What do you think?
Rate this book
Locked Doors: The Seizure of Jewish Property in Arab Countries
On the eve of the establishment of the state of Israel, the governments of Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon, among others, began persecuting the Jews who had lived in these countries for generations. In most cases the persecution focused on economic measures, aimed at destroying the basis for the very existence of these Jewish communities. The measures became increasingly brutal during the Israeli-Arab conflicts and were also influenced by the claims of displaced Palestinians and internal political strife. Now, for the first time, Itamar Levin tells the full story of this ignored aspect of the Middle Eastern tragedy.
As Itamar Levin shows in this ground-breaking survey, in the Jews of Iraq were first forced to give up their citizenship in order to obtain permission to leave and then their property was seized. The Jews of Egypt were deported after the Sinai Crisis, leaving their property behind. The Jews of Syria were stripped of their property gradually through the years. Levin estimates that the total value of the Jewish property lost in Arab countries is some $6 to $10 billion. No compensation was ever paid to the tens of thousands of Jews who lost their homes, jobs, savings, and property--often overnight--just because they were Jews. Must reading for anyone interested in the modern Middle East and negotiations for a final settlement between the Arabs and Israelis.
As Itamar Levin shows in this ground-breaking survey, in the Jews of Iraq were first forced to give up their citizenship in order to obtain permission to leave and then their property was seized. The Jews of Egypt were deported after the Sinai Crisis, leaving their property behind. The Jews of Syria were stripped of their property gradually through the years. Levin estimates that the total value of the Jewish property lost in Arab countries is some $6 to $10 billion. No compensation was ever paid to the tens of thousands of Jews who lost their homes, jobs, savings, and property--often overnight--just because they were Jews. Must reading for anyone interested in the modern Middle East and negotiations for a final settlement between the Arabs and Israelis.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
21 people want to read
About the author
Itamar Levin
19 books1 followerItamar Levin (איתמר לוין), born 1964, is an Israeli journalist, author and holocaust researcher.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 7, 2018
Opens a Window Onto a Different Aspect of the Mideast Conflict
In 1947 members of the Arab League met and proposed a draft law for the deprivation of both property and citizenship of the Jewish members of their societies. Itamar Levin follows the implementation of template in 4 of 22 Arab and Muslim countries in great detail, supplemented with testimony from some of the people affected.
In the 1930's and 1940's Jews constituted about 40% of Baghdad's population and were at the center of Iraqi Arts, Culture and Commerce. There were at the time some 150,000 Iraqi Jews and the Jewish community in Iraq extended back some 2700 years to the time of ancient Babylon. Now due to blatantly discriminatory laws and persecution there are none, though there are a few Jews who, under the current government have been looking into reinvesting and recovering personal property and communal artifacts.
The chapters on Egyptian Jewry show how a similar pattern. Jews owned most of the major department stores (appropriated by the State) and Alexandria's largest real estate developer Joseph Smooha was also Jewish. As in Iraq assets were frozen and Jews were dismissed from employment in public service and from many professions. Jewish businesses were nationalized. Many Egyptian born Jews were imprisoned in the early 1950s, then summarily put on ships and deported from the country. The community of 80,000 which went back to biblical times was wiped out.
The coverage of Syrian Jews looks at the persecutions of Damascus and pogroms of Aleppo where many synagogues were burned and the 40% of famed Aleppo Codex, perhaps the most important relic showing the evolution of the Hebrew Bible (next to the Dead Sea Scrolls) was lost or destroyed - in 1947. Unlike Iraq it proved almost impossible for Jews to get out of Syria in the 1960-80s with the last major exodus taking place in 1992. 4000 Jews emigrated at that time though they could only take assets of up to $2500 out of the country. Most of these went to the United States. (Parenthetically they were only allowed to leave on tourist visas which technically did not allow those to work in the U.S. as employees until recently.) I would supplement this section with Harold Troper's The Ransomed of God: The Secret Rescue of the Jews of Syria or the followup edition The Rescuer: The Amazing True Story of How One Woman Helped Save the Jews of Syria
The 4th country covered is Lebanon which had about 7000 Jews. There may be less than 10 left. Here the pressure was more subtle. Many Jews from Syria and Iraq used Lebanon as a way station which raised the Jewish population to 15,000, however the 1958 Lebanese civil war worsened the climate for Jews as they were caught between Muslim and Phalangist forces. Many Jewish businesses were boycotted because of suspected connection to Israel and Jews leaving the country were forced to sign a declaration that they would never return.
I highly recommend this book. It is a must read to understand the underpinnings of today's middle east conflict. Every mosque, church, synagogue or educational institution which has material on the Palestinian Refugees should have a copy of this book in order to place some sense of symmetry to what happened to the Jews. The chapters are well sourced and IMHO its an extremely honest historical treatment as it will reveal conflicting figures from different sources for the same event.
In Israel some 40% of the population (Jews) and another 20% (Arabs, Bedouin) can draw their heritage from Arab or Muslim lands and a good number of Ashkenazic families are related by intermarriage as well. These people understand Arab culture from having experienced it directly - is it no wonder that they are distrustful of Arab promises. In order to achieve peace in the middle east it is important that all parties understand each other's perspective and history.
In 1947 members of the Arab League met and proposed a draft law for the deprivation of both property and citizenship of the Jewish members of their societies. Itamar Levin follows the implementation of template in 4 of 22 Arab and Muslim countries in great detail, supplemented with testimony from some of the people affected.
In the 1930's and 1940's Jews constituted about 40% of Baghdad's population and were at the center of Iraqi Arts, Culture and Commerce. There were at the time some 150,000 Iraqi Jews and the Jewish community in Iraq extended back some 2700 years to the time of ancient Babylon. Now due to blatantly discriminatory laws and persecution there are none, though there are a few Jews who, under the current government have been looking into reinvesting and recovering personal property and communal artifacts.
The chapters on Egyptian Jewry show how a similar pattern. Jews owned most of the major department stores (appropriated by the State) and Alexandria's largest real estate developer Joseph Smooha was also Jewish. As in Iraq assets were frozen and Jews were dismissed from employment in public service and from many professions. Jewish businesses were nationalized. Many Egyptian born Jews were imprisoned in the early 1950s, then summarily put on ships and deported from the country. The community of 80,000 which went back to biblical times was wiped out.
The coverage of Syrian Jews looks at the persecutions of Damascus and pogroms of Aleppo where many synagogues were burned and the 40% of famed Aleppo Codex, perhaps the most important relic showing the evolution of the Hebrew Bible (next to the Dead Sea Scrolls) was lost or destroyed - in 1947. Unlike Iraq it proved almost impossible for Jews to get out of Syria in the 1960-80s with the last major exodus taking place in 1992. 4000 Jews emigrated at that time though they could only take assets of up to $2500 out of the country. Most of these went to the United States. (Parenthetically they were only allowed to leave on tourist visas which technically did not allow those to work in the U.S. as employees until recently.) I would supplement this section with Harold Troper's The Ransomed of God: The Secret Rescue of the Jews of Syria or the followup edition The Rescuer: The Amazing True Story of How One Woman Helped Save the Jews of Syria
The 4th country covered is Lebanon which had about 7000 Jews. There may be less than 10 left. Here the pressure was more subtle. Many Jews from Syria and Iraq used Lebanon as a way station which raised the Jewish population to 15,000, however the 1958 Lebanese civil war worsened the climate for Jews as they were caught between Muslim and Phalangist forces. Many Jewish businesses were boycotted because of suspected connection to Israel and Jews leaving the country were forced to sign a declaration that they would never return.
I highly recommend this book. It is a must read to understand the underpinnings of today's middle east conflict. Every mosque, church, synagogue or educational institution which has material on the Palestinian Refugees should have a copy of this book in order to place some sense of symmetry to what happened to the Jews. The chapters are well sourced and IMHO its an extremely honest historical treatment as it will reveal conflicting figures from different sources for the same event.
In Israel some 40% of the population (Jews) and another 20% (Arabs, Bedouin) can draw their heritage from Arab or Muslim lands and a good number of Ashkenazic families are related by intermarriage as well. These people understand Arab culture from having experienced it directly - is it no wonder that they are distrustful of Arab promises. In order to achieve peace in the middle east it is important that all parties understand each other's perspective and history.
June 25, 2014
While I would not call it a thrilling read, that is not exactly Levin's fault. The pattern, with minor variations, is repeated in every state surveyed: the Jews, either subject to de jure or de facto oppression (more often de jure, if I can recall correctly the Iraqi government drafted laws directly modeled off of the Nuremburg Laws), were compelled or coerced to leave their lands without their property or compensation. Some were not even able to leave at all, and Levin also chronicles the many show trials designed to terrorize Jewish minorities in the Middle East.
This book may be the best book available on the topic in the English language, certainly it is one of them. Unfortunately, that says less about the book than it does the absolute silence that the English-speaking world has held on the recent history of the Jewish people in Arab countries.
This book may be the best book available on the topic in the English language, certainly it is one of them. Unfortunately, that says less about the book than it does the absolute silence that the English-speaking world has held on the recent history of the Jewish people in Arab countries.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews