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The Assets of Arab Jewry: $150 Billion
By D. Rosen
$150 billion is the scope of the property which the Jews of Arab lands and of Iran left behind after being expelled from their countries and making aliya to Israel when it first achieved statehood. These facts, being revealed for the first time, are merely a conservative appraisal without any monetary adjustment for inflation. They are a result of an assessment covering a period of several years, and were first publicized in Yisrael Hayom.
These figures expose a mere inkling of the exceptionally tragic chapters in the history of Jewry in Iran and Arab countries which up till recently were not discussed by the Israeli public. This is, in effect, the first time that the Israeli government has solid facts covering this important subject with its historic, economic-political and national-diplomatic implications.
Since 2002, the need has arisen to arrive at an evaluation of property, alternate to that drawn up by the Palestinians. But nothing substantial was arrived at on this subject, until 2017, when progress was made. The Control Center for National Security promoted a special project designed to arrive, through various methods, at an appraisal of property [owned by Jews] throughout almost all Arab countries. One cannot go into detail as to how this was executed, and which mirrors the same parameters which the Palestinians employed in their estimations.
Despite the fact that in 2010, a laws was passed whereby Jews hailing from Iran and Arab countries would be reimbursed for the loss of property to be arrived at future negotiations, in actuality, the government had no knowledge of the vast extent of such property left behind or its exact location, until this was finally determined.
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