(Iraqi Jews arrive in Israel, 1949:"We are not refugees.")
Hitching a ride on the magic carpet
By Yehouda Shenhav
Any analogy between Palestinian refugees and Jewish immigrants from Arab lands is folly in historical and political terms
(Not a new article, it dates from 2003, but it's always worth it as a reminder of the misrepresentations of historical facts Israeli propagandists resort to..)
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"An intensive campaign to secure official political and legal recognition of Jews from Arab lands as refugees has been going on for the past three years. This campaign has tried to create an analogy between Palestinian refugees and Mizrahi Jews, whose origins are in Middle Eastern countries - depicting both groups as victims of the 1948 War of Independence. The campaign's proponents hope their efforts will prevent conferral of what is called a "right of return" on Palestinians, and reduce the size of the compensation Israel is liable to be asked to pay in exchange for Palestinian property appropriated by the state guardian of "lost" assets.
The idea of drawing this analogy constitutes a mistaken reading of history, imprudent politics, and moral injustice.
Bill Clinton launched the campaign in July 2000 in an interview with Israel's Channel One, in which he disclosed that an agreement to recognize Jews from Arab lands as refugees materialized at the Camp David summit."
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