Israel to lodge £196bn legal claim over Jewish expulsions from Arab lands
Jewish state makes extraordinary legal move with seven Arab countries and Iran after massive shift of population in the Middle East
The Israeli government is set to lodge a staggering £196 billion ($250 billion) in compensation claims with seven Arab countries plus Iran, from where Jews were forced to leave their homes after 1948.
In an extraordinary legal move 18 months in the making, Israeli ministers are about to lodge the first two compensation claims – for £27.5 billion ($35 billion) and £11.7 billion ($15 billion) – for lost Jewish assets in Tunisia and Libya respectively.
Analysts estimate that around 850,000 Jews were forced to leave their homes around the Middle East after the establishment of the State of Israel, often with no compensation, and in 2014 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began calling for recompense.
The countries Israeli ministers are targeting include Iraq, Syria, Morocco, Yemen and Egypt, but are not understood to include Lebanon or Algeria.
Palestinian leaders have previously submitted claims for about £78.4 billion ($100 billion) for Palestinian land seized and retained by the IDF with no compensation, but Israel has never previously sought recompense for the property Jewish refugees left behind.
“The time has come to correct the historic injustice of the pogroms in seven Arab countries and Iran, and to restore to hundreds of thousands of Jews who lost their property what is rightfully theirs,” said Israeli Minister for Social Equality Gila Gamliel.
Iraqi-born Edwin Shuker, vice-president of the Board of Deputies, said: “There cannot be a just resolution to the conflict without addressing the issue of Jewish as well as Palestinian refugees.”
He added: “The Israeli government is obliged by law to raise this issue in any negotiations. Equally important is to ensure that any settlement should be used to compensate the victims and to preserve a unique and magnificent culture.”
Commentators say the timing of the Israeli move may be in-step with the Trump administration, which plans to unveil its Middle East peace plan imminently.
Both Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu hope that Arab countries will back the US proposal, believed to be a take-it-or-leave-it deal, and the new Israeli compensation claims could therefore be ‘dropped’ as a bargaining chip.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
