Empty cradles: medical authority and disappeared children

Abstract

During the creation of the state of Israel, thousands of babies and young children were removed from their Jewish immigrant families by welfare and medical authorities. New to the state of Israel, these families from the Middle East, the Balkans, and north Africa spoke little Hebrew and were often living in poverty or transit camps. Children were removed on the belief that their parents could not look after them. Their children would be taken to hospitals and nurseries and never seen again. The parents were told their children had died.