Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC) is an organization dedicated to representing Jews from Arab countries and preserving the legacy of those Jewish communities.
Over 800,000 Jews were forced to leave their homes in Arab lands since the 1930s. At its peak, there were over 850,000 jews that lived in these countries. Today there are less than 4,000. An example of one such country is Yemen, which had a peak Jewish population of 50,000 in the 1940s. In 2024, the last Yemenite Jew was buried, leaving the current population of Jews in Yemen at zero.
JJAC was founded in 2002 in New York. It was created by a collation of Jewish organizations including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the American Sephardi Federation, the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, B’nai Brith International, the Jewish Public Council for Public Affairs, and the World Sephardic Congress.
JJAC’s mission consists of five main components. The first is to represent the interests of Jews from Arab countries. The second is uncover and recognize the legacy of Jewish refugees from Arab countries. Next, they seek out and record the testimonies of Arab Jews in order to preserve their firsthand accounts of their history and culture. JJAC is then able to collect, store, and disseminate this information. Finally, JJAC conducts public education efforts to teach about the history of Jews in Arab countries.
In service of these goals, JJAC provides a variety of services and resources.
JJAC created and hosts a historical record of Jews in Arab countries and how thousands of Jews were driven out of these lands, becoming refugees. They have compiled records of Jewish history across nine different Arab countries. You can read JJAC’s historical accounts of Jews in Arab countries here.
JJAC has also created educational programs that can be used to teach about the history and plight of Jewish refugees. They have created a curriculum about Jewish refugees that can be used in schools. They also have written materials that can be used in synagogues and congregations to introduce these histories to their communities. You can find these educational resources here.
Finally, JJAC has produced several reports detailing the legal rights of Jewish refugees from Arab Countries. These legal resources can be found here.
Justice for Jews from Arab Countries, works diligently to ensure that the history of Jews from Arab countries are not forgotten and that the lessons learned from the legacy of these Jewish refugees can help us work towards a brighter future. Now, more than ever, JJAC’s mission is a crucial one.
