Were Jews Driven Out of Iraq?

There's a long argument between the Zionist mainstream the Arab nationalist and pro-Palestinian left over the exodus of Iraqi Jews in the years after Israel's establishment. Did the Jews get "pushed" out by Zionist activists? Can we say that this was part of a "population exchange" in which Jewish refugees got resettled in Israel, while Palestinian refugees failed to be properly settled in Arab countries? Were Iraqi Jews forced out by the their own government - and if so, why?

Dan Fleshler of Realistic Dove presents, by way of the Meretz USA blog, the words of Australian scholar Philip Mendes. As Flesher writes: "Most commentators who sound off on these topics have little detailed knowledge of the tangled history of Jews in Arab countries. That is why the Mendes article, which mostly focuses on Iraq, is valuable."

I agree.

As Medes writes:

On the one hand, Arab denial of the contribution made by anti-Jewish hostility to the Jewish exodus from Iraq and elsewhere is insensitive and ahistorical. Jewish refugees from Arab lands should be entitled to some form of compensation for abandoned lands and property. There is no reason why organisations such as the World Organisation of Jews from Arab Countries (WOJAC) should not be formally represented in negotiations between Israel and the Arab states.

On the other hand, it is equally insensitive for Israel to use the experience of the Jewish refugees as a justification for its treatment of the Palestinian refugees. The latter group also have a justifiable claim for financial compensation.

The issue of Arab refugees from Arab countries flowing TO Israel deserves to be part of the conversation, as long it does not come at the expense of legitimate Palestinian claims.