News Brief

The British Parliament will be briefed on the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries, part of a conference on the topic being held in London.

Tuesday’s joint briefing, for members of both the British House of Commons and the House of Lords, was organized by Justice for Jews from Arab Countries, in association with the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and will feature renowned historian Sir Martin Gilbert and two former refugees who will testify about their flight from Iraq and Egypt after 1948 and their resettlement in the United Kingdom.

Canadian lawmaker and former justice minister, Irwin Cotler, who will also participate in the briefing, said Monday that the planned event “will expose the pernicious and prejudicial role played by the U.N. in excluding Jewish refugees from Arab countries from the justice and peace agenda.”

Cotler, together with some 50 delegates from 10 countries, is attending the congress of Justice for Jews from Arab Countries, which will end Wednesday.

Justice for Jews from Arab Countries is an international coalition of major Jewish communal organizations operating to ensure that justice for Jews from Arab countries assumes its rightful place on the international political agenda and that their rights be secured as a matter of law and equity

JJAC Executive Director Stanely Urman told JTA that Tuesday’s hearing was part of the ongoing campaign to put the plight of Jews from Arab countries forward before British politicians and the media. The BBC broadcast a documentary on the issue over the weekend, and the left-leaning Guardian newspaper praised the organization for raising the public’s awareness of this “forgotten scandal.”

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