THE FORGOTTEN JEWISH REFUGEES

The Forgotten Exodus - Irwin Cotler
This week marks the 60th anniversary of the UN Partition Resolution of Nov. 29, 1947, the first-ever blueprint for an Israeli-Palestinian two-state solution. While Jewish leaders accepted the resolution, Arab leaders did not and declared war on the nascent Jewish state. Had the Partition Resolution been accepted, there would have been no Arab-Israeli war, no refugees and none of the pain of these last 60 years.

The pain and plight of 850,000 Jews uprooted and displaced from Arab countries - the forgotten exodus - has been expunged from the historical narrative these past 60 years. It was also a forced exodus, for the Arab countries not only went to war to extinguish the fledgling Jewish state, but also targeted the Jewish nationals living in their respective countries. Since 1947, there have been 126 UN resolutions that have specifically dealt with the Palestinian refugee plight. Not one makes any reference to the plight of the 850,000 Jews displaced from Arab countries. Nor have any of the Arab countries involved expressed any acknowledgment, let alone regret. (National Post-Canada)