JIMENA

JIMENA (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa) is a San Francisco-based human rights organization. It seeks to educate and advocate for Jewish refugees from the Middle East.

Prior to 1948, approximately 850,000 Jews lived in Muslim countries of the Middle East, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/world/middleeast/05nations.html?ex=1352005200&en=93fd256f53c21587&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Group Spotlights Jews Who Left Arab Lands - New York Times ] ] . 99 percent of these ancient Jewish communities no longer exist due to Arab and Islamic government actions that directly led to their displacementFact|date=March 2008. JIMENA works to recognize the rights of Jews and other minorities in the hopes of producing a more balanced and accurate historical narrative, and ultimately, a more just resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Historical background

The Jewish exodus from Arab lands in the 20th century was a result of the expulsion and mass departure primarily of Sephardi and Mizrahi background, from Arab and Islamic countries. The migration started in the late 19th century, but accelerated after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. According to official Arab statistics, 856,000 Jews left their homes in Arab countries from 1948 until the early 1970s. Some 600,000 resettled in Israel, "All I wanted was justice" http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/941518.html] leaving behind property valued today at more than $300 billion. [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/04/america/nations.php Group seeks justice for 'forgotten' Jews - International Herald Tribune ] ] [Lefkovits, Etgar. [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195127517604&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull "Expelled Jews hold deeds on Arab lands.] "Jerusalem Post". 16 November 2007. 18 December 2007.] Jewish-owned real-estate left behind in Arab lands has been estimated at 100,000 square kilometers (four times the size of the State of Israel). Thus, of the nearly 900,000 Jewish refugees from Arab lands, approximately 600,000 were absorbed by Israel; the remainder went to Europe and the Americas. [ [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1185379004431 Congress mulls Jewish refugee cause] by Michal Lando. "The Jerusalem Post". July 25, 2007] [ [http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign+Relations/Israels+Foreign+Relations+since+1947/1947-1974/VI-+THE+ARAB+REFUGEES-+INTRODUCTION.htm Historical documents. 1947-1974 VI - THE ARAB REFUGEES - INTRODUCTION] MFA Israel]

Goals of JIMENA

JIMENA advocates for:

*Jews from Aden
*Jews from Algeria
*Jews from Egypt
*Jews from Iran
*Jews from Iraq
*Jews from Kurdistan
*Jews from Lebanon
*Jews from Libya
*Jews from Morocco
*Jews from Syria
*Jews from Tunisia
*Jews from Yemen

Political activities

JIMENA played a key role in the unanimous passage of House Resolution 185 by the U.S. Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, February 27, 2008. [ [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=hr110-185 H. Res. 185: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the creation of refugee... (GovTrack.us) ] ] [ [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1185379004431 Congress mulls Jewish refugee cause | Jerusalem Post ] ] This resolution urges the President to ensure that when refugees from the Middle East are discussed in international forums, any reference to Palestinian refugees be matched by a similarly explicit reference to Jewish and other refugee populations. [http://www.jimena.org/HRES185.htm]

In December 2007 JIMENA briefed Iraqi born Ruth Pearl, mother of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, before her meeting with the President at the Hanukka White House party. She informed President Bush, for the first time ever, of the plight of the 850,000 Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. During the President's recent visit to Israel, he was reported to have mentioned the importance of including the Jewish refugees in future negotiations about refugees of the Middle East [ [http://www.jewishpress.com/displayContent_new.cfm?contentid=26883&mode=a&sectionid=1&contentname=Chanukah_At_The_White_House&recnum=1 Chanukah At The White House ] ] .

In March 2008, JIMENA testified at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland on behalf of Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa [http://www.unwatch.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=bdKKISNqEmG&b=1313923&ct=5118137] [ [http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/107611.html Breaking News - JTA, Jewish & Israel News ] ] [ [http://www.cjnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14325&Itemid=86 The Canadian Jewish News - Rights Council hears from Jewish refugee ] ] .

Joe Wahed was the founder of JIMENA.

See also

*Arab-Israeli conflict
*Arab anti-Semitism
*History of the Jews under Muslim rule
*Islam and anti-Semitism
*Jewish population
*Jewish refugees
*Jews outside Europe under Nazi occupation
*Arab Jews
*Mizrahi Jews

External links

* [http://www.jimena.org/ Official website]
* [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-wahed041703.asp Exodus Today]
* [http://www.nysun.com/article/38350?access=839775 ‘Jews Are Our Dogs']
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/03/06/INGM2BJH7U1.DTL The vanishing Jews of the Arab world]

References