The State announced Sunday that it had approved the initiative of Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel (Likud) to begin a national project to document the story of the Jews from Arab countries and Iran. The project will receive a budget of 10 million shekels ($2.6 million) for the years 2017-2018.
The project is part of a larger effort to deepen the knowledge and awareness of the story and legacy of Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews among Israelis and to bring their story into the public consciousness.
The project will consist of a collection of personal testimonies, both written and filmed, of Jews from Arab countries and Iran speaking about their personal lives and the communities they lived in. The expulsion of those Jewish communities from many Muslim countries in the middle of the twentieth century will also be covered. The project will also encourage the writing of biographies of Jews who immigrated to Israel from Muslim countries.
MK Gila Gamliel welcomed the decision to fund the project. "This is a historic moment. [It marks] the beginning of the writing of the chapter of the Mizrachi Jews in the story of the Jewish people. From now on, the Jewish story will be complete and Israeli citizens, young and old, will be able to listen to, learn about, and appreciate the glorious history of the Jewish people, and the eastern side the same as on the western side."