Canadians behind U.S. bill to help Jews expelled from Arab countries

Research by former justice minister Irwin Cotler and other Canadians is at the centre of a U.S. bill telling the American president to advance the cause of hundreds of thousands of Jews who were driven from Arab and Muslim lands after Israel’s creation.

The bipartisan draft legislation in the House of Representatives says the plight of Palestinian refugees has received "considerable attention” worldwide, and so it would be "inappropriate and unjust” if the United States didn’t also recognize equal rights for the Jewish refugees. The bill also recognizes that Christians and other minorities were displaced from North African, Middle Eastern and Persian Gulf countries, as well.

"It’s an important step forward; it is a very good bill,” Cotler told the Citizen. "It sets forth what the U.S. should be doing in bilateral negotiations, multilateral negotiations, various initiatives in the peace process and the justice agenda.” (...)