Today,
as we celebrate the First Exodus from Egypt some 3,200 years ago,
let us also remember the Second Exodus of Jews that took place not
so long ago, but is unknown to most people.
In
the years between 1945 and 1970, nearly one million Jews, indigenous
to the Middle East and North Africa, were compelled to flee,
sometimes brutally, from the lands of their birth. Like their
ancestors, they too left in a hurry and under similarly harsh
conditions. They fled Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya,
Algeria, Yemen, Aden, Tunisia and Iran. And “on the wings of
Eagles”, nearly 36,000 Jews from Ethiopia landed safely in Israel.
And
so, on this sacred night, let us say a special prayer for these
Forgotten Refugees. Let us tell their story, which is often left out
of the narrative of the modern Middle East.
Therefore,
with bitter herbs on your plate and a piece of matzo in your hand,
please recite the following:
We thank you
G-d for delivering these Forgotten Jewish Refugees from their modern
day pharaohs whose hearts were hardened and full of evil. Many of
these Forgotten Refugees were harassed, intimidated, insulted simply
because they were Jews, until they were forced to flee. They were
made to live as strangers in their own countries and denied basic
human and civil rights. They left behind their millennia-old culture
and heritage, their beautiful synagogues and sacred Torahs, Jewish
schools and hospitals, their homes and their personal belongings.
“But G-d
heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob. He said unto the children of Israel: I am the Lord and I
will bring you out from the burdens of the Egyptian (and from other
tyrants) and redeem you with an outstretched and strong arm. So, as
in the First Exodus, we thank the Lord for this Second Exodus that
we are a free people and blessed with the presence of the land of
Israel”.
“On this Passover and on every Passover in the future, when we eat
matzo and the bitter herbs, we must cherish the memories of our
forgotten brothers and sisters. And as Jews, always yearning for the
winds of freedom, we say to them: We Will Not Forget You.”
JIMENA (Jews
Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa -
www.jimena.org) presents an additional prayer to be read at this
year’s Seder to honor the Jews who were forced to flee in a “Second
Exodus” from Egypt and other Arab states. Our organization
represents Jews who were either expelled or otherwise compelled to
leave their ancient homes throughout the Arab world.
Key
Facts
