Jews Living in Arab Lands

In today’s Arab lands, Jewish communities—some of which are more than 2,000 years old—are quickly disappearing. On Sunday, November 16, from 2 to 5 pm, the annual Rosenblatt Forum will explore this often tumultuous history in the symposium, “Jews Living in Arab Lands.” Panelists Dr. Robert Satloff of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, CBS Middle East Analyst and bestselling author Reza Aslan, author and scholar André Aciman, and journalist and author Lucette Lagnado will examine the Jewish exodus from Arab lands, Jews under Islamic rule, and whether or not two disparate groups who share homelands can overcome a turbulent past to achieve peaceful coexistence.

In 1945, there were approximately 800,000 Jews living in communities throughout the Arab world. Today, there are fewer than 7,000. These dwindling numbers are only one part of a complex and far-reaching story that goes back centuries. From the Babylonian Exodus, to the rise of Islam, to the foundation of the State of Israel, the everchanging political atmosphere of the Middle East has influenced the relationship between Jews and their Arab neighbors.

This fascinating symposium will outline not only the shared history of diverse cultures, but what can be gleaned from history to inform the policies of today.

About the Panelists
Robert Satloff is the executive director of The Washington Institute. He is the author of Among the Righteous: Lost Stories of the Holocaust’s Long Reach into Arab Lands. Dr. Satloff’s views on Middle East issues appear frequently in the New York Times.

Reza Aslan is an internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions. He is a fellow at the University of Southern California’s Center on Public Diplomacy and Middle East Analyst for CBS News.

André Aciman is the executive officer of the Doctoral Program in Comparative Literature and the Director of The Writers’ Institute at the Graduate Center, CUNY.

Lucette Lagnado is an investigative reporter and senior special writer for The Wall Street Journal. She was the 2008 recipient of the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for her memoir, The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit.

Tickets are $10 adults, $7 students/seniors, $5 for members and are available online at www.mjhnyc.org or by calling the museum’s box office at (646) 437-4202.