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FrancoAngeli Journals

Studies and research

No. 295 (2021): Italia Contemporanea - Sezione Open Access "In rete"

“They walked through the sea on dry ground”: the Jews of Libya in Italy’s refugee camps and the international refugee regime in the aftermath of the Second World War (1948- 1949)

  • Chiara Renzo
Submitted
maggio 12, 2021
Published
2021-05-12

Abstract

The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 led to a significant decrease of Jewish displaced persons in Italy’s refugee camps. However, it also marked the beginning of an unexpected movement that between 1948 and 1949 brought to Italy about 8,000 Jews from Libya who sought to receive international assistance for resettlement in Israel. This article analyzes the reasons that led the Jews of Libya to clandestinely reach Italy’s refugee camps, the role of Jewish and Zionist organizations, and the scenario in which international humanitarianism reacted to this emergency. It argues that a Eurocentric vision intrinsically rooted in the international refugee regime of that time deprived the Jews fleeing Libya of the
status of displaced persons.

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