The AJC, founded in 1906, is widely regarded as the “dean” of American Jewish advocacy organizations. In 1948, the mainstream Jewish community saw AFSC as an ally. This three-page memo, dated January 21, 1948, summarizes the status of Jewish communities in six Arab countries and gives accounts of anti-Jewish rioting and other violent outbreaks following the U.N. partition decision of November 29, 1947. The nations with significant minority Jewish populations included in the memo are Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and Aden (then a British colony in south of Yemen).
Painting an ominous picture of more danger to come, the memo urges quick action on behalf of these Jews, warning that “proper and speedy action by the authoritative Religious Society of Friends would in time save the lives of hundreds of thousands of our co-religionists in Arab countries.”
