JJAC to introduce new Congress resolution

Within the next month, Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC), headed by its director Stan Urman, will be introducing a resolution on Middle Eastern refugees to Congress, JT News reports.

"This bi-partisan resolution states that “multiple refugee populations have been caused by the Arab-Israeli conflict,” and “any explicit reference to the required resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue [should be] matched by similar explicit reference to the resolution of the issue of Jewish, Christian and other refugees from Arab countries.” If adopted, any reference to Palestinian refugees would require mention of Jewish refugees as well. "

(...)Urman’s point is that when people talk about refugees from the Jewish-Arab conflict, they inevitably talk about Palestinians. He claims the Palestinians have mounted an incredibly powerful international publicity campaign aimed at creating a world perception of themselves as victims. His mission, he says, is to educate the world that there are refugees on both sides of the religious divide.

Urman says he is not looking for funds. However, he does want to change the language in legal, political and social circles, so that any time the Middle Eastern refugee question is discussed, people will know to talk about both Jewish and Arab refugees. And he wants Jewish refugees from Arab countries, and their descendants, to register as refugees so the world Jewish community has records of any injustices. He also hopes that when it comes time to speak about redressing these injustices, Jews have documentation to receive whatever benefits might become available.

According to Urman, the Palestinian documentation of their refugee status he has seen is tremendous and incredibly detailed, showing not only what each specific village lost in the way of land, but what each family lost in the way of tools, animals and income — all with photographs and first-hand accounts.

The documentation for Jewish refugees is significantly less established, however. So Urman’s plea is that local Jewish organizations use his curriculum and programmatic materials to educate their constituents about Jewish expulsions, and to get them to fill out registration cards about what they lost."

To find out more contact Stan Urman at surman@justiceforjews.com. To register for refugee status contact the American Sephardi Federation (www.americansephardifederation.org/sub/sources/jewish_refugees.asp)
and Israel's Ministry of Justice (www.justice.gov.il/MOJEng/).

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