Palestinians call the formation of the State of Israel a tragedy, they have a word for it, 'Nakba' and a day that commemorates the tragic displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians after the Arab war against Isreal's formation failed and Israel annexed land abandoned by the Arab forces.

Their tragedy came about as a result of a war that was waged against Israel and the failure of the Arab forces to succeed in their mission. However, the real tragedy that occurred after Israel was formed was the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Jews within Arab and Muslim countries - the true Nakba was the theft of property, assets and the ultimate banishment of Jews from their homes who had lived in Muslim lands for centuries.

Today, the Israeli government is looking to document the lives of Jews in Muslim lands, to make sure the story of the once vibrant North African, Persian, and Iraqi Jewish communities are not forgotten. To this end, the Knesset approved the allocation of more than six million shekels to ensure the documenting of the rich heritage of Jewry in Arab countries and Persia (Iran) not only happens but is enshrined in the story of Israel.

Yesterday, the Israeli government endorsed a program centered around preserving the history/heritage of Jews in the Muslim world. Jews with roots in Muslim lands are encompassed within the term '#Mizrahi (Eastern) Jews', who make up the majority of the J… pic.twitter.com/EV5SwkZzyJ

— Israeli Culture (@IsraeliCulture) June 20, 2022

The idea was that of Meirav Cohen, who is the Minister of Social Equality and the Minister of Culture and Sports, Hili Troper. Their initial idea was to ensure the documentation of the heritage of the Jewish communities within Muslim lands. To create an archive for the preservation of the rich histories of these Jewish communities after much of it had been purged by Muslim leaders who took out their anger over the creation of a Jewish state on their loyal citizenry that accounted for a significant portion of economic growth in these lands.

The budget for this project will be provided by a variety of government ministries. The initiative was approved by the government to ensure that the national archives preserve the story and heritage of the Jewish communities and tell the story of those who immigrated from Arab countries and Iran, a population that has contributed significantly to Israel's rich culture and overall vibe but whose history is largely undocumented due to many of them being forced to flee their homes under threat of death from their once friendly, Muslim neighbors. 

The program strives to provide the full picture of the vast diversity that makes up Israeli society while strengthening the country's sense of unity. The decision was made amid new studies that have been presented and suggest that 80% of the graduates of the education system believe that the history of the Jews in the Arab diaspora is insufficiently taught within the school system.

For this plan, the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Welfare, the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, and the Ministry of Tourism will transfer about half a million shekels, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage will transfer about a quarter of a million shekels.

In addition, the Ministry of Social Equality will transfer about one and a half million shekels, the Ministry of Culture and Sports about one million shekels, and the Ministry of Diaspora about 750,000 shekels.

Pogroms were rare in countries like Iraq where Jewish families remember coexisting peacefully with their Muslim neighbors. But every now and then, radicalism rears its ugly head to stir trouble.

— On This Day in Jewish History (@dailyjewish) June 1, 2022

While these different allocations take place, the Ministry of Culture and Sports will work to preserve the social heritage of the Arab and Iranian Jewish communities. The teams that worked to formulate the resolution noted that the archive would serve as a basis for the preservation and research of documentaries dealing with Jewish history. Due to the warming ties with many Arab lands, a lot of documents and information are being transferred to Israel that will help paint the picture and fill in the blanks of Jewish life in these lands prior to the true 'Nakba', when the Jews were driven from their land and forced to come to Israel.

The Minister of Culture and Sports Hili Trooper said: "To this day, the story of the Jewish communities in Arab countries and Iran has not been fully and properly told. On the way to correction, we make it possible to write an important chapter in the Jewish-Israeli story, the chapter on the communities of Arab and Iranian countries.” The archive will hopefully lead to a better understanding of Jewish contributions to these Muslim lands and help explain why the countries struggled after the Jews were banished.