COLLUSION AMONG ARAB COUNTRIES IN 1948 TO PERSECUTE JEWS

NEWLY-DISCOVERED DOCUMENTS FROM U.N. ARCHIVES REVEAL COLLUSION AMONG ARAB COUNTRIES IN 1948 TO PERSECUTE JEWS IN STRUGGLE AGAINST ISRAEL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Shira Dicker (917.403.3989)

New York City (October 23, 2007) - They have been called the 'forgotten refugees' of the Middle East but after a landmark summit and press conference in New York early next month, the narrative and plight of displaced Jews from Arab lands will be difficult to forget.

On Nov. 4 -5, 2007, 40 delegates from 8 countries and 5 cities across the United States will travel thousands of miles to attend the groundbreaking New York Summit, organized by Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC).

The highlight of JJAC's New York Summit will be a press conference on Monday, November 5th at the offices of the American Jewish Committee (165 East 56th St. Manhattan, 12:30pm). At the conference, the Hon. Irwin Cotler, former Justice Minister of Canada, will release documents from 1948, recently discovered in U.N. archives, that reveal collusion among Arab countries to use their Jewish populations as virtual hostages in their struggle against the creation of the State of Israel.

The proof of such documentation broadens the narrative of the Jewish refugees from Arab Lands, revealing gross human rights violations.

When the issue of refugees is raised within the context of the Middle East, people invariably refer to Palestinian refugees. Neither the mass violations of human rights, nor the displacement of up to one million Jews from Arab countries, have ever been adequately addressed by the international community.

Rectifying this moral injustice is one of the goals of the New York Summit, said Stanley A. Urman, executive director of JJAC. "It is about recognizing the fundamental reality that Jews were an indigenous people that lived in North Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf region for 2,600 years…1,000 years before Islam, before Mohammed walked the face of the earth."

The New York Summit of JJAC will also address other legal and political issues with potentially far-reaching implications. Highlights include:

* The US Report that will focus on two resolutions now before the US Congress that would require the US to ensure that "…any explicit reference to the required resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue is matched by an explicit reference to the resolution of the issue of Jewish, Christian and other refugees from Arab countries"


* A Colloquium on Europe will focus on how to secure broad-based European support for the rights of Jews displaced from Arab countries.

One of the most controversial items on the agenda, will be JJAC's adoption of a public policy declaration in advance of the upcoming U.S. sponsored Middle East 'Annapolis Conference.'


Advance media registration for the November 5th press conference hosted by JJAC is required and space is limited. To reserve a place, to attend any other portion of the program, to arrange advance interviews or for anything else related to JJAC's November 4-5 program, please contact Shira Dicker at 917.403.3989 or by e-mail at shira.dicker@sd-media.com. Please visit www.justiceforjews.com for further information about JJAC and to obtain an electronic press kit.


ABOUT JUSTICE FOR JEWS FROM ARAB COUNTRIES

JJAC is a coalition of 73 Jewish communities and organizations in 20 countries that is dedicated to raising public awareness of the little-known plight and flight of up to one million Jewish refugees from Arab countries that took place since the turn of the twentieth century.

Justice for Jews from Arab Countries | JJAC c/o CJH 15 West 16th St. (6th FL.) | New York | NY | 10011