Zionist FAQs: Isn't it a fair "population exchange" between Palestinian refugees and Jewish refugees from many Arab countries?

Chief Rabbi of Iraqi Jews (Sassoon Khadouri) declared in April 1947 that Iraqi Jews are against Zionism

The claim of a "population exchange" between Palestinian refugees and Jewish refugees from Arab countries is a fabricated narrative designed to obscure the central issues of the Palestinian-Israel conflict: the dispossession and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Israeli and Zionist sources reveal that Zionist leaders only "welcomed" Arab Jews (a term widely used until the late 1970s) after realizing that European Jews were voting with their feet by immigrating to the Americas instead. In essence, European Jewry, both after WWII and continually to this day, overwhelmingly preferred immigration to the West over Palestine, even after the mass replacement of the indigenous Palestinian population. This pattern is also evident in the migration of Russian Jewry in the early 1990s, who primarily chose the US, Canada, or Australia and were only channeled to Israel after the collapse of the Soviet Union, often due to lobbying efforts like those by AIPAC. The preference of Russian Jewry for Western nations over Israel was, and remains, an open secret within that community.

Essential Context Before Addressing the Claim

European Jews voted with their feet & immigrated to the Americas; that is why Ben-Gurion airlifted Arab Jews via 1st class air ticket; 1st of its kind for refugees

To properly dismantle this myth, consider the following facts:

• Antisemitism's Origin: The "Jewish state" and Zionism emerged in response to the rise of antisemitism that was fundamentally a European product, distinct from the Middle East.
• The Zionist Strategy Shift: Arab Jews were not a focus for Zionist leaders until it became clear that European Jews would not be immigrating en masse, either due to the Holocaust or a preference for living elsewhere with non-Jews.
• Historical Coexistence in the Arab World: The Arab majority has never been the sole ruling power in the Middle East and North Africa. Historically, minorities often thrived and were closely aligned with the ruling feudal classes.
• The Jewish Golden Age: Jewish historians consistently associate the Jewish Golden Age not with Christian Europe or the United States (which was hesitant to accept Jewish refugees in the 1930s-50s), but with Arab-ruled Moorish Spain (Andalusia) and Muslim Turkey.
• Palestinian Replacement In A Single Picture: al-Tira's school before and after Nakba. The same place but different people
  Palestinians as Descendants of Israelites: Palestinians as Descendants of Israelites: The fact that Palestinians are the direct descendants of Israelites serves as compelling evidence of centuries of successful coexistence among diverse religious communities. Conversion to Islam was a relatively recent phenomenon, often occurring directly from Judaism, with Gaza being a notable historical example of a major Jewish center over 500 years ago.
• Arab Jews Considered Themselves Arabs First: The vast majority of Arab, Iranian, and Turkish Jews did not identify as Zionists prior to immigrating to Israel; their embrace of political Zionism was largely a consequence of the post-1948 mass migrations, heavily influenced by their new circumstances in the "Jewish state." In fact, Arab Jews consider themselves Arabs first; Zionism was acquired much later due to the deployment of heavy state propaganda (a.k.a. Hasbarah).
• The Myth of Expelling Arab Jewry: To this date, Arab Jews were not interned as the West had done to German Jews after WWII. On the contrary, it is well documented that the Mossad was implicated in bombing Baghdad's synagogues to trigger Jewish flight to Israel in the early 1950s. In detail, we have addressed the myth of expelling Arab Jewry in another section.

The Mountain Of Evidence

1. Palestinian women harvesting cotton in the village of Kafr Saba in 1937
   The British & French Controlled MENA: The migration of Arab Jews, particularly from North Africa, Yemen, and Iraq, occurred while they were under the significant, direct, and indirect control of the British and French colonial powers. These colonial governments were, and largely remain, highly sympathetic to the Zionist movement and instrumental in its success.
   
   Therefore, the narrative that Arab Jews were "terrorized and expelled" from their homes after the Nakba, but not before, is suspect. If such alleged mass atrocities were "true," the colonial powers could have easily prevented them. The question is: Why did the British and the French not intervene to stop such massive alleged "crimes"? Did Israeli leaders, colonial powers, and their Arab puppet rulers actually facilitate this "efficient airlift"? It is highly suggestive that democratic Western powers may have "colluded, lobbied and facilitated" this rapid and efficient airlift on behalf of the Israeli government.
   
   A significant clue for analysis is the simple fact that the Western press offered no coverage of these alleged atrocities, likely because they did not happen. However, the efficient airlift itself is well-documented.
   
   Iraqi Arab Jews were AIRLIFTED directly from Baghdad's airport by the Near East Air Transport (owned by the Jewish Agency) in the early 1950s. That's the FIRST of its kind to any "refugee"
   It is simple and stupid: Refugees, as was the case for Jews during WWII, typically "march, swim, starve, and most importantly, beg for entry visas." True refugees know the hardship of months on the road with little shelter, pleading for entry at every border. In stark contrast, these departing Arab Jews did not have to "find first-class tickets and entry visas waiting for them at every junction!"
   
   
   Abla Mohamad Daoud Dajani outside here families' looted house in Baq'ah neighborhood - Jerusalem. Click the image for more such pictures that document Palestinians' dispossession.
   Executing such a massive airlift was a logistical nightmare that would have been impossible without the full cooperation of both the local Arab authorities and the major powers. This suggests that the major powers (the US, Britain, and France) may have executed Zionist policies by pressuring, luring, bribing, or enticing Arab regimes into facilitating this quick and efficient exodus, see Tom Suarez's article for the boring details.
   
   It is not a far-fetched possibility that a quid pro quo agreement existed between all involved parties, mirroring the Haavara Agreement with Hitler 20 years earlier, or the Falasha airlift with Numari in the 1980s. Without the cooperation of these Arab puppet regimes, Israel, as we know it, would not have come into existence—a reality that, oddly, persists to this day.
2. The One Million Man Plan: The Zionist movement's primary goal was to address the challenges faced by European Jews due to rising European nationalism, particularly after events like the Dreyfus Trial. The movement was not established to solve issues affecting Arab Jews.
   
   Evidence supporting this point is the scarcity of references to Arab Jews in the communications and records of Zionist leaders during the pre-Nakba period. The earliest mention found was in mid-1942, after Hitler's campaign against Europe's Jews began, and it was solely within the context of populating the country following the replacement of Palestine's indigenous population.
   
   Remind us please: Who shall push who into the sea. The scene at Jaffa harbor, May 1948.
   Consider the One Million Plan as an example: In late 1943, Arab Jews constituted a small fraction of the proposed immigrants (150,000 out of 932,000). However, ten months later, their share dramatically increased to 750,000, only after the full scale of the European calamity was understood.
   
   This raises the question: For which cohort of Jews was the "Jewish state" truly conceived? It suggests that Arab Jews were only factored in as an afterthought. (For a deeper analysis, the reader is urged to consult the discussion of this plan by Google's Gemini).
   
   Furthermore, the letters and records of founding figures reveal a similar focus. David Ben-Gurion's infamous letter to his son Amos on October 5th, 1937 --where he admitted the potential use of force to dispossess Palestinians-- discussed diaspora Jews, referencing all European Jewish communities but excluding any single Arab Jewish community. A review of Ben-Gurion's official biography and memoirs (especially pre-Nakba) shows few, often racially charged, references to Mizrahi (the modern label for Arab Jews, previously known as the "Oriental Community" or the Arab Jews).
   
   If Arab Jews were truly facing imminent danger and were a major concern for the Zionists, this would have been prominent in their communications and records. Instead, European Jews were front and center in the minds of Zionist leaders, solely in the context of filling the void created by the Nakba.
   
   
   June 17, 1967. Note the Israeli officer to the left directing Palestinians out of their village 'Imwas
   As late as mid-1943, figures like Weizmann (along with Nahum Goldman and Rabbi Stephen Wise) focused entirely on Europe's Jews, as documented in "Nazism, The Jews and American Zionism, 1933-1948" by Aaron Berman (p. 107-108). References to Arab Jews appeared only in the context of filling up the void. Their inclusion only gained traction when the mass immigration of Europe's Jewry became a remote possibility(see Dina Porat's book on p. 157). Ironically, Chaim Weizmann viewed Arab Jews as the third choice, prioritizing American Jewry to populate Palestine first.
   
   Simply put, the few references to Arab Jews in pre-Nakba Zionist records demonstrate that the "Jewish state" was conceived and created for Europe's Jews. This absolute focus only shifted once Zionist leaders realized that European Jews were largely choosing the Americas over the emptied country of Palestine. The narrative surrounding the supposed persecution and necessity of rescuing Arab Jews was a fabrication concocted after the Nakba to deflect attention from Zionist crimes against the Palestinian people.
3. European Jews voted with their feet & immigrated to the Americas; that is why Ben-Gurion airlifted Arab Jews via 1st class air ticket; 1st of its kind for refugees
   "Expelling" Arab Jewry: There is minimal evidence to support the claim that Arab populations or governments actively "expelled" their Arab Jewish citizens following the Nakba. While Arab Jews, as a minority, may have suffered from isolated retaliatory attacks in the wake of Zionist actions against Palestinians during the 1948 war, there is no proof that such violence was systematically organized by any state or non-state group.
   
   It is worth noting that the internment of perceived enemies, as seen in the West (e.g., the internment of Japanese Americans), was a practice of the time. Ironically, the Allies themselves interned German Jewish refugees --especially in Great Britain, Canada, and France-- after the Nazi invasion of Poland. The notion of widespread internment camps for Jewish populations in Arab states is simply unfounded, as there was no need for such facilities.
   
   We acknowledge that some travel restrictions (notably in Iraq and Syria) and sporadic harassment by authorities and local populations did occur after the Nakba. However, the event was not characterized by massive repression, dispossession, or ethnic cleansing on the scale of the Nakba itself.
   
   This subject has been discussed in depth, including consultations with Google's AI Gemini, addressing the issue from multiple perspectives.
4. Albert Einstein's letter dated April 10th, 1948, predicted that the Zionists who committed the massacre at Deir Yassin would bring a Nakba upon Jews
   Bombing Iraqi Synagogues: When the Arab Jews were hesitant to leave, Zionist gangs resorted to intimidating them by throwing bombs into their synagogues, as was the case with the Iraqi Jews (see Related Articles section for details). Is it possible that Arab Jews were also nudged to force them into immigrating to Israel after Nakba? Exactly as Ben-Gurion nudged Nazis a month after the Kristallnacht pogrom of 1938? It's OK, guys; it was done in good faith. The Zionists' antisemitism was done to save the Jews!
   
   
   • Would you be surprised to know that it is an open secret in Israel that most Iraqi Jews believe that it was the Mossad that was terrorized them into leaving?
   • Is it possible that these acts of terror were the prelude to the infamous Lavon Affair? Well, someone was bragging about it in the early 1950s -- The Exodus of the Iraqi Jews, p. 78, 69.
   • Is it possible it all started when the Polish Jewish community was nudged into leaving as well soon after the Holocaust ended? (see James Daryl Clowes's theses, p. 19) It is OK, guys, Zionist terror was done in good faith, and engineering multiple refugee crises were done in the best of intentions to "save the Jews"!
5.  Briahna Joy Gray's response to the myth of forcible removal of Jews from Arab countries!
   The Case of Farhud: The history of Zionism's relationship with Jewish communities in the Arab world, as well as its actions concerning European Jews, is marked by what some consider contradictions and troubling policies.
   
   For instance, in April 1947, the Chief Rabbi of Iraqi Jews, Sassoon Khadouri, publicly stated that Iraqi Jews were opposed to Zionism. This occurred despite the Farhud (the 1941 anti-Jewish rioting in Iraq), an event that, along with the Hebron Massacre of 1929, has been widely publicized to portray Arabs as akin to Nazis. It's noteworthy that the Farhud riots may have been incited by the British, who continue to classify critical documents, as detailed in an article by Tom Suarez. This suggests that the issues were not isolated incidents. Further evidence of early Jewish opposition to Zionism is that nearly all Jewish religious establishments petitioned the UN against the partition plan in late 1947. If you care, we have discussed the subject of bombing the synagoges in depth with Google's AI Gemini.
   
   It is worth considering that post-WWII Germans received a "free pass" just three years after the Holocaust, and Palestinians subsequently became the designated "evil." One must ask if a significant "indulgence fee" was paid to denazify Germany so quickly. On the topic of Iraqi Jews' emigration, we urge you to watch the 60-second explanation by Avi Shlaim, a proud Iraqi Jew and Israeli historian, on how Iraqis were compelled to leave their ancestral lands in Baghdad:
   
   
   Palestinian Refugees on their way to Lebanon, Oct. 1948.
   The Zionists frequently reference the Farhud and the Hebron massacres, along with the Mufti's collaboration with Hitler in late 1941, to demonstrate their concern for Jewish lives. However, this raises questions about their own antisemitism and the use of Palestinians as a shield to deflect from their treason against Jews. When these incidents are brought up, one should consider asking for condemnation of Ben-Gurion's infamous antisemitic hate speech. In late 1938, a month after the Kristallnacht pogrom, Ben-Gurion incited the murder of German Jewish children. This was four years before the Final Solution and two months before Hitler's infamous Reichstag speech.
   
   Spoiler Alert: Ben-Gurion's hate speech was never retracted, Jews have never condemned him for it, and Zionists ultimately turned it into policy during WWII. At length, we have addressed this subject in another section if you care.
   
   If Zionist leaders viewed Europe's Jews "as cattle" and "bargaining chips" for state-building during the height of the calamity, why would they genuinely care about the welfare of Arab Jews? This perspective is echoed by figures such as Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, the editor of the NY Times and a prominent American Jew, who made statements after WWII that would be controversial today:
   
   
   A Playlist Of Short Clips Of Jews Sharing Their DNA Test Results

   "it is unfair to carry on this political controversy at the expense of the miserable tenants of the D.P. Camps," Mr. Sulzberger emphasized. "Nor will the philosophical and political ideal for Jewish statehood die by reason of delay if it deserves to live; but refugees will die if humanity too long delays their rescue" "I cannot rid myself of the feeling," he added, "that the unfortunate Jew of Europe's D.P. Camps are helpless hostages for whom statehood has been made only acceptable ransom."
   "I acknowledge," he continued," that those who view Jews as a race instead of as faith and faith only, as I do, have reasons for national aspirations which I don't share."
   "I acknowledge that those to whom a Jewish state has been a life-long goal can be expected to pursue it even when the costs are high, but it seems to me that the cost of statehood today in terms of human suffering is greater than people can be asked to bear." (NY Times, October 27th, 1946)

6. Arab Jews Were Anti-Zionist: As we were investigating Arab Jews' movements and political affiliation during the pre-Nakba period, we were shocked how Zionists amongst them used to be a fringe minority, and those who were active consider themselves ARABS first (who were mostly communists), and we found ZERO reference to Arab Jews calling for independence. In a VERY odd way, Europe's Jews had similar sentiments. It should be noted that the Christian Arab community had a very similar experience; both consider themselves Arabs first. 
7. JFK said it BEST in 1939: Palestine Was Hardly Britain's to Give Away
   Immigration Based On Absorption Capacity: Arab Jewish immigration occurred in stages as the "Jewish state" was able to absorb them, and most importantly, Arab Jews were "welcomed" only when European Jewish refugees in mass found somewhere else a lot more suitable, especially to the US, Argentina, Canada, and even to Mexico. In other words, persecuted European Jewish refugees voted with their feet before and after Nakba; does that explain why most (if not all) who weaponize this lie are Ashkenazi Jewry especially those in America? See how Peter Grose framed this contradictory phenomenon like no other in "Israel in the Mind of America" between p. 305 and 307; especially on p. 306.
   
   Of course, the first priority was given to the Western/Ashkenazi Jews, whom according to Moshe Sharitt (the so-called liberal who became the 1st Israeli Foreign Minister & 2nd PM) are considered the "....salt of the earth..."(1949, The First Israelis, p. 173), and when many preferred to go to America, turned to Arab Jews to populate the emptied country (Palestine) in the early 1950s and 1960s, and when that was not enough the Jewish Agency turned to the Falashas (Ethiopian Black Jews) and Russian Jews (2/3 of them turned out to be not Jewish who immigrated in the early 1990s for economic reasons). Therefore, it should not be a surprise that early on Ben-Gurion (the first Israeli Prime Minister) made sure that the priorities of the newly founded "Jewish state" should be 'Alyah (or immigration in Hebrew) rather than peace with its Arab neighbors (Righteous Victims, p. 263).
8. Palestinians were ethnically cleansed out of al-Ramla & al-Lydd in July 1948 by Zionist Jewish forces on direct orders from Ben-Gurion, and executed by Yitzhak Rabin
   Is it possible that Zionists have implemented similar Haavara agreements with Arab regimes & USSR to facilitate airlifting Arab Jews after Nakba to populate the emptied country? As you'll see shortly, this is exactly what happened especially when European voted with their feet and immigrated to the Americas even after Nakba! Why not! David Ben-Gurion structured a profitable deal with the devil (Hitler) to build the Jewish state although it saved the Nazi regime, click here for details! As you will see shortly, something similar was done but with Arab states & leaders!
9. It should be noted that the vast majority of the vibrant and assimilated Turkish Jewish community immigrated to Israel despite Turkey's early recognition of the "Jewish state" in 1949. Therefore, the immigration of Arab Jews from friendly Muslim and Arab countries (not only from non-Arab nations like Turkey, but also Morocco, Tunisia, and even the Persian majority nation of Iran under the Shah before the Islamic Revolution of 1979) was being encouraged by the Jewish Agency, and the immigration didn't happen due to any massive persecution as Zionists have been asserting since Nakba.
10. Ironically, the policy that encouraged Arab Jews to immigrate to Israel is still being weaponized toward French, Argentinean, Russian, Central Asian, and American Jews. In a nutshell, this policy is governed by the absorption capacity of the "Jewish state", which has always preferred Western Jews over Jews from Arab and Muslim countries. In Israel; this is no secret!
11. A RARE picture for al-Maliha taken soon after Nakba (1-6-1949) and in the foreground, Zionist Jews are looting Palestinian properties.
    The Jewish Agency facilitated the transportation of the Arab Jews to Israel by bribing many of the local Arab and Muslim (as in the case of Iran) officials. For example, many Iraqi Jews were transported to the "Jewish state" via Iraqi Airways after bribing Nuri al-Said of Iraqi (the PM at the time), King Abdullah of Jordan, and both of their wives (al-Nakba wa al-Firdous al-Mafqoud by 'Aref al-'Aref, here's a picture of this event in Baghdad's airport in the early 1950s, See 1949, The First Israelis by Tom Segev, p. 107). Similarly, the Yemeni Jews were transported to Israel via friendly airlines (if you are interested in the boring details, we urge you to read Tom Saurez's article; you might lose your marbles). Ironically, the Falashas (Ethiopian Jews) were forgotten next door as their Yemeni brothers were being flown from Aden. That said, they were picked up thirty years later (via Sudan's airports) after bribing President Numari of Sudan (note how Uganda's Jews are still being denied entry to this date)! It seems one of the founding fathers of the "Jewish state" (Arthur Ruppin) was worried that the Black Jews would contaminate the "master race's genetics"! In this regard, we have to ask: do you think Israeli Jews still dump Falashas' donated blood in the garbage? Do you think Israeli Jews still have compulsory contraception for Falashas? If you think those were isolated incidents; think twice. Racism is structured from top to bottom; Zionist Jews learned pretty well from the Nuremberg Laws! Well, brids of a feather always flock together.
12. As has been the case with Moroccan and Tunisian Jews, Arab Jews who left their respective country can return and reclaim their citizenship and properties; that is their basic human right. That is why they and the UN never designate Arab Jews as refugees; more on that later on.
13. Hitler's Message To The West: If Jews are such noble citizens and you care about them, how come you're not letting them in?
    It is a fact that the Iraqi Government issued a plea on December 11, 1975, to its Jewish citizens living abroad to come back to Iraq. Here is an advertisement that was published in the New York Times.
14. When many Arab authorities blocked the immigration of their Jewish citizens to Israel, the Jewish Agency, and many Western embassies protested, as in the case of Syria.
15. When the so-called "population exchanges" happen, it often occurs as an agreement between two or more sovereign nations, such as in the Greek/Turkish "exchange" agreement of 1923. On the other hand, there was no and is no alleged "population exchange" agreement in the case of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In a nutshell, to ethnically cleanse (compulsory population transfer) the people of a whole nation and to replace them with settlers from another group of people cannot be called a "population exchange", but rather a war crime. It's worth noting that almost every population exchange never resolves the problems, and usually, the animosity persists, although the sovereign nations are at peace. This is definitely the case in the Turkish-Greek and Pakistani-Indian population exchanges.
16. Zionist Jewish girls (who just arrived from Bulgaria) are enjoying a stroll in the looted village of al-Bassa soon after Nakba
    It should be noted that in the case of the Palestinian people, there is UNGA resolution 194 calls for their return plus compensation (which has been reaffirmed by the world body over 150 times since Sept. 17th, 1948). On the other hand, there is no such resolution for Arab Jews since it is not needed to begin with, because there is no Arab country that blocks the return of its Jewish citizens. Furthermore, the Palestinian people have always demanded their return at all levels (individually and collectively) since 1948, and Arab Jews have never called for their right to return, but mostly, they demand compensation. In other words, the Palestinian people demand to return even under Israeli rule, but until this date, there is no organized body in the Arab Jewish community in Israel calling for their own return to their respective Arab countries.
17. Besides the previous point, often Arab Jews in Israel react negatively when called refugees. For example, Knesset speaker Yisrael Yeshayahu declared: "We are not refugees. [Some of us] came to this country before the state was born. We had messianic aspirations." Similarly, Shlomo Hillel, a government minister and an active Zionist in Iraq adamantly opposed the analogy: "I don't regard the departure of Jews from Arab lands as that of refugees. They came here because they wanted to, as Zionists." In a Knesset hearing, Ran Cohen stated emphatically: "I have this to say: I am not a refugee." He added, "I came at the behest of Zionism, due to the pull that this land exerts, and due to the idea of redemption. Nobody is going to define me as a refugee." Click here to see the full report from the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz.
    
    
    Fake Valor: Why Did Zionist Jews Hoist Nazis Flag on Their Ships in the 1930s?
    What was tragically funny on this subject is that before the "Jewish state" was created, Zionist leaders rejected proposals to save Europe's Jews by sending them to Palestine but under the status of refugees; Zionists wanted Jewish immigrants to have full political rights on day one (The American Zionist Lobby, 1943-1945 by Aaron Berman p. 144-45). Therefore, we are forced to ask: If Zionist leaders looked upon Europe's Jews as cattle, as bargaining chips to build their state at the height of the calamity, then why would you think they would do anything different to Arab Jews? Zionists knew very well how to convert antisemitism into a potent weapon, and up to this point, Jews got the short end of the stick way more than Palestinians. Fomenting antisemitism always paid Zionists very well; this was Herzl's marching order over a century ago: The antisemites will become Zionists' best friend (The Transfer Agreement, p. 226).
18. Shukri al-Jamal's Palace in the Talibiya neighborhood in Jerusalem two days after its completion and just before Zionist Jews looted it from him and his family
    Isn’t it odd that the mass majority of Arab Jews (who allegedly were "forced out") were airlifted to Israel? The airlift was meticulously planned between the Jewish Agency, major occupying powers in Arab states (i.e., UK, France, & to a little extent, the US in North Africa), and Arab client states, especially in the case of Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia & even Iraq. The same thing happened during the airlift of Falashas (Ethiopian Jews) to Israel from Ethiopia in 1984, where they were airlifted to Israel via Sudan, which Numiri gladly facilitated in return for bribes! What's also odd is that no pictures were documenting such "crimes" as it was often the case, and if god forbid such crimes happened, then why did the major powers (who still control those Arab states to this date) allow it to happen? The answer is simple: there are no pictures of any ethnic cleansing of Arab Jews because there was no one to begin with!
19. Let’s assume that the prior facts are complete nonsense; how expelling Arab Jews helps the Palestinian cause and does not benefit Zionists, especially when European Jews voted with their feet and immigrated to the Americas rather than Palestine! Anti-Zionist Arabs had every incentive to keep Israel unpopulated after Nakba, and any plan to force out Arab Jews from Israel is, by itself, self-defeating. That is exactly what happened in the case of Iraq, Syria, & Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution, where any emigration of Arab Jews was discouraged.
20. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN on 10 December 1948, any person has the right to leave his/her hometown and has the full right to come back to it. Such a right does not diminish over time. This is one of the basics of human rights. Therefore, any Arab Jews still have this basic inherent right. Tragically, the vast majority of Iraqi Jews willingly gave up their right of citizenship and properties when they willingly left, and that was their choice (see this document by signed by Azouri Ben Haroun and here is Gemini take on this subject). On the other hand, Palestinians NEVER consented to such a thing. We strongly suspect the same thing happened to North African Jewry too.
21. Palestinian Refugees fleeing Jaffa in April or May 1948
    For decades, the Arab Jewish population in Israel was heavily discriminated against by the Ashkenazi Jews, who welcomed them with DDT sprayed upon them and kept them in refugee camps (a.k.a. Ma'barut) for almost a decade. It should be noted that the case of 300+ kidnapped Yemeni kids (who were later adopted by Ashkenazi families) has not been closed to this date although of multiple investigations that cleared the government of any wrong doing. There you have it; that is how Israel kills the truth: investigations, commissions, committees, etc! To prove this is not a thing of the past, we ask you to contemplate a crime that occurred recently in Miami, which displayed inter-Jewish racism that is rarely talked about. We assure you this incident is not an aberration; it happens so often in the "Jewish state." Pay attention to Alon Mizrahi's analysis on the right-hand side. This is the ultimate displacement of Jewish racism on so many levels. In this short clip, Mr. Mizrahi (who is half Palestinian Jew) elaborated even further on this point.
22. Finally, let us drive a final nail in this myth's coffin. It should be emphasized that the indigenous Palestinian Jewish community mostly stayed put before and after the Nakba. Actually, they still live in their homes in Nablus! Ironically, they were not placed under a strict military rule (with strict curfews between 6 PM and 6 AM) as was the case for Palestinian citizens of Israel for almost two decades post-Nakba, or like the internment of Japanese, German / Italian Americans & Canadians during WWII (we urg you to read how Google's Gemini addressed this point). That said, we admit there were travel restrictions in a few cases (i.e., in Iraq & Syria), but massive repression, dispossession, or ethnic cleansing didn't happen at all. Actually, it is a fact that North African Arab Jews still go back and forth to Israel (i.e. Moroccan & Tunisian Jews do it often); and many returned for good. Therefore, comparing both communities’ experiences isn’t fair at all, and it is meant to deflect away from the Zionists' war crimes. That said, that doesn’t imply that post-Nakba Arab Jews were treated without suspicion; of course not. On the other hand, comparing them to how Palestinians were treated is a complete farce.

We URGE you to watch professor Ilan Pappe's (an Israeli Historians) two-minute response to this Zionist frequently asked question:

...and please watch Avi Shalim's 60 seconds (who is a proud Iraqi Jew and Israeli historian as well) explanation of how Iraqis left their ancestral lands in Baghdad:

And if you have an hour, please watch Mr. Shlaim confirming much of what was shared in this recent interview:

Related Links

• Short Clip: Ilan Pappe (an Israeli Historian) Destroys Zionists' Lies on Arab Jews "Expulsion" in Two minutes  (A MUST WATCH)
• European Jews voted with their feet & immigrated to the Americas; that is why Ben Gurion airlifted Arab Jews via 1st class ticket; 1st of its kind for refugees
  Now it can be told By Ha'aretz
• Mondoweiss: Iraqi Jews in 1950: the "race against time" vs Near East Air Transport by Tom Suarez (A MUST READ)
• The Joe Golan Affair By Ha'aretz
• Video: Interview with Naeim Giladi (Hebrew: נעים גלעדי ) (born 1929, Iraq, as Naeim Khalaschi) is an Anti-Zionist and author of an autobiographical article and historical analysis. (90 minutes) A MUST WATCH
• X Thread: Busting Zionist myths on Arab Jews A MUST READ
• BEN-GURION SCANDALS By Naeim Giladi
• The Jews of Iraq By Naeim Giladi
• Hitching a ride on the magic carpet By H'aretz
• Any analogy between Palestinian refugees and Jewish immigrants from Arab lands is folly in historical and political terms By Ha'aretz:
• THE FORGOTTEN REFUGEES: The Causes of the post-1948 Jewish Exodus from Arab Countries By Philip Mendes
• al-Jazeera: Return to Morocco
• Iraqi Arab Jews were AIRLIFTED directly from Baghdad's airport by the Near East Air Transport (owned by the Jewish Agency) in the early 1950s. That's the FIRST of its kind to any "refugee"
  Interview with a former Mossad Agent Yehuda Tajar, who was stationed in Iraq in the early 1950s. The interview was extracted from Occupied Minds By Arthur Nelson
• Interview with a Mizrahi Yammni Rabbi Shlomo Korah. The interview was extracted from Occupied Minds By Arthur Nelson
• al-Jazeera: Avi Shlaim speaking as an Arab Jew: Arabs and Jews lived in harmony until the Zionist movement forced them to leave Iraq to replace Palestinians in Palestine
• Iraqi Government advertisements calling for the return of its Jewish citizens who had fled their country, Iraq, after the outbreak of the 1948 war
• Middle East Eye: Avi Shlaim says he has 'proof of Zionist involvement' in 1950s attack on Iraqi Jews
• NY Times on October 27th, 1946 reporting on its editor "Arthur Ochs Sulzberger" accused Zionist leaders of weaponizing European Jews' pain and suffering in the Displaced Persons (DPs) camps (after WWII ended) so they could build their "Jewish state"
• Reuters: Israel's advent altered the outlook for Middle East Jews
• Video: The Forgotten History of Arab Jews | Avi Shlaim | The Big Picture (54 Minutes) A Must-Watch
• Short Clip: The renowned Israeli historian Avi Shlaim (a proud Iraqi Jew) explains his findings on how Iraqi Jews left their ancestral lands in Baghdad  Duration: 1 min sec A MUST WATCH
• Video: An Iraqi Jew schools a Zionist
• Wikipedia: Responsibility for the bombings of Baghdad's Synagogue in 1951
• Wikipedia: Permitting Jewish emigration by Arab countries
• Online Book: The lure of Zion: The case of the Iraqi Jews by Abbas Shiblak
• A Must Read: Lobbies, refugees, and Governments: A Study of the Role of the Displaced Persons in the Creation of the State of Israel by James Daryl Clowes (1988 Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations at The University of Montana
• A must-read booklet: The Exodus of the Iraqi Jews by Rayyan Al-Shawaf (PDF)
• Book: The First Israelis by Tom Segev (in PDF)
• Wikipedia: The infamous Lavon Affair
• Ha'aretz: Newly released documents show a darker side of Ben-Gurion (pay attention to how Arab Jews were called in Israel "Oriental Community" and not Mizrahim for the first 2 to 3 decades after Nakba)
• Photos: The Unknown Story of Yemen's Jews By Yediot Aharonot
• Myths about Jewish refugees from Arab countries By Henry Lowi
• Video: Zionism versus Judaism By Naturi Karata
• From Haven To Heaven: Changes in Immigration Patterns To Israel
• Ha'aretz: Israel Admits Ethiopian Women Were Given Birth Control Shots
• Paper: "Arab Jews" after structuralism: Zionist discourse and the (de)formation of an ethnic identity by Yehouda Shenhava & Hannan Hever (PDF)