|
|
NEWS
Libyan Jews Demand Berlusconi Compensate Them for WWII
Suffering
By R. Hoffner
Following Italy's recent agreement to provide Libya $5
billion to compensate for decades of colonial occupation,
Libyan Jews are also demanding that Libya recognize the
suffering they underwent during the German-Italian occupation
of their country during World War II and grant them
reparations for oppression and property loss. Last week the
World Organization of Libyan Jews, based in Israel, sent a
letter to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi via the Italian
ambassador in Israel. A copy of the letter was also sent to
Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi.
In the letter, Meir Cahlon, who chairs the organization and
serves a board member of the Center of Holocaust Survivors'
Organizations in Israel, wrote: "Jews lived in Libya for over
2,000 years and were an integral part of the social fabric of
this land. We have heard, via the media, that the government
of Italy is acknowledging, 65 years after the end of the
occupation, the damage the colonial rule caused Libya and has
generously agreed to pay $5 billion in reparations. We are
pleased that under the mantle of your rule Italy was able to
overcome internal debates, recognize its historical error and
compensate for the damages.
"We believe Italy owes us, Libyan Jewry, compensation for the
pain and suffering that remains engraved in us to this day.
Libyan Jews are natives of [Libya] just like Libyan Arabs and
suffered just as much from the damage done by colonialism;
moreover, as a result of the race laws legislated by the
Fascist regime, suffered loss of jobs, loss of assets and
livelihood, loss of liberty and loss of their humanity with
their transfer to work camps and concentration camps during
the Second World War, in which over 700 Libyan Jews lost
their lives. We are asking the government of Italy to conduct
direct negotiations with us in order that Jewish victims and
their heirs receive their due."
The copy of the letter sent to Gaddafi reads, "We would like
to act toward normalization and peace between us. In Libya we
left behind homes, memories, cemeteries where our loved ones
lie buried, sifrei Torah and synagogues, and we would
like to return to visit the place where many of us were born.
Open up your heart and make this the start of a worldwide
historical process."
The harm to Libyan Jewry began with the legislation of race
laws in Italy in 1938, which applied in Libya as well. During
World War II, pogroms against Jews were held. Some claim the
attitude toward Jews deteriorated when Mussolini learned that
representatives of the Jewish community in Benghazi expressed
happiness over the entry of Jewish soldiers into Libya along
with the British army. In 1942 the Italians deported the Jews
of Cyrenaica to the Jado detention camp in the Jebel
Mountains. Men of working age were recruited for forced
labor. Yad Hashem estimates that of the 30,000 Jews, 712
perished Hy"d.
Many Libyan Jews fled the country following harsh attacks
after the founding of the State of Israel. A large number of
them immigrated to Italy, forming a considerable part of the
Jewish community there. In Rome a special synagogue was built
for Jews from Libya.
Libyan Jewry was among the largest and most ancient Jewish
communities in Africa (existing relics demonstrate the
presence of the community from the period of Shlomo
Hamelech), and lived mostly in the capital city of Tripoli.
Another concentration of Jews lived in the interior region,
near the Sahara Desert, where they dwelled in separate
neighborhoods in caves, where it was possible to keep
mitzvas. During the course of history many peoples —
the Romans, the Spanish, the Turks, etc. — passed
through the lands of North Africa during their journeys of
occupation. The Jews living in the coastal cities of Tripoli,
Benghazi and Cyrenaica suffered killings and exiles, yet they
survived under difficult conditions and preserved their
uniqueness. Most of the Jews left the country between 1948
and 1953, and in 1958 a law was enacted decreeing the Jewish
community would cease to exist.
|
