Home  Opinion When Jewish Means Ashkenazi
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When Jewish Means Ashkenazi |
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Written by Loolwa Khazzoom , Ha'am
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"Gut shabbos; gut yuntif; let's say kiddish..."
Most Jews who have been involved even minimally in community religious life will be
familiar with all these expressions. And if we are not, we are expected to be.
This phenomenon is one of Ashkenazi privilege.
Ashkenazi privilege lies in the assumption that anything billed as "Jewish" will reflect Ashkenazi
identity: the assumption and expectation that if we open a book labeled "World
Jewish history," we will find the modern history of Jews from Poland, Russia,
and Germany; the assumption and expectation that if there is a Hanukkah party
sponsored by the Jewish community, there will be dreidels, latkes, and gelt; the
assumption and expectation that if we send our children to a Jewish school, they
will learn Ashkenazi traditions.
An Ashkenazi Jew openly can practice her traditions within the Jewish community and expect that other practicing members of the community immediately will understand what she is doing and will
be able to join in with her. A Mizrahi, Sephardi, or Ethiopian Jew cannot.
An Ashkenazi Jew can assume and expect that the Jewish community
institutions and resources will provide information about her history, culture,
and religious traditions. A Mizrahi, Sephardi, or Ethiopian Jew cannot.
On the high holidays, if I say, "Tizkoo leshaneem raboth ooneemoth," I
cannot expect that someone will answer me, "Tizke wethihei wetha'arech ya'amim."
To the contrary, I can expect a blank stare. I cannot even expect that anyone
reading this article will know that expression is a Mizrahi high holiday
greeting, which means "May you merit years that are long and pleasant."
If I go to a Purim party sponsored by the Jewish community, I cannot
expect that I will find sambousak, ba'aba, and machbooz on the table; and I
cannot expect that everyone will be playing nakshehood and dosa. Again, I cannot
even expect that anyone reading this article will know that sambousak, ba'aba,
and machbooz are some of the Mizrahi Purim pastries or that nakshehood and dosa
are some of the Mizrahi Purim gambling games.
And I cannot go to a Jewish bookstore or library and expect to find books with the modern history of
Jews from Iraq, Tunisia, or Syria. Even if I do find them - which probably will
not happen - they will not be in the books marked "World Jewish History," and
they will not be in the Jewish history section; rather, they will be in separate
books in a small, separate section labeled "Sephardic."
Ashkenazi privilege lies in the assumption that anything billed as "Jewish" will reflect
Ashkenazi identity; and that if it does not, whatever it is must not be valid.
What kind of a Jewish cookbook is it, after all, if it does not include cholent,
borscht, or kougel? What kind of a modern Jewish history book is it, after all,
if it does not mention the Holocaust? And what kind of international Jewish
assistance group is it, after all, if it does not include assisting Russian
Jews?
Yet, Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ethiopian Jewish communities and
traditions consistently are excluded from and invisible in every walk of Jewish
life: Jewish language, thought, media, prayer, food, education, political
analyses, music...every walk of Jewish life.
How do Jews feel walking through a society defined by Christianity? How do women feel walking through a
world defined by men? Just as society at large must stop defining the world
according to white, straight, Christian men, so must the Jewish community stop
defining the Jewish world according to Ashkenazim. And just as white, straight,
Christian men need to look at their privilege and become aware of where others
are shut out, so do Ashkenazim need to look at their privilege and become aware
of where Mizrahim, Sephardim, and Ethiopian Jews are excluded. Only then can
healing begin.
THE MAINSTREAM JEWISH COMMUNITY'S RESISTANCE TO AND LACK
OF VALUE FOR INCORPORATING JEWISH DIVERSITY:
Jewish leaders and educators are a product of their own Jewish education. In that education, they
have learned that the Holocaust is important and that Israel is important. They
have learned about gefilte fish, and they have learned about Yiddish. They have
developed a Jewish connection to all these topics. Hearing these topics
mentioned thus rings a Jewish bell.
But when they hear, for example, the Yemenite pronunciation of Hebrew - which is the true, authentic way to speak it - it may seem foreign to them; weird, different, Arabic. It may spark
feelings of what the hell does that have to do with us as Jews? Because of what
the mainstream Jewish community has come to define and value as being "Jewish,"
most Jews today do not see non-Ashkenazi heritage as having the same intrinsic
Jewish worth as Ashkenazi heritage.
For this reason, I have found Jewish community leaders unwilling to make it a priority to fund projects that will educate our community about Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ethiopian Jewish
heritage before it is too late.
For the past eight years, I have done extensive work as an organizational leader and independent educator, both on the issue of Jewish multiculturalism. I have spoken with a good chunk of the key
Jewish leaders throughout Northern and Southern California. More often than not,
these Jewish leaders could not for the life of them understand what Jewish
multiculturalism had to do with them or their organizations.
For example, I once spoke with the leader of a Jewish Community Relations Council. I
shared with him a detailed analysis of Jewish multicultural issues and gave
concrete suggestions how we could work together to solve the problems. He
answered me by saying, "You know, I was at the Yemenite Step in Israel recently,
and they had unbelievable Yemenite food. I just loved it. " He then referred me
to other Jewish organizations, because he could not see what Jewish
multiculturalism had to do with his group.
It had everything to do with his group. The issue in fact has something to do with just about every Jewish organization.
It is the responsibility of the mainstream Jewish community leaders to seek out and sponsor those individuals who are willing and able to help our community finally reflect Jewish diversity. Otherwise, there is no integrity in calling our community organizations Jewish. Rather, they should
be called the Ashkenazi Federation, the Bureau of Ashkenazi Education, the
Ashkenazi Community Relations Council, and so on.
With rare exceptions, I insist on being paid for teaching and speaking about Jewish multiculturalism; because in the context of the money-oriented society in which we live, I have
found that information about Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ethiopian Jews is valued
more when I charge to impart it than when I do not. Furthermore, I have found
that Jewish organizations easily do have the money for the class or presentation
I offer and that their claim of no money in truth reflects not their budget
situation, but the value they ascribe to learning about Mizrahi, Sephardi, and
Ethiopian tradition.
I find it imperative that Jewish organizations acknowledge the responsibility they have in reflecting Jewish diversity and that they give a much higher energetic and financial priority to educating themselves and their constituents about Jewish multiculturalism. Mizrahi, Sephardi, and
Ethiopian individuals should not bear the burden of educating our fellow Jews at
our own expense. When we go to Jewish events and prayer services, we have the
right to expect to see our Jewish heritage reflected in them.
If it is not, it should not be incumbent upon us individuals to take on the
teacher/leader role, unless and until the Jewish establishment hires us
accordingly.
Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ethiopian Jews have as much right to enjoy the Jewish community on a participatory level as do Ashkenazi Jews. If the Jewish establishment is not providing that kind of an environment, it is the responsibility of the organized leadership to address the situation accordingly.
Just as the community pays to have individuals do Israel education outreach; just as the community pays to have individuals do Holocaust education outreach; so must the community pay to have individuals do Jewish multicultural education outreach.
Until this reality happens, it is clear to me that the Jewish establishment does not hold Mizrahi, Sephardi, or Ethiopian Jewish people or traditions as being as valid and valuable as it holds Ashkenazi people and traditions. Until there is a shift in this paradigm, I anticipate that the
Jewish establishment will continue to resist enacting the kind of changes that
need to happen in our community, to reflect Jewish multiculturalism.
TRANSCENDING THE SHAME, OVERCOMING THE CRISIS:
As a result of the racism and ignorance in the mainstream Jewish community, those of us in the
Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ethiopian communities have learned embarrassment or contempt for our own heritage. Out of our desire to "fit in" - in other words, to become like the Ashkenazim - we have failed to pass on our tradition; and our tradition now is in danger of extinction.
A number of Mizrahi/Sephardi young adults my age have shared the fact that they love Mizrahi/Sephardi tradition when they are exposed to it; however, they know virtually nothing
about the tradition, and they do not relate to the tradition as theirs. "I grew
up in Ashkenazi services my whole life," one individual recently said, "so I
relate to those services as my tradition. I do not recognize the prayers in [a
Mizrahi/Sephardi] service, even though those prayers are part of my heritage..."
The younger generations of Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ethiopian Jews face a
crisis in identity. As such, our entire heritage faces a crisis of extinction:
Because the younger generation is ill-equipped to pass on our tradition, our
tradition will die when the older generation passes on.
The only Mizrahi and Sephardi individuals and communities I have seen preserve and pass
on our heritage have been those who practice separatism from the "Jewish"
(Ashkenazi) mainstream. Though I honor the desire to protect our heritage from
the force ripping it apart, I feel this particular approach ultimately is not
productive.
What young adult, after all, wants to be separate from the
Jewish power source, where most of the action happens? What child wants to be
alienated from the other Jewish children in the neighborhood who are going to
NCSY, Young Judea, Camp Ramah, or BBYO? And what Mizrahi or Sephardi community
has the resources to sustain an entire sub-community, replete with Jewish
schools, synagogues, community centers, camps, and so on? What more, from an
ideological point of view, I feel we must insist that the Jewish community be
just that - a Jewish community, reflecting all Jews from all backgrounds. It
simply is unacceptable for Jewish organizations, schools, camps, and community
centers to continue operating as purely Ashkenazi institutions.
"Loolwa," a Sephardi rabbi once pleaded with me, "Why do you bother
with those Ashkenazim? They don't care about us..." But we must make them care.
We must keep banging down the wall of the Jewish establishment until it
crumbles, and we must enter in our full glory. The truth is that most of us are
involved in the Jewish mainstream on at least some level. It thus is imperative
that we make that Jewish mainstream reflect our identities and our heritage.
I have been blessed with tremendous success in transforming Jewish
communities around me, to reflect Jewish diversity. The key ingredients to my
success have been knowledge, pride, determination, anger, and love.
Knowledge: I was taught all the songs, prayers, and traditions of my
Iraqi Jewish heritage. I grew up with Iraqi Jewish books all around me - in
Judeo-Arabic, Hebrew, and occasionally English. If you have not been taught the
traditions of your heritage, find someone who has and milk that person
dry.
Pride: With knowledge came pride. How could it not? We
have such beautiful songs, prayers, and customs. What more, my family has direct
lineage to the first exile from ancient Israel, having remained in Babylon for
3,000 years until the modern day. How much more thoroughbred a Jew could I
possibly be? Find the beauty of your own heritage and cherish it, worship it,
nurture it.
Determination: What part of "no" did I not understand? The
"n," the "o," and the two letters together. "We are not interested" is not an
acceptable answer from a Jewish community leader. Period. I never experienced
"rejection," as I saw disinterest simply as resistance, as a challenge. A
person's lack of interest in our heritage was like a puzzle to me: This piece is
not fitting here, where and how can I make it fit? I never experienced
"failure," as I saw each door closing as simply giving me additional information
for future strategies on how to make doors open. So get your agenda together and
go, go, go!!!
Anger: Each stupid, racist, ignorant comment/behavior
simply added fuel to the fire under my butt. At times, I was livid with rage at
how obtuse Jewish leaders and educators could be. I simply became more
determined, with the passion of my anger. Get mad, and use it to propel you
forward even further.
Love: My heritage is so beautiful. I love it.
What kept me going during the hard times was singing the beautiful Iraqi Jewish
songs and prayers and thinking about how virtually nobody in the mainstream
community ever had heard them. It made me so sad. I thought about all the people
who would cherish them, if only they knew...Let the love of your heritage, as
well as the love of knowledge and celebration, carry you through all your
battles.
We do not have time to put our struggle aside until tomorrow.
Our heritage is gasping what might be its last breaths, if we do not act
immediately.
If you are of the generation that grew up in Iran, Syria,
Ethiopia, Turkey, or Morocco, start writing and start teaching now. Have you
told your children or grandchildren your life story? Have you recorded the
songs, prayers, folk tales, and traditions from your community? Whip out a tape
recorder and begin this very moment.
If you are of the generation that grew up in the United States or Israel, how much do you know about your parents' or grandparents' lives and traditions? Are your parents or grandparents still
alive? If so, grab a tape recorder and start asking them questions. Now. If they
live far away, pick up the phone. And if your parents or grandparents have
passed away, find someone else's parents or grandparents; and pursue them for
information, without mercy.
As we learn or transmit our respective heritages, let's start doing something with the information: Let's start making noise. I mean NOISE! Let's get mad and be loud about it, when our heritage is
not represented at the local JCC; when there is not one article about Mizrahim,
Sephardim, or Ethiopian Jews in our local Jewish paper; when our children's
teachers claim that "all Jews" practice traditions that in truth are only
Ashkenazi. Let us use our anger to propel us forward, offering alternatives to
Jewish leaders and educators. Supply local organizations with information on who
to call/where to go/who to invite to learn and teach about Jewish diversity. And
stay plastered on their butts, to make sure they do it. "Jewish" does not
mean "Ashkenazi." It means all of us. Let us do everything in our power - as
individuals and as organizations - to make the Jewish community finally reflect
who Jews really are.
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Comments
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yeah, to them we're all 'svartzes.' I ty to get a little extra sun on friday before 'shul' on Shabbat. check out the opinion column of today's israelnationalnews.com, the one titled ' waiting for the other shoe to drop' Disgusting! the reply by 'Meira' is me. hehheh.
I'm of Italian Jewish descent but I had an Armenian 'auntie' and learned a lot of the similar(to Persian) culture. we recently got to stay with a Persian family in the Miami area and fell in love with the food, among other things. When I returned to Tampa, I found a store called Caspian Market so I KNEW!!! went there, the guy is a pro shah moslem seems ok and carries all the Sadaf line so I get my kosher spices and am learning to cook Persian. Sometimes when I don't want meat I use portabella mushrooms in koresh gormeh sabdze. yum!
We are trying to go back to Israel where we won't be the odd ones. My husband is a yekke(german Jew) but he's'converted'as in from Ashkenazi to our side. LOL
I'm making light of all this but sometimes humor is the best antidote.
Posted by Tina Kingberg, on Wednesday, 17 October 2007 at 4:53
There is one major problem with the source of this article. The Sephardi community is always complaining about the fact that the Ashekanzi version of Judaism, is considered 'what is Jewish', but what are you doing about it?
Camp Ramah, NCSY, these are examples of Jews wanting to continue their education. How many Sephardic schools and programs (previous to the past 3 years) do you know of?
I am personally of Iranian decent, and I see how Iranians still hold on to the Pre-Revolution era by respecting the Shah time national anthem. Many of which consider themselves Iranian before Jewish. Do you know of any Polish Jews who sing the Polish National Anthem? Do you know of any Russian Jews who sing the Russian National Anthem?
Here is another problem. The Ashkenazi community has made an effort to work with the non-Jewish community to make their community respected. Whether it is by forging relations with the government (Chabad) or through Hollywood. How many Iraqis work in Hollywood? I don't think that the writers of the NBC show 'Friends' were seeking Ashkenazi cultural traditions or comments, but when they spoke to the Jews they knew, they happened to all be Ashkenazi.
How will the world know of us other Jews, when we don't speak out? When dont' educate them? When we still hold on to ideas that were not ours? This is why the Ashkenazi community is successful, and the Sephardi community is not.
I'm sorry this sounds harsh, but I constantly hear about this topic, but noone does anything about it.
We do have a richer culture, and the eldest form of scripture we have originates from the Middle East ant not Poland, but it is the people who have made it a bigger focus to continue their beliefs that will succeed.
Posted by Shushana, on Friday, 26 January 2007 at 1:06
I think there is a bit too much conspiracy thinking here, when it is in fact nothing surprising. In America, following the immigration of many East European Jews, the vast majority of the Jewish population is in fact Ashkenazi. So it is not surprising that Ashkenazi things would be so widely spread.
The fact is that, before the modern time, it is the Sephardim -- especially the British ones who immigrated to America -- who looked down on the Ashkenazim, greatly, and did not want to mix with them. The result is that many Jews gravitated towards the Ashkenazi majority in America, even who were not Ashkenazi.
I thikn the solution is to stop worrying about whether Ashkenazim try and reflect us, and to just add what we do to communal festivities, and not to block anyone from them. Of course an Ashkenazi will not prepare Persian or Moroccan foods at a Jewish event! Of course an Ashkenazi who has grown up in an Ashkenazi world will be used to Ashkenazi stylings! When we try and stay only amongst ourselves with Sephardic and Mizrahi institutions, all we do is perpetuate that. Think how many Sephardim are studying in Ashkenazi yeshivot. Do we even try to attract Ashkenazis in our yeshibot or do we label them as special Mizrahi places that are only for certain edot, etc.?
So that is the problem I think. Indeed the example of the initial Sephardis who immigrated to America is a good one. They turned their noses up at the Ashkenazi, they kept among themselves, and sooner or later they all become intermarried and assimilated and no longer exist to any great extent.
Posted by Serge, on Wednesday, 20 December 2006 at 11:06
Salam.
The style of the article and the idea behind the article and the writer of the article, you are great. But there is one phrase in this article that doesn't fit at all and which harms its meaning and the whole idea, which is magnificent, and this phrase says:
'What kind of a modern Jewish history book is it, after all,
if it does not mention the Holocaust?'
And I have to answer to that 'question', a (Jewish) history book that doesn't mention the Holo-caust is indeed a bad kind of book, that's no book, and to put an accent on that the murdering of 6.000.000 Jews is 'Ashkenzi history' is unacceptable. I praise you for your energy and your sense of justice in the Jewish history but here you missed the point. Look at it and at the article and you'll see that it only harms yourself, us, and in that case the article. I we want to show 'Mizrahi power' we have to do that in correct accpetable way so that no one may tell us we are doing wrong - and not with claims that only put a bad light on us. A Jewish history book cannot NOT mention the Holo-caust just like it cannot NOT mention the establishing of Israel. The Holo-caust is a tragedy of the whole Jewry, not Ashkenazi 'problem' or 'privilege' (?!).
I hope you all understand my point. Shalom and I wish that we Mizrahim soon will achieve the respect we deserve - by being righteous to everyone.
Chaya K., Israel/Yemen
Posted by Chaya K., on Saturday, 26 August 2006 at 8:07
Um, define 'pave the way' please :). actually, the earliest jews in the Americas were Sephardi from Holland, Spain, and Portugal.
Posted by Heather, on Tuesday, 04 April 2006 at 2:47
We must be respected. No doubt about that. -break- But keep in mind, if it was not for all of those 'ashkenazi' Jews, the Jewish Nation would not be where it is today. They were the forerunners that paved the way for us in America.
Posted by light, on Thursday, 16 March 2006 at 10:54
Very well said. I agree 100%!
Posted by Reuven, on Thursday, 09 February 2006 at 5:12
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