Knesset approves bill calling for recognition of Jewish refugees from Arab lands

Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has passed a bill aimed at securing compensation for Jewish refugees from Arab countries and Iran as part of future peace negotiations in the Middle East. According to the bill, a Jewish refugee is an Israeli citizen who left one of the Arab states, or Iran, following religious persecution. The bill stipulates that the government must include the compensation issue in all future peace negotiations. The bill was initiated by MK Nissim Ze'ev of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party.

Up to a million Jews were forced to leave Arab countries and Iran in the decades following the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948, due to wide-spread discrimination and persecution. Stanley Urman, the head of the advocacy group Justice for Jews from Arab Countries, welcomed the Knesset decision, saying: “The world must realize that Palestinians were not the only Middle‐East refugees; that there were Jewish refugees who also have rights under international law. This recognition is good for the State of Israel and it is good for the people of Israel."