Shafaq News/ The Israeli government authorized the "Ministry of Social Equality" to research the "State Archives" regarding Jewish property remaining in Arab countries and Iran, possibly ahead of a massive reparations lawsuit, Israeli website "World Israel News" (WIN) said.
WIN said that the Israeli government on Sunday approved Minister for Social Equality Meirav Cohen’s proposal to allow her ministry’s officials to review archival material concerning Jewish property left in Arab countries.
“This is a significant advance in the line of government decisions, which emphasizes the commitment and concern of the State of Israel through the Ministry of Social Equality for the publication and documentation of the deportation of Jews from Arab countries and Iran and the dispossession of their property,” the government stated.
Cohen stated that “we have a commitment as a state, to learn and teach the price paid by the Jews of Arab countries, a tremendous economic price that we do not always understand.”
“This decision will help us document in depth historically and bring to the table the difficult and sad story of Arab and Iranian Jews,” she added.
Over 850,000 Jews left Arab countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Algeria, Yemen, and Syria, in addition to Afghanistan, Iran and others between 1948 and 1967. About 600,000 of whom went to Israel.
The Israeli government estimates that they left behind property worth approximately $150 billion, according to WIN.
