tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12677825.post5727511229290822087..comments2024-03-14T02:22:26.957+00:00Comments on Point of No Return: Jewish Refugees from Arab and Muslim Countries: Are Mizrahim still marginal? Rachel Shabi reviewedUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12677825.post-51516939654125840632009-11-21T10:29:42.972+00:002009-11-21T10:29:42.972+00:00Observer,
good point that the Sephardim discovered...Observer,<br />good point that the Sephardim discovered their political muscle for the first time in Israel. On the other hand, it has taken this long for a Sephardi party (Shas) to introduce a bill in the Knesset to safeguard Jewish refugee rights. Too many Israelis are still ignorant of the Jewish history of suffering in the Arab world.bataweenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15829104245735619972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12677825.post-67414420757214888112009-11-21T09:18:51.381+00:002009-11-21T09:18:51.381+00:00A superb review by Lyn Julius!
It is questionable...A superb review by Lyn Julius!<br /><br />It is questionable how well Shabi knows either the Iraqi-Jewish or the Iraqi-Israeli experience. Few Iraqi Jews (other than Shabi and Shlaim) long for Iraq, while few Israelis think the Ashkenazi-Sehardi split of much importance anymore.<br /><br />Moreover, even in the days in which Sephardi demonstrators taunted Meir, that very fact was a Sephardi victory, since Sephardim/Mizrahim were never in a postion to publicly taunt the leadership in their "home" countries.<br /><br />Unlike Shabi, most Sephardi actvists recognise that the major obstacle of the moment is the struggle to have the world (including Israel) give more prominence to the rights of Sephardim to financial and moral compensation from the Arab world for 1400 years of dhimmitude.Independent Observernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12677825.post-44626627050003180122009-11-12T08:16:27.498+00:002009-11-12T08:16:27.498+00:00I'm delighted that Iraqi doctors helped diagno...I'm delighted that Iraqi doctors helped diagnose your wife's condition. Your example only serves to show how you can argue anything you like based on anecdotal evidence. Beware too, of generalisations. Another criticism one can also make of Shabi's book is that she does not differentiate between different Sephardi/Mizrahi communities. The Egyptians and Iraqis were well-educated and have been particularly successful.<br />I don't know if Shabi was put up to write her Israel-bashing book by others - myself, I think she has a personal axe to grind. But what is scandalous is that such is the anti-Israel zeitgeist that not one, but two publishers were ready to take it on, thus giving legitimacy to the most marginal of views. This also applies to the anti-Zionist Shlomo Sand, currently peddling his wacky and malicious rubbish around around the world.bataweenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15829104245735619972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12677825.post-81684554573314039472009-11-12T07:47:36.111+00:002009-11-12T07:47:36.111+00:00Shabi's claims remind me of a personal story t...Shabi's claims remind me of a personal story that seems relevant to Shabi's book. <br /><br />My wife, who is American-born to American-born parents, was living in Israel ca. 1970. One of her friends was the daughter of a prominent Sefardi family in Jerusalem. Through her, she got to know some of her relatives in Tel Aviv. Now my wife had a certain problem with her eyes which had never been properly diagnosed while living in the USA by any physician there, including eye specialists. <br /><br />She was referred through her friend's family in Tel Aviv to a prominent physician there, Dr Qor`in, Iraqi-born. He had an office across from the Mann Auditorium-HaBimah Theater complex, which you may know was and is one of the most prestigious addresses in Tel Aviv. His spacious apartment was there too. When she came to his office, he immediately diagnosed her eye condition, although he was an ENT specialist, not an ophthalmologist. As I said, no American physician, including eye specialists, had been able to diagnose it. <br /><br />Dr Qor`in then had her meet him at his office at the Tel HaShomer Hospital where he asked Professor Nissim, an eye specialist, also an Iraqi, to look at her. He agreed with the diagnosis and then asked Professor Stein, a big eye specialist, to look at her eyes. Professor Stein concurred with the original diagnosis. And the three physicians happily went off into a discussion of the finer points of this condition. <br /><br />I see this as a comic scene actually, that Ephraim Kishon could develop to perfection. Imagine the physicians, all in jacket, tie and white shirt --de rigueur for that generation-- discussing this rather uncommon condition in abstruse medical terminology, while a young woman sits by, rather non-plussed but happy. Indeed, my wife to be was pleased to finally be diagnosed and especially happy that they told her that her condition could be treated.<br /><br />Now, it seems that Rachel Shabi put a number of anecdotes into her book. Could an anecdote like this have found a place in the book? Or was she sent on a mission by persons guiding her to seek out and publish material to make Israel look bad?Eliyahu m'Tsiyonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07973268399414290195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12677825.post-20160741851756455712009-11-11T17:45:56.669+00:002009-11-11T17:45:56.669+00:00Thanks for this, bh. Will include in my monthly ne...Thanks for this, bh. Will include in my monthly newsletter To be added to the mailing list please email me at bataween@gmail.combataweenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15829104245735619972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12677825.post-82942189851958371822009-11-11T12:43:11.570+00:002009-11-11T12:43:11.570+00:00Iraq minority rights fears grow
http://news.bbc.c...Iraq minority rights fears grow<br /><br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8354132.stm<br /><br />not about Jews in Iraq but maybe interesting to readers nonetheless<br /><br />bhAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com