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Israeli Schools Schedule Annual Commemoration of Jewish Refugees from Muslim Countries

by TheTower.org Staff |

Israeli schools will follow a government committee’s recommendation to commemorate Jewish refugees who were forced to leave Muslim-majority countries every November 30, the country’s Education Ministry said Wednesday.

The Biton Commission recommended earlier this year that studies of Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews, those who trace their ancestry to Spain and the Middle East, be made mandatory in Israeli schools. Ancient Jewish communities in Iraq, Syria, and other Muslim-majority countries were ravaged by a wave of anti-Semitic violence following Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948. In total, some 850,000 of these Mizrachi Jews were forced to flee from their homes, and they and their descendants make up the majority of Israeli Jews today.

“Around November 30, the day marking the exodus of Jews from the Arab lands and the lands of Islam, a focused week of study should be held on the Jews of the East, including enrichment activities and tours in museums and at sites,” suggested the commission, which was led by Erez Biton, the first Mizrahi poet to win the Israel Prize. It also recommended that students meet with Israelis who “perpetuate the heritage of the Jews of the East and Spain, who will tell the students the whole story as they experienced it during the exodus and deportation from the Arab countries in the moments of truth of the pogroms….The students will also learn about the rich heritage and culture of…the Jews of the East and Spain and their aliyah to and integration in Israel.”

To fulfill the suggestion, schools will invite students’ grandparents who came from Muslim countries and could relate their experiences with photographs and other artifacts from their journey. The Education Ministry is also encouraging schools to arrange field trips to places of importance to Mizrahim and Sephardim, including the Bukharan Quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City and the Babylonian Jewish Heritage Center in Or Yehuda.

Israeli students will learn about “the amazing Zionist journey of the Mizrahi community,” Education Minister Naftali Bennett stated. “The day of exodus and deportation is a milestone in filling out the story of the grand heritage of the Jews from Arab countries.”

[Photo: WikiCommons ]

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