Reflections of an Arab Jew

 

When We Were Arabs 

By Massoud Hayoun

Lately I have been reading memoirs about Jews who fled or left Arab countries with little more than their lives. Having fled the countries they lived in for many years these Jews left behind property, real esate and money. this story is a bit different. Massoud is a Jewish man of Middle Eastern descent. He describes himself as  Jewish Arab. Being Arab and being jewish are equal parts of his identity. He mostly tells teh story of his grandfather Oscar and his grandmother Dida. Oscar was Morrocan on his father's side and Egyptian on his mother's side. His Mother was Tunisian. Massoud culls his information from his grandfathers three Costco notebook and from a biography of his grandmother. He has fond memories of his Oscar tryin to teach him Arabic on Sunday's. Of listening to the classic arabic songsters and watching the old Egyptian cinema. Then there were the stories of their youth in those countries.

Remember that their growing up in an Arab country they were occupied by Ottoman powers, British and the French. In their countries they were considered Arab whether their religion was Judaism, Christianity or Islam. One never asked what faith you were as everyone was Arab back then. They would even go to each other's celebrations. their origin stories did not hearken back to Israel of the first and second temple period rather the stories carry back to what Middle Eastern region their family hailed from. The author discusses some possible convert origins for differnt Middle eastern jewish communities. Either way they were part and parcel of the countries they lived in.

things hen began to change with the coming o European powers. First it was he French and they came in and colonized Algeria and Tunis. their claim was to make things better for he natives but in fac they tended to look down on indigenous culture and their education system sought t inculcate that. The French imediately set up school system with the intention of cementing French culture and ways in the country's youth. Soon you had youth dressing and looking like the French an looking down on the ways of their elders. These yougsters knew French history but not the history of their own country. THe Jews were taught to be French and that they were unique to everyother Jewish community. The French saw the Jews as instruments for their own colonial designs. Classic divide and conquer. It would isolate the Jews from each other and their neighbors.

In the Arab countries the more like the colonizer you were the higher class you were. Europeans did not mix with the locals but lived in their own neighbohood.  Class was stratified. The Alliance Israelite schools taught a secular identity but one that also looked down on their middle eastern background. Their stress was that the Jews were a nation seperate from the others. This would pave the way for Zionism. The French schools also indoctrinated the youth against the British when they had control over Egypt. Often times Jews were seen as being connected with the occupying powers. If this would cause a division political Zionism would expand that breach even further.

Zionism in the author's opinion was aimed at divesting Arab land from the Palestinians. This angered many Arabs and caused many of the to turn against their Jewish neighbors. The Jews did not necesarily side with Zionism. Many of the wealthy sought to distance themselves from it. Mainly the poorer jewish Arabs were drawn to it. The author deplores some of the the tactics used by zionist agent to lure Jews to Palestine. He often called it human tafficking. Middle Eastern Jews were often used for menial labor jobs despite being well educated. Jobs the white Ashkenazi Jews would not do. The Zionist were deceptive. they wanted an Ashkenazi state with Middle Eastern Jews as a labor source.

Upon arrival to Palestine/Israel these Jewish Arabs who were well educated as much so as their Ashkenazi counterparts were given tin shacks and makeshift tents while the European jews were given houses or apartment right away. Many Jewish Arabs were sprayed wit DDt. While understandable to concentration camp victims not needed for Arab jews. the Zionist education system denigrated their arab background and made them look down on themselves. There was lots of violence against Arab Jews as well.

I found this memor enlightening. The colonialism divorce the Arab  Jews from their Arab identity both on the European front and the Zionist front. It shows you that no one in this conflict is entirely clean. Yet i cannot agree with him calling Israel occupied Palestine, nor do i think that a two state solution is still viable. While he focused on the wrongs of Zionism I feel that he left out the injustices suffered by Jews in Arab land over the years. It was second class citizenship. Prior to those golden years life could be harsh for Jews in Arab lands. Many Jews were displaced from Arab countries an left behind land, money and property and I wonder if they will get it back. I doubt it. The Palestinians have responded to Israeli peace overtures with rockets and suicide bombers. 

Yet on the other hand Jewish Arabs who find the terms Mizrachi and Sephardic misleading and degrading have not had a good time in Israel. Mizrachi means east but east of where. Morroco is not east of Poland and the term Sephardic denotes Jews who were exiled from Spain. two terms that do not apply the Jewish Arabs. Jewish Arabs are subject to harrasment due to their skin color. The Yemenite Jews ad their babies stolen fro them. Israel was not so good to them either.