Israeli minister mentions Jewish refugees from Arab countries

It is no surprise that no sooner had the blood of the Bondi beach victims been spilt that the victim-blaming would begin. It was therefore refreshing to see Sharren Haskel, Israel’s deputy foreign minister push back, by invoking the plight of her mother from Morocco,  against the argument that ‘the Israeli government’s conduct in Gaza’ contributed to the massacre. She was appearing with Piers Morgan, who hosts a show with over 4 million subscribers, ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored.’ It was one of the rare occasions when Israeli spokespersons have mentioned Jews from Arab countries.

Morgan accuses Israel of causing large numbers of civilian casualties including children. After responding that war is a horrible thing and that no war is without casualties, Sharren Haskel says, 15 minutes into the conversation:

” If I look back in history, Jews have always been a symptom of a deeper disease.” Haskell refers to the Holocaust:’how many people died in the pursuit of the extermination of the Jews?’ she asks.

“If I look back at my own family history, my mum’s from Morocco. A million Jews were expelled from Arab countries – from Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon, Syria, Pakistan. There were pogroms where Jews were murdered.  In the farhud pogrom, women were raped…Now that there are no Jews in these countries, who are the most persecuted: Yazidis, Christians….”

Haskel is one of the few Israeli spokesmen to have mentioned the expulsion and persecution of Jews from Arab countries. Other high-profile speakers of Mizrahi background like Danny Danon and Eylon Levy, whose roots are from Egypt and Iraq respectively, have passed up on the opportunity to raise this essential piece of context.

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