Italian Jews who are refugees from Libya are angry that Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi has offered to meet them in Italy on Saturday, the Jewish day of rest. Libyan organizers of Qaddafi’s trip offered Libyan refugees the chance to meet Qaddafi in a tent in a Rome park, according to Reuters.
The Jewish community in Libya numbered 38,000 at the end of World War II, but grew smaller until after the founding of the Jewish state, when all remaining Jews were forced to flee to Italy. The Libyan government subsequently confiscated all Jewish property and canceled debts to Jews.