An evening of remembrance

The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies will host its 10th annual commemoration on Sunday honouring the approximately 850,000 Jews displaced from Arab countries and Iran, predominantly during the mid-20th century following Israel’s establishment.

Sydney became the first Diaspora community to mark this history when the JBD launched the event in 2015. This year marks a significant milestone, with Victoria’s Jewish Community Council holding its first commemoration on November 30, assisted by the JBD, which is now supporting other states to establish similar events.

The date aligns with Israel’s 2014 declaration of November 30 as an annual memorial day, chosen symbolically as the day after the UN Partition Plan’s adoption on November 29, 1947, representing the immediate risk faced by Jews throughout the Arab world and Iran.

Jewish communities in Arab countries have diminished by approximately 99 per cent, while Iran’s Jewish population plummeted from around 150,000 to 10,000, with many departing after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Sydney scholar Dr Myer Samra estimates Australia’s Sephardi-Mizrahi Jewish population at 5000-6000, with several thousand residing in Sydney.

Lynda Ben-Menashe, who initiated these commemorations a decade ago, said it is “gratifying” to see another communal commemoration marking this event.