The Forgotten Refugees

Victor Balassiano keeps the record books for the last functional synagogue in Alexandria, Egypt. At the age of 62, he is the youngest Jew in a city that once had a Jewish population of 40,000. Today, there are only eight left. Balassiano doesn't tell people he is Jewish, trying to keep a low profile in a region where political tensions run high. Last year, his daughters moved to Boston to attend Northeastern University; he doubts they will ever return to Alexandria.

In 1948, nearly 900,000 Jews lived in the Middle East and North Africa.

The rise of Zionism and the birth of the state of Israel fanned the flames of Arab nationalism and sparked a backlash against Jews throughout the Middle East. Today, following decades of persecution and expulsion, with conditions disturbingly similar to pre-war Europe, 99 percent of these ancient Jewish communities no longer exist. In 1956, the Egyptian government used the Sinai Campaign as a pretext for expelling almost 25,000 Egyptian Jews and confiscating their property. Approximately 1,000 more Jews were sent to prisons and detention camps.

On Nov. 23, 1956, a proclamation signed by the Minister of Religious Affairs declared that "all Jews are Zionists and enemies of the state," and promised that they would be soon expelled. 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. The plight of the Jews in Egypt has been all too familiar for Jews throughout the region. In Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen, Jewish communities established as early as 586 B.C.E. have all but vanished.

The conflict between Israel and the Arab states produced not one, but two refugee populations: Arabs from Palestine and Jews indigenous to countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Although considerable attention has been given to claims of Arabs displaced during Israel's 1948 War of Independence, the world has heard very little about the displacement and suffering of Jews from Arab lands.

To gain a better understanding of the current situation in the Middle East requires a serious look at history. Although the Palestinian and Israeli narratives are considerably different, the fact remains that similar numbers of Jews and Arabs were displaced due to the war declared on Israel in 1948. Any final status agreement must seek justice for and compensate Jewish as well as Palestinian refugees. It is high time that this issue be included in any discussion of the Middle East.

Emily Bernstein is a senior majoring in clinical psychology.

Andy Leitner is also a senior, majoring in biology.