Posted on 08/30/2005 9:53:05 PM PDT by Brian_Baldwin
Exclusive: Iraqi Jews to demand compensation for billions in lost assets
The Iraqi community was among the largest in the Arab world.
Again, this is important stuff, wonder how all the Lefties will react? Blame the Capitalist Jews? If the Left is so concerned about "justice" for "all races, religions", wouldn't this issue be of paramount for them?
I would predict not. Because, the left marches arm in arm with the Islamic attack on America and the West - because they both share values, the value of hating us and hating the West. They are now Jew haters, just like the National Socialists, and propagandists of the Jew haters, just like Cindy Sheehan.
I had a good friend whose family (Jewish) fled Iraq in the 1950s. She was the only one born here.
Yep. I have to wonder if now is the best time for this, though. They should surely be entitled to compensation. But given the propaganda battle, maybe now is not the greatest time to give the terrorists more propaganda ammunition.
And it really is disgusting how I have to think like that these days. The times are making cynics out of an idealists. Kinda sad.
I'm just now reading the article. But some of the people involved do not look so deserving, so far. The goal of the project is political and for that reason, Professor Hesker Haddad of Jews from Arab Countries (WOJAC) maintains support for the cause. "It will help Israel in the peace negotiations," he said. "The idea is to make an exchange. Arab countries will not compensate Jews who left Iraq and Israel will not compensate the Palestinian refugees." Apples and oranges.
I had a doctor who fled Baghdad after a pro nazi coup in 1942..
Not even the people involved are clear about this being a sound move to make . . . at this time. As reported, it seems to be a mixed bag of claims.
Leaders of the Iraqi Jewish community from around the world are to meet soon in London to plan a strategy to demand compensation for lost assets
. . . most of the community left Iraq between 1950 and 1952, after the creation of the State of Israel. They left behind homes, businesses and large pieces of land. Most of those assets were frozen, some were taken by the government and some were sold.
Ben-Porat also wants to demand that the Iraqi government fix up the graves of Jewish prophets around Iraq. "We know the tombs are in very bad shape," said Ben-Porat and claimed he had the photos and videos to prove it. He asserted that large plots of land near the grave of the Prophet Ezekiel in the city of Chifel belong to the Jews.
The group also plans to demand that Iraqi synagogues and cemeteries be cared for. "There were 53 synagogues in Baghdad," said Ben-Porat. Some have been rented by Iraqis who still pay their rent to an old Jewish woman who is the accountant of the Jewish community of 16 people in Iraq.
It seems to me that this is a sleeping dog, or maybe it is a dead horse - and the parties responsible for their losses are no longer in power, and haven't been in power for decades.
..................
What's fair after 50 years?
Consider the state of Hawaii. It has been slightly over 100 years since the overthrow of the monarchy. What would be fair? What about the descendants of the freed slaves in the United States? How do you compensate them for the enslavement of their not to distant ancestors?
The question the compensation demand brings up is a tough one to answer. It requires people to dwell on a past that is best relegated to the history books, instead of looking forward. The Jews who left Iraq made a decision to leave a lot behind, in order to preserve their lives and their freedom. By leaving it can be argued that they took with them the services and skills that might have saved lives and preserved the economic security of many. How do you compensate the people they left behind?
Do we really, really want to get bogged down in reparations and compensations at this stage? The question could inflame and reverse progress. Let the question of compensation be answered by success in establishing the kind of society which the originally oppressed or transgressed would've wanted to live in. To try and do anything else would only bog us down in political divisions.
Bump
I hope that these poor Iraqis won't have to pay compensations.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.