Forgotten Refugees

I found this Wikipedia entry about the Jewish exodus from Arab lands to be quite interesting. Obviously, it's wikipedia, so take it with whatever grain of salt you give to that august research tool. I kind of vaguely knew that many Jews fled Arab countries as the 20th century progressed, but I had no idea it was this bad. The cause of the exile was rather standard fare (for Jews)--violence, oppression, anti-Semitic riots, anti-Jewish legislation. But it's the magnititude that is truly astounding. The entry claims that the Jewish population in Arab states declined 99 percent from 1945 to the present day, from a base population of between 758,000 and 866,000 Jews to fewer than 7,000. To compare, the article claims that the Arab population in Israel has actually rebounded to exceed its pre-1948 level.

Of course, few people talk about the Jewish refugees. One reason is that most have resettled in Israel, rather than being held in an indefinite limbo by the UNRWA because nobody was willing to take them (this, in itself, is a rarity for Jews, as prior to Israel most states, including America, were quite skittish about admitting Jewish immigrants). Another reason, to be blunt, is that the victims are Jews, and exile and oppression are just par for the course. I truly believe that the international community has incorporated a base of violence and oppression against Jews that is considered to be the norm, and will only condemn gross deviations from that norm. They are not at all interested in lowering that baseline or (perish the thought) eliminating anti-Semitic ideologies and actions in the global sphere. The idea of a Jewish refugee isn't shocking to anyone who has internalized the "mark of Cain" narrative about the Jewish people. What is shocking (and unsettling) is that these people found a homeland which has greeted them with open arms and full acceptance. That is an unforgivable sin.