Posted by Alon Mizrahi I without equality there’s no freedom
The subject of Arab Jews is almost never talked about, but for centuries and sometimes millennia, Jewish communities were integral to the Arab and Muslim world. They were vital elements of their larger societies and felt right at home where they were. In Yemen, Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and almost any other part of the Arab and Muslim civilization, Jewish communities lived, dreamed, and created. Jewish scholars and poets created the greatest and most important pieces of Jewish theology and religious texts – in Arabic (Mimonidas is the most known example, but he’s one of hundreds and thousands of Arabic-speaking Jewish religious leaders). A whole collection of wonderfully varied, deeply rooted, beautiful communities disappeared with Zionism, only to be replaced by an engineered pseudo-original ‘Hebrew’ culture and language, with zero depth and absolutely no room for Arab-Jewish identity. Here’s my interview with AJ+ about the deeply painful and tragic fate of Arab Jews in Zionism
Who Watches the Watchers? 