Algerian Jews seek compensation

ALGIERS, Algeria, May 10 (UPI) -- Some 120,000 Jews who fled Algeria after its 1962 war of independence from France are seeking $144 million in compensation.

A statement published Tuesday on the Web site "Zalabiya" run by Algerian Jews, called on Algerian authorities to compensate Jews who left the country with French colonialists fearing reprisals for their support of the colonial power.

The statement said the Jews would seek international help to put pressure on Algeria to meet the demand.

Many Arab Jews, especially in Iraq, Algeria and Syria, fled their countries after the establishment of Israel in 1948 to settle in the new Jewish state.