“We are your slaves, in seventy families and four hundred souls we have come to your honor, begging and asking to be saved from a strange death…” A handwritten chilling letter on behalf of the families of the Jewish refugees from Kushta to “Chakim” (without mentioning his name in the letter) to come to their aid after they were displaced from their homes with nothing, went through severe hardships, and stood bravely not to convert their religion. The letter is signed with the stamp of the “Committee of the Jewish Expatriates from Paras Kushta”, and with the signatures of Rabbis Eliyahu Halevy, and Hachem Michael Halevy. [Kushta, c. 1930s].
In their letter, the refugees detail all their hardships: “How many decrees and hardships have come upon us… being scattered from city to city… in captivity and looting… day and night crying and shouting when our ancestors cried out in Egypt…” . The refugees tell of another group of affluent Jewish refugees who managed to reach Jerusalem: ” Yet the five and thirty houses who had money went to Jerusalem”, and this group that was left with nothing is asking for help: “And the poor and destitute who were left without money and without livelihood are begging you to make amends for them to give help to send to the Holy Land or to give sustenance so that they will not die of hunger…”.
In their letter, they emphasize that turning to the “Chakim” is the last resort before they are forced to turn to foreigners: “And please don’t answer us empty handed. Why would we neglect if we turned to foreigners? Then they will say that we have gambled away our religion G-d forbid, and they will tell us why you did not ask for help from the Chakim… “, and request him to help them immediately.
From the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, the threat to the Jewish communities in the Middle East increased, and the number of persecutions against them increased. The number of Jewish refugees from Arab countries under Muslim rule is about 850,000 Jews who had to leave destitute the Arab countries where they were born and lived, and became refugees. The process began in the 30s of the 20th century, and intensified with the direction of the Arab League in close proximity to the establishment of the State of Israel. The wave of harassment continued even more strongly into the 20th century, against the background of many circumstances, varied and integrated into each other. The growth of Zionism and the hostile reactions to it in the Arab world, the growth of Arab nationalism, European colonialism, the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and fascist propaganda served as additional fuel to incite the Arab public against the Jewish communities. To these was added traditional anti-Semitism against Jews, who are described in the Koran as those who turned their backs on Muhammad at the beginning of his journey and twisted the Bible to make it difficult for other believers, and were sometimes economically more successful than the local Muslim population. In addition to violent events, in the 1930s and 1940s after the establishment In the State of Israel, the authorities imposed punishments and prohibitions on the Jewish communities that made daily life difficult. About two-thirds of the Jews of the Islamic countries immigrated to Israel and the rest to various countries in Western Europe, mainly France, as well as North and South America.
[2] pages. Filing holes. Very good condition.
