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How Arabs stole Jewish property
Tani Goldstein
Published: 15.05.11, 15:26
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1. Jewish people shoult take back in money the value ..
Anna M Sedda ,   Rome-italy   (05.15.11)
Of houses,business or anything belongs to them not only from Arabs nations,but also from each European country where they have been dispossessed...
2. How Bernie Madoff stole American money?
Mike ,   United States   (05.15.11)
How Bernie Madoff stole American money? $50 Billion by some estimates... so, my point is that stuff like this happens... Stuff gets stolen, get over it!!!
3. How Arabs stole Jewish property
Richard Thornton ,   Princeton,NJ USA   (05.15.11)
Arabs should face the reality that their culture stinks and they need to get down to work and fix themselves instead of shucking and jiving, worshiping sociopaths like bin Laden, tearing down other people's lives instead of building their own. Where are the artists in Arab culture? Where are the pianists, composers, theatre artisans, painters, philosophers, thinkers? The black hole they live in threatens us all, enough already.
4. Two Sides? Not so fast.
Steve Ruddell ,   Kiriat Yearim, Israe   (05.15.11)
What two sides? Jews never displaced Arabs or stole their land. The Arabs heeded the call of the radical and left by themselves. Even Ben Gurion tried to stop them. Being accurate and even-handed does not mean you have a right to revise history.
5. How Arabs stole Jewish property
William Wilgus ,   Silver Springs, USA   (05.15.11)
The article's title does not seem appropriate to its content. Also, two wrongs do not make a right.
6. Interesting Article, but
Jamal ,   Jordan   (05.15.11)
according to this article, no one forced the Arab Jews to flee their home countries & life was normal to Arab Jews before 1948 even better than their life in Europe. Therefore if every one goes back to where they belong to before 1948 peace will finally occur in the ME.
7. #5, off topic
Israel Israeli ,   Tel Aviv   (05.15.11)
William, I have an off topic question for you. If "two wrongs do not make a right" will you now take the opportunity to condemn Obama for his extra-judicial murder of Osama Bin Laden?
8. #2 Mike - You're comparing the crimes of an individual
Yaniv ,   Israel   (05.15.11)
with the crimes of governments? Why don't you and your underdeveloped consciousness beat it and spew your venom somewhere else such as Stormfront?
9. Arab leaders were responsible for both Nakbas
Yaniv ,   Israel   (05.15.11)
10. Lukewarm and oblivious article. Explore the 100s of
Whitewash ,   Whitewashed, World   (05.15.11)
pogroms that occured when Muslims attacked Kews and slughtered them. The forced conversions, etc etc.The racist anti Jewish laws. It was nopt peaches and cream for Jews in Muslims lands. Let the facts be shown. 57 Jews publicly hung in Syria in 1967, Jews imprisoned in Iran, tortured and executed the past decade, for fear of loving Israel. etc....
11. #2 Mike - Have you had any of your stuff
BEN JABO ,   ISRAEL   (05.15.11)
stolen ? If not, feel free to talk after it has been How come you emphasized Madoff, the Government itself is a far larger thief, look at the taxes (which you're probably cheating it out of) that's being forcibly extracted from the American people, high price of gas, a bigger cut of your money in gas taxes Obamacare, you're now paying more for Healthcare than you had previously paid Three simultaneous wars, costing billions every month, money stolen from your pocket Have you seen that can of food in the supermarket, It just looks the same, the contents have been reduced and in all likelihood you’re paying more for less Madoff got caught, now go about catching the thieves in Government since you're so all concerned about thievery
12. #5 William Wilgus
BEN JABO ,   ISRAEL   (05.15.11)
Just in case you may not know it, Maryland was populated by several Indian tribes before it was invaded by Europeans who had prior history of having been there Two wrongs may not make a right, but it sure does help one to feel better Besides, the Arabs are recently arrived invaders, there is no mention of Palestine in the Koran, nor is there any reference to Jerusalem, which proves that though they claim entitlement, they don't have any "Prior to European settlement, Maryland was populated by several Indian tribes. Most of them departed when white settlers began to arrive. Although Spaniards explored Chesapeake Bay in the 1500s, the first settlers were British. Some of them came as a result of a land grant to George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, by Charles I in 1632. Calvert, a Catholic, wanted a place where Catholics could practice their religion without persecution. In 1649, Maryland passed a landmark act guaranteeing religious toleration to people of all Christian faiths". Maryland only granted "religious tolerance to Christian faiths", Israel guarantees it to all faiths
13. Mike @ #2
ChanahS ,   Israel   (05.15.11)
Criminals come in all shapes and sizes, colours and religions. Are non-Jewish criminalks in the USA defined by their religion? Bernie Madoff's crimes were not committed in the name of his religion - he did not shout the Jewish equivalent (there isn't one) of Alla Akhbar when committing them. Jews do not kill in the name of their faith. Next time you have a burglary please remember that "stuff gets stolen, get over it!"
14. this is the real nakba!!!
marocan ,   canada   (05.15.11)
15. @ # 2, # 5, # 6
Michael Davison ,   Ra'anana, Israel   (05.15.11)
Then in your opinion, Mike, the Palestinians should "get over it"? Or is that advice only for the Jews who were robbed? Wiliam - If there were two wrongs, they both have to be redressed. Anyone who wants a "just and lasting peace" in the Middle East has to address both "refugee questions", not just one of them. To date, this is just what the Palestinians (and Arabs in general) have demanded--redress of "their" refugees, but not the Jewish refugees. Is that justice in your eyes? Jamal--read the article again. Then read it a third time if you still don't understand it. Jews were always dhimma in Arab countries--second-class citizens. Your own country doesn't allow Jews to own land or become citizens, by law. That makes Jordan an Apartheid state.
16. #6 nice try to whitewash your crimes
Yaniv ,   Israel   (05.15.11)
People who leave voluntarily don't leave billions of dollars in property behind. Own up to your crimes and learn that your not as moral as you think you are.
17. Nasser forcibly EXPELLED my family and I don't want a dime!
Mike ,   NYC   (05.15.11)
In 1956, my family was FORCED to leave at the hands of Nasser as a result of his policy to alienate, isolate and expel the Jews from Egypt. There were nearly 100,000 Jews in Egypt, and today there are 200. My grandfather and his 5 family members had their possessions and property taken away and were put on a ship like refugees. You couldn't pay me all the money in the world to go back to Egypt, and I don't want a dime from them.
18. Not only have Jews lived longer than Arabs in Palestine
Yaniv ,   Israel   (05.15.11)
but also in N. Africa. If anyone should go back to where they came from it's that Arab imperialists who need to go back to Arabia.
19. One Mistake
IZL   (05.15.11)
Jews did not live in North Africa since the Romans, it was since the destruction of the first temple via the Babylonian invasion. Use your head. If the babylonian armies are coming from the north, you flee south (which geographically would be north Africa), not north into the hands of your enemies. You think the Babylonians would have let the Kohanim survive? Perhaps merchants, the educated, and all the upper middle class, but the commanders and big names of the Jewish empire? no way. I appreciate the fact there is not big archeological evidence to substantiate the claim, but in Tunisia it is a common tradition amongst Jews of certain blood lineages to state they are from first temple blood lines who fled Babylonian invasion. It is insulting to not consider the veracity of such a claim.
20. my grandfather in Algeria
yoni ,   tel aviv   (05.15.11)
My grandfather lost all of his wealth when he was forced to flee after the independence of Algeria. It was no longer safe for jews and he was lucky enough to be welcomed into France as a citizen. Many other Jews from other countries were not as lucky. Nobody complained for 60 years we just picked ourselves up and moved on.
21. No. 2 Mike
NYC Girl   (05.15.11)
The fact that you single out Bernie Madoff says more about you than it does about him. But while you're at it, have you ever heard of a mob tax? If you lived in NYC you would know it's the higher prices we were forced to pay (prior to Rudy Giuliani's tenure as mayor) for almost everything from seafood to cement because the Mafia had its greedy hands in virtually everything in the city. But since that particular mob wasn't made up of Jews, I guess it wouldn't count to a racist turd like you.
22. No. 6 Jamal
NYC Girl   (05.15.11)
What do you mean nobody forced them? My husband's family originally came from Iraq and his great grandparents and other family members were forced to leave behind homes and successful business by the regime in power at the time for one reason only...they were Jews. Not only that, but this happened around the time of the first World War, so it was long before Israel became a state...so don't blame it on that. And as far as everybody going back to where they came from, which Arab countries are going to welcome Israelis back? Iran, Syria, Libya...or any of those other human rights shit holes they originally came from?
23. Jamal
IZL   (05.15.11)
Actually, peace would be if the middle east reverted to the state it was in before Greek and Roman invasions. News for you there, we Jews were in Israel then. In any event, give it another 100-200 years and you'll be a memory, just like for 2000 years we Jews were nothing but a memory. The difference, we Jews never lost our identity. Palestinians are already split and divided culturally. Let's see if 2000 years after 1948 you guys are capable of restealing the land. Then in 4000 years we will just reclaim our restolen land. You can't stop what G-d has put in motion. This is not and never has been your land. True you may have occupied this land for hundreds of years, true your fellow imperalists the Christian crusaders occupied this land from you as well, but I say the Jihadis and Crusaders should build a special island filled with mosques and churches and you can invade and reinvade for eternity. Just leave us alone in peace brother.
24. #6
john   (05.15.11)
If you believe that peace will reign if there were no Jews in Israel, you seriously do not know your history or culture of the Middle East. It would do you well to remember the reasons that the Arabs invaded Israel in 1948...and it had nothing to do with the Palestinians....it was a pure land grab deal.
25. Jews never learn
Mark ,   USA   (05.15.11)
I think our situation would have been better had we remained in Libya," says Hajaj. ..after all of the pain and humiliation at the hands of the arabs over centuries, Jews still can't appreciate the miracle of Israel. And the arabs just can't learn to digest that the dhimmi Jews have bested their former masters, the arabs.
26. terrible day is coming
kosugi ,   london uk   (05.15.11)
If the arab muslim world continue to murder innocent people both christian and jews i know for sure that they will pay a terrible price,the day of a nuclear holocast will come upon them,then they will know that Israel and the jewish people must be truely feared.Even christians are getting fed up with so much hatred spurred on by islam.its not a nice thing when a christian get fed.
27. eye for an eye?
dovi ,   richmond, va., usa   (05.15.11)
Does the loss of property for Jews leaving other lands justify the loss of property of arabs in the country where Jews arrived? Is this not trying to justify a resulting injustuce against one group by saying that another group committed a similar injustice and since they were unavailable for punishment, we'll just exact it on these folks here who look like them? Africans were dispossessed of their belongings when they were sold into slavery. Would it have been just for African Americans in 1865 to somehow take the property of Eastern Europeans whose ancestors never immigrated or participated in any commerce (least of all slavery) on the American continent simply based on the fact that they were white and therefor similar to the white Americans who deprived them of property and freedom?
28. Thank You Ynet
Gilon ,   USA   (05.15.11)
Thank you Ynet for this article. You just did something that I have been working on for years. I'm a Mizrahi Jew too. About 1.1 Million Mizrahi Jews were forced out of Arab lands and Iran since the creation of Israel. About 700,000 went to Israel and the rest went to Europe especially to France and some to the US. I have been trying to convey the facts of Mizrahi Jews and how the world has forgotten about them. The world does not tend to see from the Israeli perspective. Many people including the Ashkanazi Jews in America do not know much about the Mizrahi Jews who made up 70% of Israeli Jewish population until 1990 and now account for 50% of Israeli Jews. I always try to reason why does much of the world not know about Mizrahi Jewish plight. Why doesn't Israel bring this issue at the forefront everytime during negotiations and everytime when someone says that "Europeans are invading middle east". Why does Israel let the hypocritical Arabs shape the propaganda when Israel has so many strong points to argue. I'm still trying to figure out why these facts haven't been used to Israel's benefit. And I thank you for bringing this issue up.
29. Who pushed you to flee your home
Jamal ,   Jordan   (05.15.11)
Ynet put a title that doesnt belong to this content. Use your logic please, did the Arab Jews ever loose property during the Muslim rule in the 1200 years? Never! They have chosen to be among occupiers who came from Europe, what do you expect? You have kicked out the inhabitant of the land who trusted you and turned them to refugees living in misery 7 million now and you cry for a loss caused by your mistake.
30. A few correctives, but important ones
Raymond in DC ,   Washington, USA   (05.15.11)
The number of Arabs (not "Palestinians", as they didn't call themselves that) who fled the nascent Israel from 1947-1949 was closer to 650,000, while the number of Jews driven out of Arab lands over two decades was closer to 850,000. There's no comparison between the property each party left behind. Most of the Arabs were villagers holding little property, many of whom hadn't even lived in the land for very long. (The UN's "refugee" status required only two years of residence before being displaced.) The Jews, in contrast long preceded the Arabs in those lands. With the first exile they moved both eastward (Babylonia and its environs) and westward to Egypt. That dispersion accelerated during Roman times. There was a major Jewish settlement, for example, in Cyrene (aka Cyrenaica in eastern Libya) in the 1st century CE. The Jews left behind homes in cities, businesses, factories, and major land holdings covering at least four times the area of all of today's Israel. All taken. But there was a precedent for that. Most are unaware that a few Jewish settlements existed EAST of the Jordan around the turn of the century. When the Kingdom of Transjordan was established, all the Jews were kicked out and their property seized. No compensation was ever paid.
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