"Decolonizing ‘De-colonization’: Revisiting Jewish Histories in the Middle East"
One wonders how pro-Palestinian protestors would react if they learned that almost half of the Israelis they call ‘white colonists’ are either native to the land or refugees from Middle Eastern and North African countries[1].
Rather than colonizers to a new land, Jews have lived in the region for centuries. “Today’s discussion is going to explore the topic of historical Jewish connection and indigeneity in the land of Israel and the historic presence of Jews in the Middle East,” opened Azrieli director Csaba Nikolenyi.
“To some, these questions constitute axiomatic truths; to others, an anathema that leads to questioning the very identity of the State of Israel and the legitimacy of Zionism, and to [still] others, even the right of the Jewish people to their self-determination.”
While many project the current tense relationships in the Middle East onto the past, this was not always the case. In fact, Jews lived in Arab lands for generations, peacefully co-existing with their Muslim neighbors.
As Alon Tam of the University of Pennsylvania's Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies argued, “there has always been a Jewish community in Egypt.” Indeed, Jewish families were very well-established there, playing prominent roles in banking, agriculture, transportation, culture and the arts.
Pre-state Israel and Egypt also traditionally had close economic ties, with shared shipping routes and the Egyptian pound being the official currency until the building of the Haifa port.
The Egyptian-Jewish communities were also very involved in developing the land of Israel, supporting the Jewish National Fund, and financing the opening of the Hebrew University in 1925. The King David Hotel in Jerusalem - used as the British headquarters – as well as the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, were financed by prominent Egyptian-Jewish families.
Tam reinforced this link through stating that leaders of the Yishuv[2] such as Itzhak Ben Tvi (Israel’s second president) and Moshe Sharett (Israel’s second prime minister) were in regular contact with Egyptian-Jewish leaders such as the Chief Rabbi of Egypt, Rabbi Haim Nahum Effendi. There was thus a regular exchange of both goods and ideas. This legacy is evident in several well-known Israelis of Egyptian-Jewish descent such as Israel's former representative to the UN (2015-2020) Danny Danone and Isaac Herzog, current president of Israel.
Life would become increasingly difficult for Egyptian Jews however, with the creation of the state of Israel. Accusations of divided loyalties and patriotism, accompanied by forced deportations and harassment, would accelerate with President Gamal Abdel Nasser's pan-Arabism and anti-colonial platform as well as anti-Zionist laws. Jews were dismissed from their jobs and stripped of their citizenship.
The 80,000 Jews in Egypt quickly dwindled by the thousands, many escaping to Israel, Europe and North America. There currently remains just a handful of the once vibrant community.
Tamar Gibli continued the discussion with “how we [Israelis] became ‘we’,” using her own diverse background as an American-born Israeli with Yemenite and Polish ancestry as an example.
Upon the establishment of the state, there was a forced mass Jewish exodus from Arab countries. “Within two decades, the Jewish world underwent a complete transformation,” noted Gibli. “During the 1950s and 60s, almost all the Jews left their lands…Israel was considered to be a modern day gathering of the exiles.” Even though they came from several different origins, “they were collectively marked as Israel’s non-Western, oriental newcomers.”
As prime backers of the development of the state, the diasporic Jewish community in North America, prided itself - and Israel - on being modern and Western. Alternatively, the mizrachi Jews were seen as ‘old-fashioned and simple’ in need of ‘rescue’ and modernization. In fact, an article from a Hadassah Magazine of 1955 confirmed, “the ultimate aim…was not only to raise their standard of living, but at the same time, to change their total way of life.” The idea was that East and West were temporary definitions and that all would eventually become Westernized.
Aviad Moreno of the Ben Gurion University of the Negev expanded on these changes in Israel’s make-up. With increasing state-sanctioned persecution in Eastern Europe in the early 1900s, thousands would make aliyah to Israel. Israel’s demographics would change again with the exodus from Arab lands.
By 1966, half of Israel’s inhabitants were mizrachim. In response to discrimination, organizations such as Israel’s Black Panther movement and Sephardic support groups in the diaspora would mobilize for better rights and conditions.
Today, the mizrachim in Israel are a vibrant and integral part of Israel. Due to their backgrounds and heritage moreover, they often can provide unique perspectives on events in the Middle East.
[1] B’nai Brith Canada’s event “Jews from Arab Countries & Iran on November 30, 2023.
[2] Pre-state community
