On Oct. 29th at Northeastern, Malaka Bublil shared how she and her family fled Libya in 1967 due to the oppression and persecution of the Jews in the Middle East.

Jews in “Arab States” predated the 7th century C.E. Arab-Muslim conquests of these territories by over a thousand years, but these communities came to a tragic end when in the 1940s and1950s, Arab governments forced the Jews to leave, confiscated their property and stripped them of their citizenship. In 1948, nearly 900,000 Jews lived in what are now known as the Arab States. Today, fewer than 8,000 Jews remain in that area. Of the 900,000 Jewish refugees, approximately 600,000 were absorbed by Israel. The remainder went to Europe and the Americas. With such tragic numbers of refugees, it is a wonder that these Jewish refugees are rarely heard about. As Bublil explained, “We are the forgotten refugees of the Middle East.”

She emphasizes that the mistreatment of Jews in the Middle East did not begin as a cause of the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. The Jews of the Middle East were long considered “dhimmi,” or second-class citizens, which she compared to the Jim Crow laws in the southern states after the end of the American Civil War. They often had to pay special taxes and wear distinctive clothing to mark them as Jews. If this reminds you of the treatment of the Jews leading up to the horrors of the Holocaust in Europe, it is not a coincidence. The terror for the Jews in Europe and also in the Middle East and North Africa is un linked.

Malaka explains that while Israel absorbed approximately 600,000 Jewish refugees after they were expelled from the Arab states, these same Arab states have not absorbed the Palestinian refugees. Palestinians have been living in refugee camps for 54 years because their Arab brethren will not take responsibility for them. Instead, the Palestinian plight is used as a pawn in the Middle East conflict. Malaka’s message for these Arab leaders is: “Shame on you!”

She repeats this message to the Palestinian Authority for focusing on destroying the state of Israel instead of focusing on building a Palestinian state and to the Palestinian mothers who send out their children to be suicide bombers. She reiterates that message to religious and educational leaders who lead the misinformation campaign to further incite the hatred and violence against Israelis, Americans, and Jews all around the world.

Malaka’s message in her speech is that love is stronger than hate. If Arab leaders would absorb the Palestinians into their own countries, they would show that love can be stronger than hate. But instead they focus on hatred for Israelis and Jews. If they followed Malaka’s message, there could be progress in the Middle East conflict. Israeli citizens should never have to endure the pain, violence and fear caused by constant suicide bombings and other vicious attacks, and Palestinians should no longer have to live in the destitution to which Palestinian and Arab leaders condemn them. These leaders should imitate Israel, who accepted her Jewish people when they were expelled from their homes.

In addition, Arab leaders must combat the anti-Semitism that is pervasive in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Without the mitigation and eventual elimination of anti-Semitism, any peace in the Middle East will only be cosmetic and temporary.

– Laura Held is a junior English major.