581 'A Tragedy Shrouded in Silence: The Destruction of the Arab World's Jewry'] in ''[[Azure (journal)|Azure]]'' 45 (Summer 2011)
{{Mizrahi Jews topics}}
{{Jews and Judaism}}
{{Antisemitism topics|state=collapsed}}
{{Jewish villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jewish Exodus From Arab Countries}}
[[Category:Aliyah]]
[[Category:Arab–Israeli conflict]]
[[Category:Ethnic riots]]
[[Category:Forced migration]]
[[Category:History of Israel]]
[[Category:Israeli-–Palestinian conflict]]
[[Category:Islam and antisemitism]]
[[Category:Jewish history]]
[[Category:Judeo-Islamic topics]]
[[Category:Jewish political status]]
[[Category:Jewish refugees]]

[[ar:هجرة اليهود من الأراضي العربية]]
[[cs:Židovský exodus z arabských zemí]]
[[es:Éxodo judío de países árabes]]
[[fr:Réfugiés juifs des pays arabes]]
[[it:Esodo ebraico dai paesi arabi]]
[[he:העלייה ההמוניתrefugees| ]]
[[Category:Immigration to Israel]]
[[Category:Israeli Declaration of Independence]]
[[Category:1948 Arab–Israeli War]]
[[Category:History of the Jews in the Middle East]]

[[ar:هجرة اليهود من الأراضي العربية]]
[[bg:Еврейският изход от мюсюлманските и арабските страни]]
[[cs:Židovský exodus z arabských zemí]]
[[es:Éxodo judío de países árabes]]
[[fr:Départ des Juifs des pays arabes]]
[[hr:Iseljavanje i progon Židova u arapskom svijetu]]
[[it:Esodo ebraico dai paesi arabi]]
[[he:פליטים יהודים ממדינות ערב]]
[[nl:Joodse vluchtelingen uit de Arabische wereld]]
[[pt:Êxodo Judaico dos Países Árabes]]
[[ru:Исход евреев из мусульманских стран]]
[[sv:Judisk exodus från arabiska och andra muslimska länder]]
[[tr:Yahudilerin Arap topraklarından toplu göçü]]