A little over a year has passed since the signing of the Abraham Accords, and Jewish communities across the Arab Gulf are proudly raising their heads high. Although the dynamics of how the accords will be expanded in the region are not entirely clear at the moment, their resonance on the international level has created an atmosphere Israel must take advantage of. The Day to Commemorate the Departure and Expulsion of Jews from Arab Countries and Iran, which Israel will mark this week, is a reminder that there is a good opportunity to do just that.
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Israel has another opportunity to create a consistent effort to extol the thousands of years of history in which around 900,000 Jews lived in Arab states and Iran before vanishing without a trace. In one moment, they became refugees. They continue to be forced to fight for recognition of their former status as Middle Eastern refugees to this day. The glorious lives of these Jewish communities faded and were actively repressed from the national consciousness that raised its head in a process that intensified around the time of Israel's establishment – the Arab response to the partition plan being the most tangible expression of them all – and carried on for three decades. In practice, generations of unique cultural and spiritual leadership were displaced in the face of either their experiences of expulsion or in the shadow of restrictive laws or increasing harassment due to their Jewish identity.
Some of these communities lived in the Middle East for over 2,000 years, yet the public discourse makes no reference to the Jewish refugees who were forced to leave these countries. And so it is that the stories of those who largely shaped the face of Israel at the time of its establishment were unknown for many years. Two years ago, Israel Hayom revealed the extent of property believed to have been left behind by Jews from the Arab states and Iran. A conservative estimate that does not include Greece, is that some $150 billion worth of property, at least, was left behind, a testament to a painful chapter in a forgotten history that has not received proper attention.
If we were to just pull our heads out of the sand, we could begin to correct this injustice in both the Israeli education system and by offering a broader view of the diplomatic-strategic context.
Promoting the international recognition of this period in the history of our people is a moral obligation and is of great significance in the diplomatic arena. The rights of Jews from Arab states and Iran must be raised in any future negotiations. Basic logic tells us that in order for a diplomatic process to be solid and long-term, we must ensure that all refugees in the Middle East receive the same treatment in accordance with international law.
Yet while the refugee issue in the Middle East is largely focused on claims of Palestinian refugeedom, that same period – 1948-1967 – saw some 900,000 Jews leave the Arab states and Iran, some two-thirds of whom arrived in Israel. Why is it that we hear of the claims of the former but not of those of the Jewish refugees? Can history be interpreted without recognition of the uprooted Jewish communities?
Recognition of these Jews' forgotten place in the historical narrative of the fledgling country's establishment, alongside a struggle for their rights, and international recognition of a human story the entire world must recognize will allow us to testify that this day does not only concern the genuine recognition of our past but also of the kind of future we seek to create.
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