Zadok Says Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries Should Be Represented at International Parleys on the

Justice Minister Haim Zadok declared yesterday that Jewish refugees from Arab countries must be represented at international conferences on the Middle East along with official representatives of Israel because their claims carry the same weight as the claims of Arab refugees. Zadok made his remarks in the Knesset in reply to an agenda motion by Labor MK Mordechai Ben Porat who claimed that the Security Council, which began its Middle East debate yesterday, was ignorant of the rights of Jews who were forced to leave Arab countries.

Ben Porat heads the recently formed World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries which announced its intention to press the claims of Jews forced to leave their property behind when they fled persecution in Arab lands.

Zadok noted that Security Council Resolution 242 speaks of “a just solution to the refugee problem” which he said, related not only to Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 but to the problem of Jews forced to leave their homes in Arab countries. He said the two problems were similar and in effect, were an exchange of populations such as has happened in other parts of the world.

Zadok said that when the time comes for a peace settlement in the Middle East, Israel would demand full compensation for the property and rights lost by Jews who were forced to leave Arab countries. He said that must be an integral part of every peace settlement with the Arabs.

Ben Porat was indignant over being warned by the Foreign Ministry not to appear before the Security Council session where the PLO is represented on grounds that his presence could be interpreted as Israeli participation in the debate. He charged that the Foreign Ministry regretted assisting the organization of Jews from Arab countries because that organization refused to abide by Ministry directives.

Ben Porat said his group would act independently and would present its claims before every forum, including the UN. He stated that only in that way would the world learn “about the persecutions, the torture and the confiscation of property” suffered by Jews in Arab countries.