World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries

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World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries (WOJAC) was an international advocacy organization, created in 1975, [1] representing Jewish refugees from Arab countries. The World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries was created to make certain that any "just settlement of the refugee problem" recognizes those Jews who were forced to flee from lands where they had lived for centuries. [2]

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The WOJAC functioned for approximately 25 years (from 1975 until 1999). [3] WOJAC's aspiration was to operate in the national arena, to counterbalance the claims of the Palestinian leadership on the right to the land and on the refugee question. [4]

The monograph "The Case of the Jews from Arab Countries: A Neglected Issue, published by WOJAC, 1975" by Maurice M. Roumani [5] was used in preparation of the first International conference on the subject organized by WOJAC in 1975 in Paris. The English version of the monograph subsequently appeared in four editions, the last was 1983, and translated into French and Spanish and parts of it in Hebrew, in 1977.

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References

  1. "World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries (WOJAC) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  2. ""The Other Refugees: Jews of the Arab World" by George E. Gruen". www.jcpa.org. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  3. Shenhav, Yehouda (2002). "Ethnicity and National Memory: The World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries (WOJAC) in the Context of the Palestinian National Strug" (PDF). British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 29 (1): 31. doi:10.1080/13530190220124052. JSTOR   826147. S2CID   144466568 . Retrieved 10 September 2023. "WOJAC ceased to function in July 1999, due to the termination of Foreign Ministry and Jewish Agency support"
  4. Yehouda Shenhav. Ethnicity and National Memory: The World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries (WOJAC) in the Context of the Palestinian National Struggle. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. Volume 29, Issue 1, 2002, Pages 27 - 56.
  5. Maurice M. Roumani, The Case of the Jews from Arab Countries: A Neglected Issue, WOJAC, 1975"