1st Floor, Room 108

Although there were more than a million Jews living in Arab lands in the first part of the twentieth century, today only a few thousand remain.  This situation is largely the result of policies instituted by Arab governments in the second half of the twentieth century when persecution of Jews became state policy.  The fate of Rabbi Gabbai's family, who lived in Egypt, is emblematic of these programs.  In 1967, when the Egyptian government decided to imprison Jews, his family was rounded up and placed in prison camps.  There was no due process, no charges, and no trial.  The family lost their shirt business and their property.  Rabbi Gabbai eventually immigrated to the United States.  Now he is the Emeritus Rabbi of Congregation Mikveh Israel, the oldest Jewish congregation in the city. 

The film Silent Exodus, directed by the influential filmmaker Pierre Rehov, tells the history of the Jewish refugees from Arab lands. Educational Media Reviews Online said of the film, "The Silent Exodus fills a critical gap in recent Jewish history, a gap that those who study Jews, Arabs, Israel, and other countries of the Middle East should address. [...] Today, only a few thousand Jews remain in all the countries of the Arab Middle East. If students of Jewish studies, Israeli history and culture, and the Middle East wonder why - and they should - Silent Exodus will help to explain the answer."  Another reviewer said of the film, "The film helps people to better understand the tumultuous history of the region as it transitioned from post empire era to modern nation states, and the parallel narratives of displacement, liberation and self determination central to this period."