Mizrahi Jew
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- This article deals with those Jewish communities indigenous to the Middle East. For the organisation of the Religious Zionist Movement, please see Mizrachi.
Mizraḥi Jews sometimes also called Oriental Jews, (מזרחי "eastern", Standard Hebrew Mizraḥi, Tiberian Hebrew Mizrāḥî; plural מזרחים "easterners", Standard Hebrew Mizraḥim, Tiberian Hebrew Mizrāḥîm) are Jews of Middle Eastern origin. Included in the category Mizraḥi, are non-Sephardic Jews from the Arab world as well as other communities, variously including the Gruzim, Persian Jews, Bukharan Jews, Juhurim, and sometimes the Teimanim.
Though many Mizraḥim now follow the liturgical traditions of the Sephardim, and in modern Israel may be colloquially referred to as Sephardic Jews, the Mizraḥim are not Sephardic, as they are not descended from those Jews who were expelled from Sepharad (the Iberian peninsula) during the Spanish Inquisition. Including Mizraḥim with Sephardim may be regarded as culturally insensitive or ignorant.
Prior to the emergence of the term "Mizraḥi", which dates from the time of the establishment of the State of Israel, Arab Jews (יהודים ערבים) was a commonly used designation for those Mizraḥim originating in Arab lands, though almost never employed by the Mizraḥim themselves. The term is rarely used today, except among a minority of Mizraḥim who promote reintroducing the designation Arab Jews instead of Mizrahim; this usage has thus far received little support among the wider community. Many Mizraḥim today also self-identify with and exhibit affinity towards their (or increasingly their immediate ancestors') country of origin, e.g. "Iraqi Jew," "Tunisian Jew," "Iranian Jew," etc., retaining particular traditions and practices.
Unlike the terms Ashkenazi and Sephardi, Mizraḥi is simply a convenient way to refer collectively to a wide range of Jewish communities, most of which are as unrelated to each other as they are to either the Sephardi or Ashkenazi communities.
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Language
Main article: Mizrahi Hebrew language
The most prominent language associated with the Mizraḥim are the various Judæo-Arabic dialects. A number of notable philosophical, religious, and grammatical works were written in the Arabic language which was modified with the employment of Hebrew characters, and often incorporating Arabic vowel marks.
The Temani Jews from Arabic-speaking Yemen are sometimes included in the Mizraḥi grouping.
Other languages also associated with the Mizraḥi include the Judæo-Persian languages, spoken by Iranian Jews.
Post 1948 Dispersal
Most Mizraḥi Jews fled their countries of birth when, in reaction to the events leading up to and following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, citizens of Arab countries acted violently against their local Jewish populations in what they viewed as retaliation for both the creation of the Jewish state of Israel, and for their non-Jewish Arab brethren being turned into refugees as a result. Further anti-Jewish actions by Arab governments in the 1950s and 1960s, including the expulsion of 25,000 Mizraḥi Jews from Egypt following the 1956 Suez Crisis, led to the overwhelming majority of Mizraḥim becoming refugees. Most of these refugees fled to Israel.
Today, from the few remaining Mizraḥi communities still existing throughout the Arab world—with a combined population of fewer than 1,000 individuals—a trickle of emigration continues, mainly to Israel and the United States. An additional 11,000 Mizraḥi Jews still reside in Iran. Many there feel actively persecuted, and a number have been arrested, mostly for alleged connections with Israel and/or the United States. Some have even been executed, religious intolerance mainly being cited as the contributing factor. [1]
Mizraḥim in modern Israel
From their initial transition to Israel, the Mizraḥim have distinguished themselves from their Ashkenazi and Sephardi counterparts, in culture, customs and language. Arabic was their mother tongue of some, Persian for those of Iran, Gruzinic, Georgian, Tajik, Juhuri, and various other languages; for some it still is. Hebrew was mainly considered a language of prayer.
The Mizraḥim were at first moved into rudimentary and hastily erected tent cities, and later sent to development towns. Moshavim (communal farms) were also trialed, however, the Mizraḥim had been mainly craftsmen and merchants, with very few having been farmers. Furthermore, while most Ashkenazi pioneers were secular and many were socialists, most Mizraḥim were neither.
Distinguished Mizraḥi personalities
- Moshe Katsav, President of the State of Israel - Iran.
- Ofra Haza, popular Temani vocalist - Yemen.
- Dana International, popular Israeli pop singer - Yemen.
- Silvan Shalom, Minister of Foreign Affairs - Tunisia.
- Shaul Mofaz, Minister of Defense - Iran.
See also
External links
- JIMENA Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa.
- Who is an Arab Jew? - On being Mizraḥi (anti-Arab identity) by Albert Memmi.
- Reflections by an Arab Jew - On being Mizraḥi (pro-Arab identity) by Ella Habiba.
- Why Jews fled Arab countries - A Jewish (pro-Zionist) analysis of Mizraḥi flight by Ya'akov Meron.
- The Jews of Iraq - A Jewish (anti-Zionist) analysis of Mizraḥi flight by Naeim Giladi.
- The Middle East's Forgetten Refugees A chronicle of Mizraḥi refugees by Semha Alwaya.
- My Life in Iraq Yeheskel Kojaman describes his life as a Mizrahi Jew in Iraq in the 50s and 60s.
- Multiculturalism Project - Middle Eastern and North African Jews
- Loolwa Khazzoom - Multiculturalism movement for non-European Jewish history, heritage & social justice.
- Hakeshet Hademocratit Hamizrachit - An organization of Mizraḥi Jews in Israel