Mizrahi Jews

Mizrahi Jews trace their ancestry back to North Africa, the Middle East, and the Caucasus. Because they come from such a broad geographic region, Mizrahi Jews vary greatly in culture and traditions. However, they are commonly brought together by the discrimination they face in Israeli society.

When Israel was declared an independent state, most of the Jews in the fledgling nation were Ashkenazim, who traced their heritage to Western Europe. As more Jews immigrated to Israel from all over the world, large portions of Mizrahi Jews came to reside in Israel. However, Ashkenazi communities viewed the Mizrahi Jews as being backward and primitive, often arguing that their culture was too similar to that of Israel’s Arabic neighbors. Ashkenazi Jews often forced Mizrahi Jews to adopt Ashkenazi culture, live in poorer neighborhoods, or face other forms of systemic oppression.

To combat such discrimination, Mizrahi Jews organized themselves into a political group called the Black Panthers. This organization helped stage large civil rights protests in favor of Mizrahi advancement within Israel. Over time, this movement was successful, and various positions within the Israeli government and army were opened to Mizrahi Jews.

Background

Judaism is a roughly four-thousand-year-old religion that originated in the Middle East. Judaism is the world’s oldest monotheistic religion. Jews believe that there is one God who established a covenant with them. Because of this, Jews contend that they are a chosen people, and God will reward their good deeds and work to punish evil.

Jewish people attend temples called synagogues, where they hold special ceremonies to worship their God. These ceremonies are often led by religious teachers called rabbis. They follow the Tanakh, a set of sacred texts comparable to the Christian Bible. Some parts of the Tanakh are shared with the Bible.

Like Christianity and Islam, the Jewish faith traces its history back to an ancient Hebrew named Abraham. Abraham made a covenant with God, and his descendants became the chosen people. Ancient Jews were able to practice their faith at sacred temples in Israel. However, these temples were destroyed, and the Jewish people were sent into exile.

For much of their history, Jews have faced anti-Semitism and persecution. In World War II (1939-1945), during the Holocaust, Germany’s Nazi regime killed more than six million Jews in Europe. Following World War II, a portion of the Middle Eastern region known as Palestine, which has a large population of Muslim Arabs, was set aside for the Jewish people by Western nations. Many Jews traveled from all over the world to help create what they viewed as a new homeland. Like its historical analog, this nation was called Israel. However, Palestinians and citizens of the surrounding nations resented the loss of the land used to create Israel. This resulted in decades of tension between Israel and its Muslim neighbors. On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip, provoking Israel's declaration of war with aerial and ground attacks. The subsequent military conflict resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and a humanitarian crisis, with millions of Gazans displaced.

Overview

The term “Mizrahi Jews” refers to Jews with Arabic heritage. Mizrahi Jews are sometimes also called Sephardi Jews, though their origins and cultures differ. In most cases, the Mizrahi Jews include Jews with heritage from North Africa, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Sephardi Jews typically refer to Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, but this has been expanded to describe Jews from Africa or Asia.

Because the Jewish people were spread throughout Europe and the Middle East at various points in their history, Judaism came to be practiced in many parts of the world. In some instances, such as with the Mizrahi Jews, this resulted in localized traditions becoming blended with those of traditional Judaism.

At the time when Israel was formed, most Jews in the region belonged to the Ashkenazim sect. Ashkenazi Jews had heritage in Western Germany and Northern France, where Jewish populations developed during the Middle Ages. This Jewish tradition used Yiddish as a primary language, and Hebrew as a sacred or religious language. However, following Israeli independence, Jews from all over the world moved to the region. Many of them, particularly Mizrahi Jews, were driven out of their homelands by systemic discrimination.

Upon arriving in Israel, Mizrahi Jews were commonly rejected by Ashkenazi Jews. Ashkenazi Jews disliked that the Mizrahi Jews had a culture that was similar to that of their hostile Arabic neighbors. They viewed Mizrahi Jews as being backward and sent newly arrived Mizrahi Jews to transit camps for “re-education.” Following their time in transit camps, the Mizrahi Jews were forced to settle in dangerous neighborhoods, where they lived in poverty. Mizrahi Jews were expected to adopt Ashkenazi traditions and political views upon entering Israel. This was complicated by the vast Ashkenazi majority in Israel’s population and the Ashkenazi heritage and history being taught in Israeli schools.

Despite these difficulties in their new homeland, the Mizrahi Jews clung to their historic culture. They banded together, passing their culture on to their children and ensuring that their unique history and religious practices survived for future generations. Additionally, as more Mizrahi Jews immigrated to Israel, they came to make up a larger portion of Israel’s population. By the 1970s, Mizrahi Jews constituted roughly half of Israeli Jews.

Though their population had increased, giving Mizrahi Jews within Israel more political power than they had ever held before, Mizrahi Jews still faced continued discrimination from Ashkenazi Jews. A radical portion of Mizrahi Jews organized into the Black Panthers, which they modeled after the American Black Power movement. These political activists drew attention to the challenges faced by Mizrahi Jews through large protests. Though these protests were short-lived, they contributed to the introduction of Mizrahi Jews to the Israeli army and government. Many non-profit organizations work to educate Mizrahi youth about their history and culture, keeping the Mizrahi sect of Judaism alive within Israel. Attempts to integrate Mizrahi Jews continue, including incorporating studies of Mizrahi culture and identity into institutions of higher learning in the Israeli education system. Still, vast inequalities in socioeconomic status exist among Mizrahi Jews in Israel. These inequalities are further exacerbated for women, who also face issues of gender inequality. Jews are one people, but within that distinction is a vast array of diversity that affects worldview, Israeli politics, and everyday life.

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