Summary of the New York Summit

November 6, 2007

Fifty delegates from ten countries and five US cities, representing 35 Jewish communities and organizations, participated in the November 4-5, 2007, New York Summit of Justice of Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC).

In advance of the upcoming Annapolis Peace Conference, the agenda focused on how to draw attention to the plight, and flight, of the nearly one million Jews who, since the turn of the century, have been displaced from their ancient communities in ten Arab countries. In the aftermath of Israel's creation, hundreds of thousands of Jews fled Arab countries where they had lived for centuries, a total larger than the number of Palestinian Arabs that left Israel.

The highlight of the meeting was a legal report released by former Canadian Justice Minister and Member of Parliament Irwin Cotler entitled, "Justice for Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries: The Case for Rights and Redress." Justice for Jews from Arab Countries had discovered UN documents referring to a law drafted by the Political Committee of the Arab League which recommends measures to exploit Jewish populations in Arab countries and to use them as political weapons in their struggle against the state of Israel.

In his presentation, Dr. Cotler disclosed the "pernicious and prejudicial role played by the U.N. in excluding Jewish refugees from Arab countries from the justice and peace agenda…The time has come to return Jewish refugees from Arab countries to the Middle East narrative from which they been expunged these past sixty years," he said. "This is not just a case of justice delayed, but justice denied. Indeed, the displacement of 850,000 Jews from Arab countries is not just a 'Forgotten Exodus' but a 'Forced Exodus.'"

In other matters, the participants discussed how the delegates could best make representations to their various governments; and devised a comprehensive plan to promote registration of family histories and testimonies.