Mizraḥi Jews sometimes also called Oriental Jews, (מזרחי "eastern", Standard Hebrew Mizraḥi, Tiberian Hebrew Mizrāḥî; plural מזרחים "easterners", Standard Hebrew Mizraḥim, Tiberian Hebrew Mizrāḥîm) are Jews of Middle Eastern origin. Included in the category Mizraḥi, are non-Sephardic Jews from the Arab world as well as other communities, variously including the Gruzim, Persian Jews, Bukharan Jews, Juhurim, and sometimes the Teimanim Download high resolution version (1024x1180, 21 KB)Created from Image:Wikipedia blue star of david. ... For a discussion of Jews as an ethnicity or ethnic group see the article on Jew. ... For a discussion of Jews as an ethnicity or ethnic group see the article on Jew. ... Etymology of the word Jew: The name for the Jewish people in Hebrew is Yehudim (יהודים). ... Who is a Jew? (Hebrew: Mihu Yehudi—מיהו יהודי?) can be a complicated question because Judaism shares some of the characteristics of a nation, an ethnicity, a religion, and a culture, making the definition of who is a Jew vary depending on whether a religious, sociological, or national approach to... Jewish leadership: Since 70 AD and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem there has been no single body that has a leadership position over the entire Jewish community. ... Secular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena; above all, it is the culture of secular communities of Jewish people, but it can also include the cultural contributions of individuals who identify as secular Jews, or even those of religious Jews working in cultural areas not generally considered to be connected... Jewish ethnic divisions: The most commonly used terms to describe ethnic divisions among Jews presently are: Ashkenazi (meaning German in Hebrew, denoting the Central European base of Jewry); and Sephardi (meaning Spanish in Hebrew, denoting their Spanish and North African location). ... Ashkenazi (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִי, Standard Hebrew Aškanazi, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAškănāzî) Jews or Ashkenazic Jews, also called Ashkenazim (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, Standard Hebrew Aškanazim, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAškănāzîm), are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of Germany, Poland, Austria, and Eastern Europe mostly established between the 10th Century and 19th Century AD. In historical times and... In the strictest sense, a Sephardi (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Səfardim, Tiberian Hebrew ) is a Jew original to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal: ספרד, Standard Hebrew Səfárad, Tiberian Hebrew / ), or whose ancestors were among the Jews expelled from said peninsula during... Yemenite Jews (תֵּימָנִי, Standard Hebrew Temani, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānî; plural תֵּימָנִים, Standard Hebrew Temanim, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānîm) are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen (תֵּימָן far south, Standard Hebrew Teman, Tiberian Hebrew Têmān), on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. ... The Bene Israel (Sons of Israel) are a group of Jews who, in the mid-twentieth century, lived primarily in Bombay, Kolkata, Delhi and Ahmadabad. ... The Beta Israel (or House of Israel), known by outsiders by the Ethiopian origin. ... The number of Jews in the world is difficult to calculate, especially given the constant debates of the definition of Jew. ... Historical background As waves of anti-Jewish pogroms and expulsions from the countries of Western Europe marked the last centuries of the Middle Ages, a sizable portion of the Jewish populations there moved to the more tolerant countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Middle East. ... This article is about the history of the Jewish people in England; also see the related Jewish history article. ... The history of Jews in the Americas dates back to Christopher Columbus, who left Spain to cross the Atlantic Ocean on the same day by which Spanish Jews were forced to either abandon their religion or leave the country. ... Main article: List of Jews. ... Jewish languages are a set of languages that developed in various Jewish communities, in Europe, southern and south-western Asia, and northern Africa. ... 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Kibbutz Dan, near Qiryat Shemona, in the Upper Galilee, 1990s A kibbutz (Hebrew: קיבוץ; plural: kibbutzim: קיבוצים, gathering or together) is an Israeli collective community. ... Jewish history is the history of the Jewish people, faith (Judaism) and culture. ... This entry contains a timeline of the development of Judaism and the Jewish people. ... Schisms among the Jews: First Temple era Based on the historical narrative in the Bible and archeology, Levantine civilization at the time of Solomons Temple was prone to idol worship, astrology, worship of reigning kings, and paganism. ... In compiling the history of ancient Israel and Judah, there are many available sources, including the Jewish Tanakh (the Old Testament of the Christian Bible), other Jewish texts such as the Talmud, the Ethiopian book of history known as the Kebra Nagast, the writings of historians such as Nicolaus of... The Temple in Jerusalem or the Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash בית המקדש in Hebrew) was built in ancient Jerusalem and was the center of Israelite and Jewish worship, primarily for the offering of sacrifices known as the korbanot. ... The Babylonian captivity, or Babylonian exile, is the name generally given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. ... The Hasmonean Kingdom (pronunciation) in ancient Judea and its ruling dynasty from 140 BC to 37 BC was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BC. Origin of the Hasmonean dynasty The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCE–70 CE). ... The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ... This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Jews in the Middle Ages : The history of Jews in the Middle Ages (approximately 500 CE to 1750 CE) can be divided into two categories. ... This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Islam and Judaism: This article is part of a series on Jewish history and discusses the history of Islam and Judaism, as they have interacted with each other for 1200 years, from the seventh century up until the... This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Haskalah (from the Hebrew word sekhel, meaning intellect) was the movement among European Jews in the late 18th century that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing secular knowledge, Hebrew language, and... Hasidic Judaism (Hebrew: Chasidut חסידות) is a Haredi Jewish religious movement. ... Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II, starting in 1941 and continuing through 1945. ... This article discusses the history of the modern State of Israel, from its inception in 1948 to the present. ... Related articles: Anti-Semitism; History of anti-Semitism; Modern anti-Semitism This article deals with various persecutions that the Jewish people have experienced throughout history. ... 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The Persian (Tajik) speaking Jews from the Central Asian province of Bukhara (Bukhoro Wiloyati). ... Mountain Jews, or Juhurim, are Jews of the eastern Caucasus, mainly of Dagestan. ... Yemenite Jews (תֵּימָנִי, Standard Hebrew Temani, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānî; plural תֵּימָנִים, Standard Hebrew Temanim, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānîm) are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen (תֵּימָן far south, Standard Hebrew Teman, Tiberian Hebrew Têmān), on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. ...

Though many Mizraḥim now follow the liturgical traditions of the Sephardim, and in modern Israel may be colloquially referred to as Sephardic Jews, the Mizraḥim are not Sephardic, as they are not descended from those Jews who were expelled from Sepharad (the Iberian peninsula) during the Spanish Inquisition. Including Mizraḥim with Sephardim may be regarded as culturally insensitive or ignorant. In the strictest sense, a Sephardi (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Səfardim, Tiberian Hebrew ) is a Jew original to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal: ספרד, Standard Hebrew Səfárad, Tiberian Hebrew / ), or whose ancestors were among the Jews expelled from said peninsula during... In the strictest sense, a Sephardi (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Səfardim, Tiberian Hebrew ) is a Jew original to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal: ספרד, Standard Hebrew Səfárad, Tiberian Hebrew / ), or whose ancestors were among the Jews expelled from said peninsula during... topographic map of the Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe. ... Pedro Berruguete. ...

Prior to the emergence of the term "Mizraḥi", which dates from the time of the establishment of the state of Israel, Arab Jews was a commonly used designation for those Mizraḥim living in Arab lands, although it was rarely employed by the Mizraḥim themselves. The term is rarely used today, and a recent attempt to revive it met with widespread opposition. Most Mizraḥim today generally identify themselves by their country of origin, e.g., "Iraqi Jew".

Unlike the terms Ashkenazi and Sephardi, Mizraḥi is simply a convenient way to refer collectively to a wide range of Jewish communities, most of which are as unrelated to each other as they are to either the Sephardi or Ashkenazi communities.

Language

The most prominent language associated with the Mizraḥim are the various Judæo-Arabic dialects. A number of notable philosophical, religious, and grammatical works were written in the Arabic language which was modified with the employment of Hebrew characters, and often incorporating Arabic vowel marks. Categories: Language stubs | Judaism-related stubs | Mizrahi Jews | Arab | Arabic languages | Jewish languages ... Arabic (العربية) is a Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ...

The Temani Jews from Arabic-speaking Yemen are sometimes included in the Mizraḥi grouping. Yemenite Jews (תֵּימָנִי, Standard Hebrew Temani, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānî; plural תֵּימָנִים, Standard Hebrew Temanim, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānîm) are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen (תֵּימָן far south, Standard Hebrew Teman, Tiberian Hebrew Têmān), on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. ...

Other languages also associated with the Mizraḥi include the Judæo-Persian languages, spoken by Iranian Jews. The Judæo-Persian languages include a number of related languages spoken throughout the formerly extensive realm of the Persian Empire, sometimes including all the Jewish Indo-Iranian languages: Dzhidi (Judæo-Persian) Bukhori (Judæo-Bukharic) Judæo-Golpaygani Judæo-Yazdi Judæo-Kermani Judæo-Shirazi Jud...

Post 1948 Dispersal

Most Mizraḥi Jews fled their countries of birth when, in reaction to the events leading up to and following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, citizens of Arab countries acted violently against their local Jewish populations in what they viewed as retaliation for both the creation of the Jewish state of Israel, and for their non-Jewish Arab brethren being turned into refugees as a result. Further anti-Jewish actions by Arab governments in the 1950s and 1960s, including the expulsion of 25,000 Mizraḥi Jews from Egypt following the 1956 Suez Crisis, led to the overwhelming majority of Mizraḥim becoming refugees. Most of these refugees fled to Israel. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, called the War of Independence (Hebrew: מלחמת העצמאות) by Israelis and al Nakba (Arabic: النكبة, the catastrophe) by Arabs, was the first in a series of wars in the Arab-Israeli conflict. ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... HM Ships Eagle, Bulwark, and Albion of the British Royal Navy. ...

Today, from the few remaining Mizraḥi communities still existing throughout the Arab world—with a combined population of fewer than 1,000 individuals—a trickle of emigration continues, mainly to Israel and the United States. An additional 11,000 Mizraḥi Jews still reside in Iran. Many there feel actively persecuted, and a number have been arrested, mostly for alleged connections with Israel and/or the United States. Some have even been executed, religious intolerance mainly being cited as the contributing factor. [1] (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/iranjews.html) The Arab world The Arab world comprises twenty-two countries stretching from Morocco in the west to Oman in the east. ...

Mizraḥim in modern Israel

From their initial transition to Israel, the Mizraḥim have distinguished themselves from their Ashkenazi and Sephardi counterparts, in culture, customs and language. Arabic was their mother tongue of some, Persian for those of Iran, Gruzinic, Georgian, Tajik, Juhuri, and various other languages; for some it still is. Hebrew was mainly considered a language of prayer. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Persian (فارسی), (local name in India, Iran and Afghanistan: Fârsi), Pârsi (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (Another local name in Afghanistan), is a language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Bahrain and Uzbekistan. ... Gruzinic (also known as Kivruli and Judæo-Georgian) is the traditional language spoken by the Gruzim, the ancient Jewish community of the Caucasus nation of Georgia. ... Tajik or Tadjik (natively Тоҷикӣ, Tojikí, تاجیکی) is a descendant of the Persian language spoken in Central Asia. ... Juhuri, Juwri or Judæo-Tat is the traditional language of the Juhurim or Mountain Jews of the eastern Caucasus Mountains, especially Dagestan. ...

The Mizraḥim were at first moved into rudimentary and hastily erected tent cities, and later sent to development towns. Moshavim (communal farms) were also trialed, however, the Mizraḥim had been mainly craftsmen and merchants, with very few having been farmers. Furthermore, while most Ashkenazi pioneers were secular and many were socialists, most Mizraḥim were neither. Moshav is a type of collective agricultural community pioneered by the labour zionists during the second aliyah (wave of Jewish immigration during the 19th Century) The moshavs were similar to kibbutzim with an emphasis on community labour and were designed as part of the zionist state-building program following the... Craftsman is an artisan who practices a handicraft or trade; a style of architecture and furniture arising from the Arts and Crafts movement; a military rank within the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, equivalent to a private; and a brand of tools. ... Merchants function as professional traders, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves. ... Farmer spreading grasshopper bait in his alfalfa field. ... A pioneer is someone who is first at doing something, or someone who is among a group of such people. ... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ...

Distinguished Mizraḥi personalities

• Moshe Katsav, President of the State of Israel - Iran.
• Ofra Haza, popular Temani vocalist - Yemen.
• Dana International, popular Israeli pop singer - Yemen.
• Silvan Shalom, Minister of Foreign Affairs - Tunisia.
• Shaul Mofaz, Minister of Defense - Iran.

Moshe Katsav (Courtesy: Israeli Knesset) Moshe Katsav (Hebrew מֹשֶׁה קַצָּב Mōšeh Qaṣṣāḇ), born December 5, 1945) is the current President of Israel (since 2000). ... Ofra Haza (עָפְרָה חָזָה; November 19, 1957 - February 23, 2000) was a popular Yemenite Israeli singer. ... Yemenite Jews (תֵּימָנִי, Standard Hebrew Temani, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānî; plural תֵּימָנִים, Standard Hebrew Temanim, Tiberian Hebrew Têmānîm) are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen (תֵּימָן far south, Standard Hebrew Teman, Tiberian Hebrew Têmān), a nation on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... Dana International (דנה אינטרנשיונל) (artist name of Sharon Cohen, born Yaron Cohen February 2, 1972) is an Israeli transsexual pop singer, who won the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest for her song Diva. She underwent sex reassignment surgery in 1992. ... Silvan Shalom (b. ... Israeli Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz Shaul Mofaz (b. ...

See also

• Israeli Black Panthers

The Israeli Black Panthers were one of the first social justice organizations among Mizrahi Jews in Israel, active in the late 1960s and into the 1970s. ...

External links

• JIMENA (http://www.jimena-justice.org/) Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa.
• Who is an Arab Jew? (http://www.jimena-justice.org/faq/memmi.htm) - On being Mizraḥi (anti-Arab identity) by Albert Memmi.
• Reflections by an Arab Jew (http://www.bintjbeil.com/E/occupation/arab_jew.html) - On being Mizraḥi (pro-Arab identity) by Ella Habiba.
• Why Jews fled Arab countries (http://www.meforum.org/article/263) - A Jewish (pro-Zionist) analysis of Mizraḥi flight by Ya'akov Meron.
• The Jews of Iraq (http://www.ameu.org/printer.asp?iid=36&aid=72) - A Jewish (anti-Zionist) analysis of Mizraḥi flight by Naeim Giladi.
• The Middle East's Forgetten Refugees (http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/middleeast/The_Middle_Easts_Forgotten_Refugees.asp) A chronicle of Mizraḥi refugees by Semha Alwaya.
• My Life in Iraq (http://samba.co.il/iraqijews/story-ko.html) Yeheskel Kojaman describes his life as a Mizrahi Jew in Iraq in the 50s and 60s.
• Multiculturalism Project - Middle Eastern and North African Jews (http://www.loolwa.com/jmcp/mizrahi.html)
• Loolwa Khazzoom (http://www.loolwa.com/) - Multiculturalism movement for non-European Jewish history, heritage & social justice.
• Hakeshet Hademocratit Hamizrachit (http://www.ha-keshet.org.il/articles.asp?article_id=216) - An organization of Mizraḥi Jews in Israel