It has been estimated that as many as 1,000,000 Jews lived in Muslim countries prior to the establishment of the State of Israel with some of the Jewish communities having existed for as long as 2,600 years. Today only a few thousand Jews remain.
For centuries there were tensions between Jews and their Muslim overlords. Though the rise of the State of Israel was a watershed event, even before, there were riots and pogroms leading to murder, rape, torture, and plundering of property. After Israel was established, oppression, persecution, and forced expulsions became all too common. In the resulting mass exodus, some 500,000 Jews found refuge in Israel. Neither for those who went to Israel nor for those who sought refuge elsewhere has there been redress for the wrongs committed against them and their families.
If unfamiliar with this story, you are encouraged to view the documentary, Forgotten Refugees and to listen to the podcasts of “The Forgotten Exodus.”
Forgotten Refugees – 2005 documentary film from The David Project. The film recounts the history of Jewish communities in the Middle East and North Africa and their destruction in the face of persecution following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
The Forgotten Exodus – 2022 and 2024 podcast series from the American Jewish Committee about the Mizrahi and Sephardi Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa.
Jewish Refugees from Muslim Lands, 1947–1972. Martin Gilbert, In Ishmael’s House
Population estimates are based primarily on the table in the Wikipedia article on the “Jewish exodus from the Muslim world” [data as of April 2023]
| Country or Territory | 1948 Jewish Poplulation | 1972 Jewish Population | Recent Estimates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 250,000–265,000 | 31,000 | 2,500–2,700 (2006) | 2,100 (2019) |
| Algeria | 140,000 | 1,000 | ≈0 | <50 (2014) |
| Tunisia | 50,000–105,000 | 8,000 | 900–1,000 (2008) | 1,000 (2019) |
| Libya | 35,000–38,000 | 50 | 0 | 0 (2014) |
| North Africa - Total | 475,000–548,000 | ≈40,000 | 3,400–3,700 | 3,550 |
| Iraq | 135,000–140,000 | 500 | 5 (2013) | 5-7 (2014) |
| Egypt | 75,000–80,000 | 500 | 100 (2006) | 100 (2019) |
| Yemen and Aden | 53,000–63,000 | 500 | 320 (2008) | 90 (2014)-50 (2016) |
| Syria | 15,000–30,000 | 4,000 | 100 (2006) | 17 (2014)-100 (2019) |
| Lebanon | 5,000[76]–20,000 | 2,000 | 20–40 (2006) | 100 (2012) |
| Bahrain | 550–600 | 50 (2008) | 36 (2007) | |
| Sudan | 350 | ≈0 | ≈0 | |
| North Africa & Arab Countries - Total | 758,350–881,350 | <45,800 | <3,795-4,345 | <3,802-3,762 |
| Afghanistan | 5000 | 500 | 2 (2001) | 0 (2021) |
| Bangladesh | Unknown | 175–3,500 (2009) | 75-100 (2012) | |
| Iran | 65,232 (1956) | 62,258 (1976) - 80,000 | 9,252 (2006) | 8,300 (2019) |
| Pakistan | 2,000–2,500 | 250 | 200 (2009) | >900 (2017) |
| Turkey | 80,000 | 30,000 | 17,800 (2006) | 14,800 (2019) |
| Non-Arab Muslim Countries - Total | 202,000–282,500 | 110,750 | 32,100 | ≈24,000 |
Another population estimate, this one based on the table in the Jewish Virtual Library fact sheet on Jewish refugees from Arab countries.
| 1948 | 1958 | 1968 | 1978 | 2011 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 140,000 | 130,000 | 1,500 | 1,000 | <50 | <50 |
| Egypt | 75,000 | 15,000 | 1,000 | 400 | 100 | 100 |
| Iraq | 135,000 | 6,000 | 2,500 | 350 | 7 | <10 |
| Lebanon | 5,000 | 6,000 | 3,000 | 400 | <100 | |
| Libya | 38,000 | 3,750 | 100 | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| Morocco | 265,000 | 200,000 | 50,000 | 18,000 | 4,000 | 2,150 |
| Syria | 30,000 | 5,000 | 4,000 | 4,500 | 100 | 100 |
| Tunisia | 105,000 | 80,000 | 10,000 | 7,000 | 1,500 | 1,050 |
| Yemen/Aden | 63,000 | 4,300 | 500 | 500 | 250 | <50 |
| Total | 851,000 | 469,060 | 69,600 | 31,790 | ~6,200 | 3,330 |
Resources
Websites
-
- Harif – Association of Jews from the MENA
- Historical Society of Jews From Egypt
- Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries
- Jewish Virtual Library – Fact Sheet: Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries
- JIMENA – Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa
- Justice for Jews from Arab Countries
- Point of No Return – Blog for Jewish Refugees from Arab and Muslim Countries
- Remembering the Farhud
- Tales of Jewish Sudan
Organizations
-
- JIMENA – Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa. Founded in 2002. See, the “About” page on its website.
- Justice for Jews from Arab Countries. Founded in 2002 to supersede WOJAC. See, the “Mission Statement” on its website. Further background is in Zamkanei, Justice for Jews from Arab Countries.
- World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries (WOJAC). Founded in 1975; disbanded in 1999. The “About” page of the group’s former website is from the Wayback Machine. See, also, Zamkanei, Justice for Jews from Arab Countries.
Documents
-
- Statement of Heykal Pasha (Egypt) before the U.N. Ad Hoc Committee on Palestine (24 Nov 1947)
- U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
- U.N. Security Council, Resolution 242 (22 Nov 1967)
- U.K. Draft Resolution, S/8247 (16 Nov 1967)
- Soviet Draft Resolution, S/8253 (20 Nov 1967)
- Security Council, Minutes, 1382nd Meeting, S/PV.1382, ¶¶ 67, 117 (22 Nov 1967)
Commentary on Resolution 242
- Arthur J. Goldberg, Transcript, Oral History Interview I, by Ted Gittinger ((23 Mar 1983)
- Arthur J. Goldberg, Resolution 242 After Twenty Years, pp. 10-11 (April 2002)
- Justice for Jews from Arab Countries, UN Resolution 242”: “Just Settlement of the Refugee Problem” (undated)
- U.N. Refugee Fund (UNREF), Report of the Executive Committee, 4th Session, p.36 (1957)
- The Situation of Refugees Who Have Recently Left Egypt, UNGA Doc. A/AC.79/58 (31 Jan 1957)
- Summary Record of the 27th Meeting, UNGA Doc. A/AC.79/SR.27, p.8 (26 Apr 1957)
- Office of the UNHCR, Letter from Dr. E. Jahn concerning Jewish refugees from Middle Eastern and North African Countries (6 Jul 1967)
- U.S. House of Representatives, 110th Congress, H.Res. 185 (1 Apr 2008), 154 Cong. Rec. H1836-1839 (1 Apr 2008)
- U.S. Senate, 110th Congress, S.Res. 85 (2007) [not adopted]
Law Related Articles and Reports
-
- Carole Basri, The Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries: An Examination of Legal Rights – A Case Study of the Human Rights Violations of Iraqi Jews, 26 Fordham Int’l L.J. 656 (2002)
- Irwin Cotler, David Matas, Stanley A. Urman, Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries: The Case for Rights and Redress (5 Nov 2007)
- Justice for Jews from Arab Countries, UN Resolution 242”: “Just Settlement of the Refugee Problem” (undated)
- Ya’akov Meron, Why Jews Fled the Arab Countries, 2 Middle East Quarterly, No. 3 (September 1995)
- Aharon Mor, Orly Rahimiyan, The Jewish Exodus from Arab Lands: Toward Redressing Injustices on All Sides (11 Sep 2012)
- Shmuel Trigano, The Expulsion of the Jew from Muslim Countries, 1920-1970: A History of Ongoing Cruelty and Discrimination, JCPA (4 Nov 2010)
- Stanley A. Urman, The United Nations and Middle East Refugees: The Differing Treatment of Arabs and Jews (May 2010)
- Shayna Zamkanei, The Politics of Defining Jews from Arab Countries, 21 Israel Studies, No. 2 (2016)
- Shayna Zamkanei, Justice for Jews from Arab Countries and the Rebranding of the Jewish Refugee, 48 Int’l Journal of Middle East Studies, No. 3 (August 2016)
- Joseph D. Zargari, The Forgotten Story of the Mizrachi Jews: Will the Jews of the Middle East Ever Be Compensated for Their Expulsion from the Arab World, 23 Buff. Pub. Int. L.J. 157 (2004-2005)
General Historical Background
-
- Martin Gilbert, In Ishmael’s House: A History of Jews In Muslim Lands (2010)
- Bernard Lewis, The Jews of Islam (2014)
- Albert Memmi, Jews and Arabs (1975)
- Joseph B. Schechtman, On Wings of Eagles; The Plight, Exodus, and Homecoming of Oriental Jewry (1961)
- Norman A. Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands (1979)
- Norman A. Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands in Modern Times (1991)
- Bat Yeʼor, Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide (2002)
Selected Books and Articles on the Exodus
- General
- Avi Beker, The Forgotten Narrative: Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries, 17 Jewish Pol. Studies Rev., Nos. 3-4 (2005)
- Jewish Virtual Library, Fact Sheet: Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries
- Itamar Levin, Locked Doors: The Seizure of Jewish Property in Arab Countries (2001)
- Raphael Patai, The Vanished Worlds of Jewry (1980)
- Maurice M. Roumani, The Case of the Jews From Arab Countries: A Neglected Issue, WOJAC (1983)
- Adi Schwartz, A Tragedy Shrouded in Silence: The Destruction of the Arab World’s Jewry, Azure, No. 45 (2011)
- Malka Hillel Shulewitz, ed., The Forgotten Millions: The Jewish Exodus from Arab Lands (1999)
- Stand With Us, Jewish Refugees from the Middle East – An Unresolved Injustice (2019)
- Tad Szulc, The Secret Alliance (1992)
- Algeria
- Diarna, Airport, Site of 1962 Airlift in Ghardaia, Algeria
- Jewish Virtual Library, Jews in Islamic Countries: Algeria
- Michael M. Laskier, North African Jewry in the Twentieth Century – The Jews of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, Ch. 10 (1994)
- Wikipedia, History of the Jews in Algeria
- Egypt
- Joel Beinin, The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry (1998)
- Michael M. Laskier, The Jews of Egypt, 1920-1970: In the Midst of Zionism, Anti-Semitism, and the Middle East Conflict (1992)
- Michael M. Laskier, Egyptian Jewry under the Nasser regime, 1956-70, 31 Middle Eastern Studies, No. 3 (1995)
- Yitzhak Mualem, Quiet Diplomacy: The Exodus of Egyptian Jews between the Six-Day War and the War of Attrition, 31 Jewish Pol. Studies Rev., Nos. 1-2 (2020)
- Ovadia Yeroushalmy, The Five Long Minutes – Jews of Egypt 1967-1970, Arrest & Displacement (Hebrew) (2017)
- Iran
- David B. Green, This Day in Jewish History – An Execution in Iran, Haaretz (9 May 2014)
- Roya Hakakian, How Iran Kept Its Jews, Tablet (30 Dec 2014)
- Roya Hakakian, Why They Stay, Tablet (14 Jan 2019)
- Dovid Margolin, Operation Exodus: The Chabad Effort That Saved 1,800 Iranian Jewish Children (undated)
- Jewish Virtual Library, Jews in Islamic Countries: Iran
- Iraq
- Mordechai Ben-Porat, To Baghdad and Back: The Miraculous 2,000 Year Homecoming of the Iraqi Jews (1998) [Kindle edition]
- Edwin Black, The Farhud: Roots of the Arab-Nazi Alliance in the Holocaust (2010)
- Moshe Gat, The Jewish exodus from Iraq, 1948-1951 (1997)
- Shmuel Moreh, Zvi Yehuda, eds., Al-Farhud – The 1941 Pogrom in Iraq (2010)
- Lebanon
- Jewish Virtual Library, Jews in Islamic Countries: Lebanon
- Kirsten E. Schulze, The Jews Of Lebanon, Between Coexistence And Conflict, 2nd ed. (2009)
- Libya
- Renzo de Felice, Jews in an Arab Land: Libya, 1835–1970 (1985)
- Maurice M. Roumani, The Final Exodus of the Libyan Jews in 1967, 19 Jewish Political Studies Review, No. 3/4 (2007)
- Maurice M. Roumani, The Jews of Libya: Coexistence, Persecution, Resettlement, rev. ed. (2021)
- Morocco
- David G. Littman, Operation Mural: An Englishman and the Mossad in Casablanca – the Clandestine Emigration of 530 Moroccan Jewish Children to Israel (2015)
- Michael M. Laskier, North African Jewry in the Twentieth Century – The Jews of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria (1994)
- Wikipedia, Operation Yakhin
- Sudan
- Eli Malka, Jacob’s Children in the Land of the Mahdi; Jews of Sudan (1997)
- Syria
- Jewish Virtual Library, Jews in Islamic Countries: Syria
- Harold Troper, The Rescuer: the Amazing, True Story of How One Woman Helped Save the Jews of Syria (2007)
- Tunisia
- Jewish Virtual Library, Jews in Islamic Countries: Tunisia
- Michael M. Laskier, North African Jewry in the Twentieth Century – The Jews of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, Chs. 8-9 (1994)
- Yemen
- Reuben Ahroni, Jewish Emigration from the Yemen 1951-98 – Carpet Without Magic (2015)
- Keren HaYesod, The Exodus from Yemen (circa 1950s)
- Tudor Parfitt, The Road to Redemption – The Jews of Yemen 1900-1950 (1996)
Film and Video
-
- From Babylonia To Beverly Hills: The Exodus of Iran’s Jews
- In the Beginning: Once Upon A Time…There Were Arab Jews
- Jewish Refugees in the Middle East
- The Last Jews of Baghdad: End of an Exile; Beginning of a Journey
- Operation Mural: Casablanca 1961
- Remember Baghdad
- The Second Exodus from Egypt, with Prof Ada Aharoni
- The Silent Exodus
- They Were Promised the Sea
- YouTube Videos from Harif
