Lynn explained that, contrary to general belief, Jews did not happily live side by side with their Moslem neighbours under Ottoman rule. They were, at best, tolerated. Together with other non-Muslims, they were given the status of “dhimmi”, not being allowed to hold positions of power and having to perform the most menial of jobs in society.
After WWI when the colonial powers took over from the decaying Ottoman Empire the “dhimmi” status was abolished and Jews, with their thirst for education, soon acquired their equal place in the increasingly modernising states.
However, anti-Semitism was always present in its different forms leading to many pogroms in the 20th century, exacerbated by the rise of Nazism, the most notable being the “Farhud” in Baghdad in 1941.
Lyn herself is of Iraqi descent, her parents fleeing to England in the early 1950’s. This obviously led to her interest in the historical plight of the Jews from Arab lands. She has been writing blogs on the subject for many years, entitled ‘Point of No Return’ http://jewishrefugees.blogspot.com/ , and decided to put all the material she had researched into a book.
Lynn also is also the founder of ‘HARIF’, the UK Association of Jews from the Middle East and N Africa, dedicated to promoting their history, culture and heritage.
Most of the 850,000 Jews from Arab countries who were expelled and dispossessed of all their property, made their way to Eretz Yisrael. Many of them arrived in the early years of the State making up more than half of the population. In spite of the many hardships in the ma’aborot, they were gradually absorbed and integrated into Israeli society.
Of course, the comparison was made with the rehabilitation of the many thousands of other displaced persons all over the world as compared to the Arab refugees who are still held in limbo by their leaders as political pawns. Several members of the audience also shared their personal experiences so a fascinating evening was enjoyed by all.
Five Towns chairman, Laurence Jacobs thanked Lyn for sharing her expertise with us and hosts Lucille and Sydney Cohen who graciously opened their home for us and provided some excellent refreshment.
