The Nakba Of The Jews, From Past To Present

 The Nakba of the Jews of the middle east and North Africa, in which Jews were driven out, persecuted and forced to leave from countries across the middle east and North Africa to Israel, where they and their descendants now form the majority population of Israel, is rarely, if ever, discussed. 

There are reasons why, with few exceptions,  there are no longer Jews in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, Yemen, and elsewhere across the middle east and North Africa, even though they were living in those lands for hundreds, and most often for thousands of years. 

Within British controlled Palestine, prior to the establishment of the state of Israel on May 14,1948, there were massacres of Jews by Arabs. This includes the Hebron massacre of 1929, massacres in Jerusalem, Tiberius massacre in 1938, massacres in Safed, riots against Jews in Jaffa,  the Hadassah medical convoy massacre, and more. During Israel's war of independence, when the newfound state of Israel was attacked by far greater in number Arab armies and almost destroyed, there were attacks against Palestinian Jews by Arabs within the new state of Israel. 

This never was the one sided conflict portrayed by many as nothing more than Palestinian Arab victim-hood caused by the despised Jew. Both sides have legitimate arguments and grievances. 

What is completely ignored is the Nakba of the Jews from the middle east and North Africa, and why they and their descendants are now in Israel where they form the majority population. One reason the Nakba of the Jews that originated from the middle east and North Africa is ignored is because it does not fit into the simplistic and completely untrue narrative made by some regarding Israel being an extension of European colonialism. It also ignores the long history of slavery, conquest, imperialism, and the violent spread of religion that had nothing to do with the Europeans.

What is true about Israel is that the pervasive hatred for Jews that resulted in the extermination of over 6 million Jews, almost the entire population of Jews that lived in Europe, is still alive and well throughout Europe, the middle east, North Africa and the rest of the world.

Jews living throughout the middle east and North Africa experienced persecution, pogroms, massacres, before and after Israel became a state. Just because it did not reach the utterly demonic level of what Hitler and his many allies reached, does not mean that it did not exist.

It was made perfectly clear to the Jews from the Middle East and North Africa that there was no place for them in the Middle East and North Africa except in Israel, the one small country that took in a far greater number of Jewish refugees from Arab majority lands than the number of Arabs that fled from Israel during and after the war of 1948.

Now that many of these Jews and their descendants have lived in the land of Israel for over 70 years, they are told that they must leave Israel. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Iran, Hezbollah, the Houthis of Yemen, and many others, state very clearly that Israel must be destroyed, and in the ashes of a raped and murdered Jewish population, there will be a Jew free state of Palestine. 

The recent October 7 attacks against defenseless civilians living, working or attending a music festival near Gaza, in which Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and also some of their supporters from Gaza, raped Jewish women, murdered babies, children, defenseless adults of all ages, beheaded, burned alive, murdered at point blank range, stabbed, kidnapped babies, children, men and women of all ages and brought them back to Gaza, shows their depth of depravity.

The Jews from the middle east and North Africa know full well there is no place for them to go other than to remain in Israel. There is no returning ever to Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Iran, Afghanistan, and other countries throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Asia, where all that will await them is slaughter.

It is not necessary to support Israel. It is not necessary to agree with Israeli actions in Gaza or anywhere else. There is nothing wrong with opposing the government of Israel and its policies. But that is completely different than wanting for the people of Israel what the enemies of Israel want; the destruction of the state and genocide. Hamas and Islamic Jihad and their many supporters have made it clear that Jews are not allowed to have a country of their own, unlike Muslims and Arabs, which have many countries. Not only are they determined to destroy Israel, but Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Iran and their supporters actively seek to murder all of the Jews living inside of the small state. 

The loss of civilian lives, especially children, on all sides is tragic. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and their backers and supporters, chose this war. They have long planned for this war. They want to kill Jewish civilians. They hide now in their tunnels and among the civilians of Gaza, not caring if all of Gaza is destroyed as long as they can kill Jews. They use civilians as human shields. They use Gaza as nothing more than a launching pad next to the heartland of Israel from where they can murder, kidnap and rape at will.

It is unfortunate that many that oppose this war still support the genocidal goals of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, the Iranian mullahs,  and all of their other sponsors and supporters.

There will be no end to the misery, war, death and suffering as long as the genocidal goals of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Iran, Hezbollah, and all of their supporters, continues to be the path long chosen, and that has led to nothing but misery for Jew and Arab alike for as far back in time as can be remembered.

Israelis that have nowhere to go, where their backs are to the wall, have no choice but to resist the genocide that others have planned for them. That makes them more formidable of an adversary than Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and all of the rest that want to murder, rape and kidnap Jews can ever imagine. 

All Nakbas must end, for everyone.