October 3, 2007

The U.S.-brokered Middle East Summit in mid-November may provide an opportunity for making progress towards peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict. As part of these deliberations, the CRC supports that the flight of Jews from Arab lands be part of any discussion on the issue of refugees. Currently, the flight of Jews from Arab lands is strikingly absent, while the international agenda solely focuses on a Palestinian “right of return."

At the beginning of the 20th century, more than one million Jews lived in Arab countries. Over the course of the century, and with the creation of the State of Israel, approximately 850,000 Jews have been displaced. It is estimated that less than 5,000 Jews remain in these areas.

House Resolution 185 was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by Mr. Jerrod Nadler, for himself, Ms. Ileana Ros-Lethinen, Mr. Joseph Crowley, and Mr. Mike Ferguson. The bill expresses the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the creation of refugee populations in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf region as a result of human rights violations.

The legislation states in part that “any resolutions relating to the issue of Middle East refugees, and which include a reference to the required resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue, must also include a similarly explicit reference to the resolution of the issue of Jewish, Christian, and other refugees from Arab countries."

This legislation is currently waiting to be marked up in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Given the upcoming Middle East Summit, we believe that this bill should be passed by Congress to ensure that the President instruct the U.S. representatives to ensure that any resolutions relating to the issue of Middle East refugees recognizes the legitimate rights and losses incurred by all Jewish refugees displaced from Arab countries.

ACTION STEPS:

• To help ensure this position, please contact Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to express your support for H.Res.185. at (202) 225-3531. H. Res. 185 is waiting to be marked up in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Passing the resolution is a very time-sensitive matter.
• Write Congressmen Payne and Sires, who sit on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and ask them to support this legislation and ensure that it passes the Committee and the House prior to the upcoming Middle East Summit.
• Please write a note of thanks to Congressman Ferguson for introducing this legislation.