A response to "Egypt’s Forgotten Jewish Legacy"

I know Blanche Sachs fairly well; she's a wonderful human being and a very strong individual. I admire her strength of character, which I discovered when I translated two of her books from English to French. As they were largely biographical, I got to learn about Blanche through her words. The following commentary does not imply any personal animus toward Blanche.

The article published in this blog a few days ago, entitled " Egypt’s Forgotten Jewish Legacy" is not accidental. We are seeing in the press, more and more, various editorials regarding the 'loss' of Jews from Arab lands, Jewish refugees from Arab lands that were forgotten, and some venturing to ask for restitution for these refugees. In the more right wing articles dealing with the same subject, the obvious comes to the surface: Palestinian refugees should not be discussed without the mention of those 800,000 Jews that were displaced in the mid-twentieth century.

Primo: I am wondering if André Aciman, who is quoted several times in said article, has ever heard of an organization called WOJAC. I will go on the assumption that he hasn't, because had the alternative been the case, he would most likely have remained silent on this subject. For those who don't know about WOJAC, I will make it very simple, short and sweet. The acronym stands for World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries...so, JIMENA and JJAC, there is absolutely nothing new that you are doing which has not been attempted before.

However, the only difference between WOJAC and the other two organizations concerned with 'justice for Jews from Arab countries' is that they are fully backed by Israel. WOJAC struggled for about thirty years (and was based in Israel), and finally had to shut its doors due to sheer indifference by the Israeli government. Why the sudden interest now? We are speaking of the very same Jews, and yet back in the days, Israel didn't seem to be sensitive to the needs or injustices suffered by Arab Jews. Qué pasó, as we say in Spanish?

Lo qué pasó is quite simple actually. Some years ago, it began to dawn on Israel that they may, one day, have to sit down at the table with Palestinians and face the music. Well, what would that entail? The expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinians from their land, and countless others that were killed; the right of return of these Palestinians which Israel refuses to grant to date; restitution of some sort for destroyed homes, farms, and the illegal appropriation of land beyond the 1967 borders.

This was the head scratching moment...and one of the answers to this claim, would come in the form of a counterclaim for Jews from Arab lands.

"The Jews have been bankrupted but they forgot. "

No, the Jews never forgot, and those that made it to the New World (Europe, the Americas and Australia) fought tooth and nail to re-establish themselves and educate their children and most succeeded with flying colors. Thus, it is almost impossible for me to accept this determination. The Jews that went to Israel knew what they had left behind, but they were so marginalized by the new Israeli state, that frankly, nobody cared. And so they formed WOJAC. The epilogue to that story is above. Nobody forgot. If AIPAC had been a Sephardic Jewish lobby, you can bet your last shekel something would have been done.

"In fact, the Zionist Organization of America has published a book entitled “The Forgotten Millions,” referring to the Jews who lived in Arab lands who were dispossessed of their assets and their livelihoods, and had their belongings confiscated – looted, as the Nazis did to their European co-religionists."

The hardcover version of this book was out in 1999; the soft cover in 2001. Where were the books about these forgotten millions in 1960? 1970? 1980? Hard as it is to believe, was the Zionist Organization of America so busy for all these years that it could not publish the book any earlier?

"The American Sephardi Federation is in charge of Archives and is working on collecting oral and written memories and interviews."

Sad as it is to say, the American Sephardi Federation has very few Sephardim working there. Its leaders are Ashkenazi Jews. It is built almost like a fortress, and one must go through security to enter the building and 'share the wealth'. Somehow, I would envision such a federation to be more welcoming, and more inclusive.