The Jews were initially could not build houses higher than a Muslim. They could not build new houses of worship and required permission to refurbish old houses. Even when they received the permission the synagogue could not be higher than the nearest mosque. This category of inferiority had political and economic consequences. The result of these actions was the reduction of the opportunities of Jews to attain wealth and power within those communities.
The 1945 riots in Lebanon were merely a window into the types of persecution Jews experienced across the Middle East and North Africa. While the focus was on the Holocaust (1933-1945) which involved European Jews the plight of Middle Eastern and African Jews was largely ignored. The state sponsored violence and destruction of Jews took place across much of the Middle East. Middle Eastern and North African countries were systematically depopulated of Jews. In Egypt in 1944 there...
In Algeria there were 140,000 by 2004 only 80. In Yemen 55,000 by 2004 there were 100. In Morocco where the largest populations were in 1945 there were 265,000 Jews by 2004 only 5000.
The most challenging consideration is that when 1947 the United Nations produced 101 resolutions dealing with refugees. There was no mention of these Jewish people, they were largely forgotten and seemingly not worthy of mention. For many Jews this is almost an unforgivable incident and it continues to fuel the animosity between the Jews and the Arab world.
Considering the way forward for both Jews and Arabs requires that both groups recognize that there are similarities between the challenges they faced. Additionally, there are common histories which should serve to unite rather than polarize the communities. The forgotten Jews however deserve attention if only because they serve…
