The following is the beginning of an aritcle by Paul lungun, staff reporter, Canadian Jewish News, March 31, 2011
NEVILLE RAISES JEWISH REFUGEE ISSUE IN PARLIAMENT
Following the 1947 United Nations resolution that led to the creation of Israel, some 850,000 Jews residing in Arab countries “were uprooted and displaced,” Neville told the House of Commons last week. “In 1945, there were around 900,000 Jews living in the Arab world. Today, there are fewer than 8,000. It has been documented that state-sanctioned repression and persecution in Arab countries targeted Jewish populations and led to anti-Jewish pogroms. This is a story that must be acknowledged and must be repeated.”
Neville, who is running for re-election in Winnipeg South Centre, told The CJN this is “an issue that has not been discussed much in this House or by the current government.” She only learned of it two years ago. However, Canada could play a role in furthering awareness of the plight of Jewish refugees, either through discussions in committee or by calling on the government to raise it in forums in which the issue of Palestinian refugees comes up.
“This is a story that must be acknowledged and must be repeated,” she said.
Stanley Urman, executive director of Justice for Jews from Arab Countries, said U.S. Congress passed a resolution during the Bush administration calling on the executive to raise the issue in international diplomatic forums whenever Palestinian refugees are discussed. “To what extent the Americans are now pushing this issue, I’m not really aware of,” he said.
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