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A group representing Jewish refugees from Arab lands testified before the U.N. Human Rights Council. Regina Bublil Waldman, who was born in Libya, joined Sylvain Abitbol, the Moroccan-born co-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, and Stanley Urman, the executive director of Jews for Justice from Arab Lands, in testifying Tuesday in Geneva on the issue of Jews from Arab lands. The U.N. body has been sharply criticized for singling out Israel for criticism while ignoring abuses in other countries, and the United Nations in general has never formally recognized the plight of Jewish refugees from Middle Eastern nations. Waldman, wearing her grandmother’s wedding dress, spoke of the terror of Jews of the region when they were forced out by some Arab regimes following Israel’s creation. Abitbol recognized the role of the Moroccan authorities in protecting Jews during the Holocaust and said these Jewish communities could now provide a bridge to the Arab world.

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