Translation by Rana Abdul
(Zaman al-Wasl)- Associated Press published a report on July 13, 2016 about initiatives in Israel to open the cases for thousands of disappeared children whose Jewish families migrated from Arabic states in the 1950s to the occupation state.
There were claims at the time of the migration that many of these children were systematically kidnapped from their families and given to European Jewish families.
The article entitled, “Israel Delves into Charged 1950s Missing Children Saga,” indicated that the issue is still a concern in Israeli society.
Lawyer Nurit Koren, of Yemeni descent, a member of the Likud party is calling for the cases to be opened again. There are efforts to conduct investigations in an attempt to clarify the kidnapping claims. Aron Heller, the article author, described the issue as a conspiracy where children of families coming from Arabic states were kidnapped and given to Jewish families of European descent to adopt them.
Koren demanded the government lift the secrecy from hundreds of documents that can solve the mystery which touches on one of the most sensitive issues in the country. The issue would increase the problems between Jews of European (Ashkenazi) origin and those of Middle Eastern (Sephardic) background. Koren said, “I want to know the truth, I want to find out who was responsible for kidnapping those children and how they were transported and if they are alive now or not… This is a wound that must be opened once again.”
The importance of the case is that it demonstrates that the systemic methods the authorities used against Jews coming from Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa; 50,000 people came from Yemen alone. Those coming to Israel were initially placed in camps, and then some were sent to unorganized cities and others were killed in the chaos. The remaining children were separated from their parents. The process entailed separating children from their parents and then putting them up for adoption. According to the Associated Press article, these policies contributed to the high support for the governing Likud party.
At present, the Israeli authorities are searching for families to adopt 100 Syrian orphans it plans to welcome to Israel. The Israeli Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday that the occupation state plans to welcome and help these children by finding families to adopt them.
The plan was revealed for the first time on Israel television channel 10 and set out that Israel will initially house the orphans in a boarding school. The Ministry spokesperson said that the 100 Syrian children will be granted permanent residence in Israel after they reside there for four years. The authorities indicated they are looking for Arab-Israeli families, an estimated 1 million and 400,000 persons, to adopt these children.
The Israeli occupation state is executing the same scenario it performed previously, but in this case overcoming the issue of privileging religion. The word orphan here is used with an emphasis on the lack of information or known background for any of these children.
Between the adoption process Israel is proposing, those seeking to give Syrians in other countries nationality, and the search for other solutions hundreds of questions arise surrounding how applicable the equations of erasing, cloning, transforming and redirecting the issue in all its forms will be.
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