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Lebanon Prepares to Expel Jews; Other ‘special Measures’ Contemplated

November 2, 1961
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Preparation for the expulsion of Jews and “other foreigners” from Lebanon are now being made by the Lebanese Government, according to a report from Beirut carried today by the Arab News Agency. Other “special measures” are also being contemplated, the report said attributing the information to “official sources.” The steps will be taken in order “to prevent subversive action against the State,” the report stated.

Lebanon reportedly has as many as 10,000 Jews, according to some experts, while other Jewish sources maintain that the population there has dwindled to between 7,000 and 8,000 Jews. Through the years since the re-birth of modern Israel in 1948, there have been various official actions against Lebanese Jews, accused of being members of pro-Israel “spy rings” or of violating the anti-Israel economic boycott. Most of the Jews in Lebanon live in the capital of Beirut, and there has also been a smaller but active, Jewish community in Saida.

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