The cabinet was slated to discuss on Sunday the matter of Jewish residents of Arab countries and Iran who were forced out or left around the time of the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. A similar discussion is scheduled to take place at the United Nations on Tuesday, at which Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel (Likud) is slated to speak. The discussions are being held in accordance with a law passed a year and a half ago stating that every November 30 would be devoted to discussions and memorial ceremonies pertaining to the exodus of Jews from Arab countries and Iran. The main ceremony this year is scheduled to take place at Malha Arena in Jerusalem on Monday. The law states that Foreign Ministry delegations abroad hold events to increase international awareness about the rights of Arab Jews to compensation. The issue is being promoted as part of a policy promoted by Israel's government's since 2009 to emphasize that the same number of "Jewish refugees" from Arab nations were taken in by Israel as the Palestinians claim were displaced in the same period around the War of Independence. Starting in 2009, the Social Equality Ministry has been in charge of recording and documenting all the rights, property, and legacies of the communities of Jews from Arab states and from Iran. Gamliel, who is leading the campaign, said on Saturday that "for years, over a million Jews lived in Arab states and Iran in flourishing communities, who lived a rich community life. Before the state was founded and afterward, the lives of Jews were made difficult. They were threatened, robbed, had their property burned, not to mention mass slaughters like the ones in Farhoud, the Tripoli riots, and the Aden riots. "Many were forced to leave their homes without their money or property. Some fled to Israel, and others to other countries. Our goal now is to tell their story and create awareness of these matters."
