Not everybody is satsifed with the findings of the Biton Report. Some are complaining that i contained too little about the tragedy of Jews from Arab lands. Ex-ambassador and director-general of the Foreign ministry Zvi Gabay, who has dedicated his life to advocacy on behalf of Jewish refugees from Arab lands, feels that he Biton Report should ensure that the 20th century dissolution of Jewish communities is taught in schools and properly memorialised. Translation below of his Maariv article in Hebrew:
The Biton Commission report, Concrete empowering Sephardic heritage and Middle school system has elicited much public curiosity, but also many questions. Questions were asked about the source of this heritage and its significance, and they chuckled about the concept of “the heritage of Spain and the East.” But beyond the spontaneous comments disparaging the report and of course the heritage, should recognize that a legacy was bequeathed to the population of Israel.
And this heritage, based on the history, customs, liturgical poems and songs composed by the sages communities in exile, has been neglected so far in Israel, and especially in the education system.
The diasporas that followed the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians, the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans and the expulsion from Spain, has meant that for thousands of years, thousands of Jews lived in the Middle East and North Africa. In a short time the exiled Jews managed to establish a thriving community, play a leading role and amass rich cultural inalienable assets for their communities and the entire Jewish Diaspora around the world (such as the Babylonian Talmud, which was for centuries the basis of Jewish life; the works of Yehuda Halevi and Ibn Gabirol, who accompanied the spiritual life and sublime wisdom of the great Maimonides).
The Mufti of Jerusalem at his meeting with Hitler in 1941
When the Nazis destroyed Jewish communities in Europe, they conducted in parallel propaganda fuelled by radical Arab nationalism and spread throughout the Arab countries, with a view to the destruction of the Jewish communities in the Arab countries which had just gained independence. In short, the Jews of West and East were to share the same fate.
In the 30s and 40s of the 20th century, the authorities ordered restrictions and prohibitions on the Jewish communities in Arab countries , and made daily life unbearable. At the same time an accelerated campaign of harassment that included threats , robbery, burning of property and premeditated riots ended in the deaths of hundreds of Jews. The Farhud riots in Iraq in June 1941 killed 179 Jews, riots in Tripoli in November 1945 killed 133 Jews; about 100 Jews were killed in Aden, Yemen, in November 1947 and in Egypt, where there were about 80,000 Jews, they sustained serious injuries. So did the Jews of Syria and Morocco.
As Zionism recorded successes, especially after the UN adopted the partition of the country into two states, Jewish and Arab, November 1947, harassment against Jews in Arab countries increased. Against this background, and especially after the declaration of the State of Israel, most Jews were expelled or forced to leave their homes in Arab countries and leave behind their personal and communal assets. Some left in an organized manner, others fled and some were caught while smuggling themselves across borders and were executed. This is the Jewish Nakba of Jews from Arab countries, which is not yet known and familiar to many.
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In summer 2014, after years of neglect and contempt, the Knesset passed a law to mark the day of departure and expulsion of Jews from Arab countries and Iran. It was set for November 30, a day after the UN resolution to partition the country. Marking this day, and telling the refugees’ stories must be a key part of implementing the committee’s report in the education system. This is in order to raise public awareness in Israel and abroad of the historical heritage of Jews from Arab countries, as well as their tragedies and especially the Jewish Nakba, which was the final instalment of the Jewish presence in Arab countries.
Sons and grandchildren of these Jews need to know the historical facts that are part of our legacy, so that they stand firm in their historic homeland and can deal with the false propaganda spread against us. However, should they take care that the study of Jewish history is combined with the study of the entire history of Israel, especially the Jews of Europe, and not separate from it.
This imperative requires the merger of Jewish heritage. Diaspora history should be studied by all the children of Israel, and discussed by the public and commercial media. This history should commemorate the he Diaspora of all Jewish people. The Nakba of Jews from Arab countries has to mention the Yad Vashem site, commemorating the victims of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. Sites should be established in memory of pogroms against the Jews of the Middle East and Africa, who were sentenced to death only because of their religion.
Implementation of the findings of the Commission should include the study of the implications of the Jewish Nakba, as indicated in the law marking the day of departure and expulsion of Jews from Arab countries and Iran. This is to achieve international recognition of the suffering of the Jews who lived in Arab countries, and today they and their descendants make up about half the population of Israel. At the same time there is work to do to advance the issue of compensation for private property and communal left Arab countries after their departure.
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