One-stop blog on Jews from Arab and Muslim Countries and the Middle East's forgotten Jewish refugees, updated daily
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Israel gets thumbs-up from young Mizrahi Jews
As it celebrates its 64th birthday, Israel receives almost universal endorsement from these young citizens of 'Arab' origin. The consensus among Israelis whose parents came from the Arab world or Iran - irritatingly described by the video-maker as 'Arab Jews' - is that they would not 'go back' to Arab countries if there was peace." Israel is our country," " I prefer Israel," "I like Israel", "living here is natural for me," they say.
Some expressed the desire to visit Arab countries like Morocco. One of the two who said they would like to live there confessed he was not connected to his Arabic roots.
Many still held on to the food culture or religious ritual. All those with Yemeni ancestry expressed no desire to go back there. No beaches (the interviewer pointed out that this is not the case), no understanding of the language, no freedom - were reasons given.
"We don't belong there", said a man with a Libyan parent. One woman of Moroccan origin said Morocco was 'scary'. She did not trust Muslim-majority states.
"But ask me - would I move to New Zealand?" she smiled.
Bring of Teimani background myself, would I go back (even to visit)? Hell No!
ReplyDeleteMy family had their fill of living under islamic rule and have no desire to return to such a degrading / debased status that was the norm for non-muslim minorities in Islamic-majority countries, where we were 3rd or 4th class citizens at times where we were merely tolerated (yet “knew our place”) and as virtual slaves ("protected like cattle") in times of Islamic aggression against non-muslim minorities.
Even if a muslim-dominated state was wholly secular / atheistic, westernised, fully assimilated and democratic from the ruling establishment to the people, a state that does not yet even exist might I add (even now nations like Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc are oppressing non-muslims so don’t bother citing them as examples of “Co-Existence” TM), I would still not go back since I recognise that such a state would never be permanent as it would always fall back in times of crisis on the failed notion that “islam is the solution” with non-muslim minorities once more finding their existence is dependent on the whims of whoever is in power.
Western Colonialism in many cases was a good thing for Mizrahi Jews since it freed us (along with other non-muslim minorities) from brutal Islamic oppression and I am not ashamed of saying it.
Besides, while I am attached to my Teimani roots, it is mainly because we once ruled over a Jewish kingdom there (Himyar) and the fact that though we and our culture predated islam from the time of King Solomon, we realise that we merely sojourned there believing that Israel is our true home.
Mizrahi Jews are NOT Arabs! They resent being called Arabs, they are all too familiar with Arab racism and genocidal hatred of the Jews. They are Jews, period. I think this Ashkenazi Jewish filmmaker doesn't really know anything about the history of Mizrahi Jews in the Middle East, which has been one of unrelieved oppression, exclusion, discrimination, terror and murder on a vast scale directed by Arabs at them. There is no love for the Arabs among Mizrahi Jews and no desire to get to know them and no desire to reconnect with any one or anything from the Arab World.
ReplyDeleteYou put it very well, NormanF. As I said, the expression 'Arab Jew' is very irritating, as well as being ahistorical.
ReplyDeleteJester is showing courage to say, even anonymously, that Western colonialism was in many cases a good thing. In today's "intellectual" & academic climate, some things are taboo. Until the order is given to change cassettes. Then other things become taboo. But I would still caution that the West cannot be trusted to be fair to the Jews -- and the UK seems to be one of the glaring examples. One of things I see is that Western Judeophobia now hides behind that of the Arabs/Muslims & that Judeophobic Westerners let the Arabs do the dirty work, blaming the Jews for harming/oppressing harmless, innocent Arabs who were always benign to the Jews.
ReplyDeleteOne of those promoting the "innocent Arabs" illusion was Edward Said with his herd of followers, such as Nadia Abu El-Haj. See the absurdities to which some of these academented people resort. At link:
http://ziontruth.blogspot.com/2007/11/more-on-nadia-abu-el-hajs-frauds.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h6ApibM7yo&list=UUc4iogeOUXNw1RZSNTOlMeg&index=5&feature=plcp
ReplyDeleteI think this should be seen here...
Eliyahu m'Tsiyon
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I know that West did not free Jews and other non-muslim minorites from Dhimmi status out of the goodness of their hearts and am aware that the West cannot be trusted, especially when the West after WWI tried to renege on its promises of self-determination for non-muslim (and non-arab) peoples from the MENA to then British India.
One does not need much evidence to see that even now, the governments (and political class / establishment) of the West subversively provides financial, emotional / ideological, media, political support and even military assistance to the arabs / muslims so they can continue the war against the Jewish people without further dirtying their already blood-soaked hands.
In a way (assuming one believes in G-d), it could almost be argued that the current global financial crisis is actually a good thing in the sense that the West will at some point no longer be able to assist the arabs / muslims in their proxy war against Israel and the Jewish people.