NORFOLK - "It's my story. It's my parents' story."

That is how a Norfolk woman, Farideh Goldin, describes "The Forgotten Refugees," a PBS documentary that airs at 10 tonight on WHRO .

The 45-minute film deals with Jews who became refugees from Muslim lands in the years after the state of Israel was founded in 1948. The producers say the story of the Mizrahi Jews is a forgotten story.

"The Jews were forced to leave their birthplaces in the Middle East and North Africa due to intimidation from their governments and their neighbors," according to a news release . "In many cases, the refugees were not allowed to sell their property, businesses or goods before departing. Many Muslim governments profited from their departure, obtaining in many cases large swaths of land and big businesses ."

Goldin, whose family left Iran in 1979 after the Islamic revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini ended the reign of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , said her parents lost much upon leaving Iran for Israel.

"Their losses were both material and emotional. They lost their place in the Iranian society and culture," she said.

The film's producers estimate that 600,000 displaced Jews, such as Goldin's family, went to Israel. The others were scattered to other lands. "The plight of these nearly 1 million Jewish refugees from Arab lands has never before been recognized or addressed," said Rafi Finegold, the project manager for the film produced by The David Project and IsraTV.

"The Forgotten Refugees" features interviews with refugees from Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Iraq and Iran. Included are pictures and film that show the exodus of people who, as victims of anti-Semitism, were despised minorities in Muslim nations.

"The refugees have suffered twice. First, in their persecution, and secondly in knowing that their story had been forgotten," said Goldin, who was in her 20s when she left Iran with her parents and sister, all of whom live in Israel.
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