In commemoration of the Day to Mark the Departure and Expulsion of Jews from the Arab Countries and Iran, also known as Jewish Refugee Day, Democratic Majority for Israel President and CEO Mark Mellman issued the following statement:
“In the second half of the 20th century nearly one million Jews were forced to leave Arab countries where thriving Jewish communities had existed for millennia. Israel, and Israel alone, provided safe harbor for these Jewish refugees from throughout the Middle East whose plight has been largely ignored.
“Today these Jews and their descendants make up a majority of Israel’s population and have been crucial in building, defending, and running the country.
“2014, Israel has commemorated the forced migration and deportation of nearly 1 million Jews from Arab countries and Iran with a Memorial Day on November 30th.
“On this Jewish Refugee Day, we remember the suffering and sacrifice of these Jewish refugees from the Middle East and vow to fight any and all efforts to delegitimize the world’s only Jewish state, which gave them refuge.”
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