Ira, educate yourself:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_exodus_from_Arab_and_Muslim_lands

Great show.

I can't believe Israel is so small.
I just looked at a map and the Arabs have 800 times the tiny sliver of land that is Israel - just the size of tiny New Jersey...

It's crazy that the Arab/Muslim world can't tolerate a little Jewish state in its midst when the land was peacefully divided during the mandate giving Jordan to the Palestinians and Israel to the Jews....

http://current.com/1goem4c

to Amy

Israeli Arabs are certainly treated much better than were Japanese-Americans during WWII. There are many Arab parties, and 14 serving in the Knesset, and many Arab mayors and other high officials. Increasing numbers volunteer for the IDF. But as long as Israel and the Arabs at war, it is impossible to expect that Israeli-Arabs will ever be fully embraced by the majority, and not remain under suspicion.

to Amy

Yes, they mostly spoke Yiddish. They were not well treated by the Sabras, who in the beginning called them "sabonim" or soapsuds.
They were often screwed by the gov't out of German Restitution funds. It was scandalous, for sure. Israel has tried to make up for it since, but it further scarred many in the interim.

The comment by the politician from Acre noting that the city's economy is relatively good because of its high ratio of Jews to Arabs bothered me, because it accepts so easily the economic disparity btwn. Jewish & Arab Israelis. And about the successful Arab couple (don't remember where) who Mr. Fletcher said don't feel equal--is it just their feeling, or are they in fact not treated equally in their interactions w/Jewish Israelis?

I lived on two kibbutzim for a while for about a year. Why did most of the kibbutzim ultimately fail? Simple. In the long run, socialism doesn't work. Maybe for a handful, but not for 98% of the people. WHerever tried, it fails. It was a learning experience.

Wouldn't most concentration camp survivors in pre-Israel Palestine have spoken Yiddish? Even if they also spoke Polish, Russian, German, etc., they would have used Yiddish to speak w/Jewish speakers of different European languages, right?

The Jews stole nothing! The Arab states refused to UN compromise and tried to drive the Jews into the sea. And so, some Arab lost their view of the Mediterranean, and some Jews lost their view of it from the shores of Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, etc. Two refugee problems were caused by the Arab attack on Israel in '48.

I knew scores of British ex-pats living in Israel, One still owes me $3200, but escaped back to Devon. Israel is full of British ex-pats. It's that King's James version Bible of theirs, I think.

The Palestinians miss their view of the Mediterranean Sea. The Israelis stole (yes, "stole") Palestine from the Palestinians in 1948. No due process; no compensation; no apologies. They just stole it. Is there any wonder why the Palestinians are so pissed off?