The Social Equality Ministry, headed by Minister Gila Gamliel (Likud), will hold a ceremony Wednesday evening to commemorate the expulsion and exodus of Jews from Arab countries and Iran, around the time of Israel's independence. The event, which will take place at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, will be attended by ministers, members of Knesset and other public figures from Israel and abroad. Foundations and organizations for Jews from Middle Eastern countries will also be represented. During the ceremony, stories will be recounted of the tribulations faced by the Jewish communities in Arab countries and Iran -- the pogroms, persecution, expulsion and their road to Israel. These stories, which have never been told, will be told in first person by the men and women who experienced the ordeals themselves. "For 68 years, the chapter of Mizrahi Jews has been omitted from the annals of the Jewish people," said Gamliel. "The time has come to amend this, and we will. This is the essence of the day to mark the exit and deportation of Jews from Arab lands and Iran. This is not just in the interest of Mizrahim; it is a national, Jewish and Zionist interest. It is the right of the Jewish nation to know its heritage, and historically this is also its obligation."
