Empty Cradles, a major new exhibition, sheds light on a devastating mystery in history for Jewish migrant families
During the 1940s and 1950s, as hundreds of thousands of Jews made aliyah to the newly founded State of Israel, a number of infants went missing. Most of them were from Yemen, but also the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans. They disappeared while their families were placed in ma'abarot (temporary camps), awaiting rehousing. The living conditions were awful, so babies and children were relocated to safer environs, or so their parents were told.
The state officially maintains that these kids, who number in the thousands, died, yet their families have never seen bodies, graves or death certificates. It is believed that many of them were kidnapped or illegally adopted. A growing body of evidence has been uncovered to support the families’ claims, much of which can be seen in this new exhibition, Empty Cradles: Israel’s Disappeared Children.
Left: Shulamit Arami with one of her children. When Shulamit gave birth to twins at an Israeli migrant camp in 1954, hospital staff told her that one of the babies had died, but she was not shown a body or a grave.
Right: Yaffa Dayan and one of her children. When Yaffa’s first son was born at an Israeli migrant camp in 1964, she was not allowed to feed him. Four days later she was told he’d been taken to a children’s home, but when she and her husband went there demanding to see their baby, they were told that he had died.
On display at London’s Brunei Gallery from Friday 23 September to Saturday 10 December, this groundbreaking exhibition brings together documents and photographs that expose the Israeli State policy of systematically separating Yemenite children from their parents and chart the role of so-called ‘baby homes’ run by organisations both domestic and international to house ‘lost’ children before putting them up for adoption. Viewers will also see moving testimonies by mothers whose children were taken away by force, detailing the racism and condescension they experienced from the authorities.
Shoshanna and Zeharia Kohavi with one of their children. When Shoshana gave birth to twins at an Israeli migrant camp in 1948, she was only allowed to see one of her babies. The hospital said the other twin had died, but would not allow her to see the body.
Many of these missing infants could still be alive today and the families, campaigners and researchers hope this exhibition will raise awareness and spark conversations that encourage people to come forward if they have any information that could help reunite these parents with their ‘disappeared children’.
By Danielle Goldstein
Photos courtesy of the families and the Amram Association
Empty Cradles: Israel’s Disappeared Children runs Friday 23 September – Saturday 10 December. Brunei Gallery, SOAS University of London, WC1H 0XG. soas.ac.uk/gallery/emptycradles