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Not all of the Jews trying to get to Palestine after World War II were European Jews. There were substantial Jewish minorities in many Arab states, including North Africa. (A few Arab countries banned Jews, including Jordon and Saudi Arabia.) Jews were historically subject to periodic attacks and discriminatory treatment in all Arab countries. There were periods of relative peace followed by violent episodes. This varied from country to country. Sultan Mohammed V in Morocco had not supported Vichy French repression of Jews. But even in Morocco there were Muslims who found non-Muslim people and worship, especially the Jews, offensive and prone to violence against them. This included both devout religious Muslims and the criminally motivated seeking easy prey. News reports of conflict between Muslims and Jews in Palestine and the desire of Jews to establish a homeland in Palestine resulted in gr
owing hostility against Jews throughout the Arab world. As a result, a range of attacks on Jews were reported. Thus the Royal Navy also encountered ships from North African ports with Jews attempting to get to Palestine. Royal Navy destroyers intercepted the Shivat Zion off Palestine (July 1947). The approximately 400 Jewish refugees were Jews from Morocco and Algeria. The numbers of North African Jews were at first relatively small. For the Jews in Arab countries there seemed no place to go and they simply had to endure their lot. Their situation worsened as Muslim zealots and criminals escalated attacks on defenseless Jews throughout the Arab world. The situation in Egypt became especially bad. The Grand Mufti was influential there and Egypt was one of the Front Line countries which attacked Israel (1948). And as the British and French departe
d Middle Eastern and North African countries, Jews in those countries were even more endangered. What changed, however, was the creation of Israel. Jews in these countries now had a place of refuge. Eventually the number of Jews fleeing Arab discrimination and attack, the Mizrahim, would exceed the number of Jewish refugees from the European Holocaust.
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