BBC Airing Two Shows on Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries

"Sixty years ago, around one million Jews lived in Arab societies, but today only a few thousand remain – mainly in Morocco and Tunisia. The plight of Palestinian refugees is well known, but the Jews who were uprooted and forced to flee their Arab homes are largely forgotten."

So begins the promo for a two-episode program produced by the BBC, titled "Arab Jews: A Forgotten Exodus."

This two-part series tells the story of Jewish exodus – a story of dispossession and torn identities in one of the most hotly-debated chapters of history in the Middle East – and how the remaining diasporas are surviving in hostile Arab countries.

Based in Israel, part one examines what happened to the 850,000 Jews that have lived in Arab countries since Biblical times. Magdi Abdelhadi meets Jews from Egypt, Iraq, Libya and Syria, and discovers what life used to be like for them, how they got on with their Muslim neighbors and what prompted the disappearance of their ancient communities.

He hears their individual accounts of loss, anger and injustice and finds out how much of their old culture and identity they took with them to their new home countries.

First episode broadcast time:

Sun 14 Oct 2012 12:32

Sun 14 Oct 2012 20:32

Mon 15 Oct 2012 03:32

Download sound file from archive after the air date.