Figure 1.--. |
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Some Middle-Eastern Jew were attracted by the Zionist dream of a Jewish homeland. The Oriental Jews or Mizrahim were expelled from Arab and other countries such as Iran. Zionism was, however, a primarily European phenomenon. Most Oriental Jews were expelled by their native countries or were driven out by intimidation and threats as well as actual violence. The civil rights of Jews were protected by European law in some countries. An exception here of course was the World War II era when the Italians, Vichy French, and NAZIs dominated North Africa. After the war the new independent Arab countries created their own legal systems. This varied substantially, but many countries adopted systems without even minimal protections for indivisual rights, especially for non Muslims. Jews were expelled by countries like Iraq, Egypt and Algeria. Other Arab countries (such as Morocco and Tunisia) did not formally expel Jews, but persued policies of marginalisation and intimidation. The details varied from country to country, but the results were essentially the same. Jews in some countries had harrowing experiences. In other countries, especially Morocco, there wa a degree of state protection.
We have some insight into Ethiopia's religious history because of references in the Old Testament. Some traditions are legendary, others seem based on fact. Some believe one of the lost Tribes of Israel settled in Ethiopia. The Queen of Sheba was born in Axum, a state which dominated what is modern Ethiopia for centuries. She travelled to Israel to meet King Solomon. They had a son named Menelik, who later became the first emperor of Ethiopia. Legend has it that Menelik brought the original Ark of the Covenant back to Ethiopia from Israel. Today, the Arc remains guarded by a select group of monks in Axum. A sect known as Beta Israel or Falashas, who practice a type of Judaism that probably dates back to contact with early Arabian Jews, were airlifted to Israel in 1991 during Ethiopia's civil war.
Egypt was a major refuge for the Jews of the Dispora following the revolt against Rome (1st century AD). Egypt had one of the most dynamic Jewish communities in the Diaspora. After the Arab conquest Jews were tolerated to a varying degree. During the Caliphate Jews were subjected to major periods of persecution by different caliphs (9th-11th centuries). Finally the large Jewish quater in Cairo was destoyed and the Jews there murrdered in mass (1012). Conditions in Egypt varied at thewhim of local rules after the destruction of the Caliphate. There were periods of relative tollerance and periods pf percecution. The Ottomans seized Egypt (1517). Again treatment of the Jews varied depending on the attitude of the various sultans. Ottoman rule weakened in the 19th century and local rulers began to exert indepedence. The French and British took an increasing interest in Egypt at mis-century with the construction of the SuezCanal. During the late 19th century there were at least six blood libel persecutions in Egyptian cities (1870-92). Egypt was affected by European anti-Semtism. The Tsarist secret police published the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. It was a forgery, but cwidly deseminated. Most Egytians to this day regard it as a historical document. Egyptians nationalists were influenced by the anti-British and anti-Semetic writings and broadcasts of the Grand Mufti of Jeursalem in Palestine. Both the Free Officers movement and the Muslim Broytherhood were heavily influenced by anti-Semitism. At the end if world War II (1945), there were about 75,000 Jews in Egypt. Most lived in Alexandria and Cairo. Unlike the other Jews in North Africa, the Fascists in never occupied Egypt, exceot for the Western Desert. Thus Egyption Jews did not experience the NAZU Holocaust.
After Israel declared independence and Arab armies attacked, Jews in Egypt were targeted (1948). Arabs carried out bomb attacks in Cairo, killing about 70 Jews. Authorities arrested prominent Jews and confiscated their property. After Nassar seized power he demanded control of Suez. The Isrealis wanted the British and French to remain, seeing them as a moderating influence. A still murky Isreli operation was carried out which became known as the Lavon Affair (1954). Isreali agents carried out a series of bombings in Alexandria and Cairo. The targets included British and American facilities, but were designed so as to avoid any significant loss of life. The goal was to convince the Americans and British that the British and French needed to retain control over the Suez Canal. The Egyptians captured one of the agents and made further arrests. Details of the plot came out in a show trial (1955). The actual details are still murky, however, as there is evidence that the Egyptians used torture in their investigation. Some evidence suggests that Egyptian intelligence was aware of the plot from the beinning. It is still not known at what level in he Isreali Government the operation was authorized.
The Egyptians used the Lavon Affair to launch a major persecution of the Jews remaining in Egypt.
While this was underway, the Suez War occurred (1956). After the Wat, Egyptian authorities expelled over 25,000 Jews and confiscated their property. Authorities jailed about 3,000 Jews.
An Egyptian Jew passed himself off as an Arab and penetrated the Syrian ruling cliche. He passed important untelligence on to Israel whoch was used in the Six Days War (1967). More Jews were detained and tortured. More Jewish property was confiscated. Most Jews concluded that life was impossile in Egypt. Today there is only a handful of elderly Jews remaining in Egypt.
Persia had one of the oldest Jewish communities in the Middle East. Jews first appeared in Iran at the time of the destruction of the First Temple (6th century BC). The Jews had been conquered by the Babalonians and many were brought back to Babylon as slaves. Cyrus the Great who founded the Archemid dynasty, conquered Babylon (539 BC). Cyrus allowed the enslaved Jews to return to Israel. Not all the Jews returned. Scattered Jewish colonies were established in Babylon and various Persian provinces as well as Hamadan and Susa. The experiences of the Jews in Persia under the Achaemids are desctibed in the Bible (books of Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel). Jews in Persia tended to lived in their own communities. Persia was a huge multi-national empire. Thus Persian Jewish communities existed not only in modern Iran, but also what is now Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, northwestern India, Kirgizstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Jews during Sassanid dynasty prospered and spread throughout Persia, albeit they experienced some persecution (226-642 AD). Arab Muslims conquered Persia (642 AD). Persia became part of the Caliphate. Persia was an extremly backward state (19th century). Persian Jews were persecuted and suffered descrimination. Some Jewish communities were forced to convert to Islam. Small numbers of Iranian Jews as Zionism developed, emigrated to Palesine which at the time was an Ottoman province. Persians began to turn to the Germans to ofset bRitish influence. This was in part geo-politics and after the rise of Hitler in Germany included a racian component. Reza Shah began asking foreign legations use the term Iran which he said was the the historical name of the country. It also was axloaded racial term, comparable to the Aryans that the NAZIs were promoting. The Grand Mufti after fleeing from Palestione and Iraq found a recetive audience
for his anti-Semetic rants. As in Iraq, he was supported by elements of the Islamic clergy. The Shah increasibgly turned to the NAZIs, but was deposed by British and Soviet intervention (1941). The Isreali-Arab conflict was after World War II heavily publicized in the Iranian press and as in other Muslim countries was heavily slanted toward the Arabs (1946-48). Israel declared its indepence (1948). Neigboring Arab states invaded, launching the First Arab-Isreali War (1948-49). At the time there were about 150,000 Jews in Iran. The result was rising ant-Semnetic feeling theoughout Iran. This continued until the 1953 Coup. The authority of the cebntral government weakened and the Shi'ir clergy became increasingly vocal as the new young Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Primeminister Mohammad Mossadegh struggled for control. With the establishment of Israel, an estimated one-third of Iranian Jews, largely consisting of pooer Jews emigrated to Israel (1948-53) [Sanasarian, p. 47.] Emigration continued at modest levels after the 1953 coup. The Shah regime provided an era of moderatuon as well as facilitating emigration.
One sources estimates that at the time of the 1979 Islamic revolution, some 70,000 Iranian Jews had emigrated to Israel. [Littman, p. 5.] There were still some 80,000 Jews in Iran, mostly in Tehran when the Ayatollah Khomeini seized power (1979). This begsn an era
pf religious persecurion for non Shiotes, especially Jews who were seen by many fundamentalists as a alien people as well as a security risk. The increased focus on the Koran mean the revival of the many anti-Semrtic passages. This only increased emigration as aesult of emigration. . The once vivrant muinority collapsed, declining to about , plunging to about one fourth of its size and the emogration continues. Most of Iranian Jews emigrated to the Unoted States. Smaller numbers emifrated to Europe and Isdrael,. A factor here was that Iranian authorities did not permit direct emigration to Israel.
Lebanon after World War II became indepedent with a government dominated by Christian Arabs. Jews under the Ottomons, French colonial rule, and Christian Arabs experienced a relatively tolerant ebnvironment. Lebanon was one of the Arab countries which invaded Isrrael in the first Isreali-Palestinian War (1948). The Jewish population of Beirut as late of the mid-1950s even after the first Isreali-Pslestinian War was about 5,000. Many Jews observing trends in other Arab states decided to to leave, especially after the 1967 War. The 1975-76 civil war between Muslims and Christians did enormous damage to Beirut. There was extensive fighting around the historic Jewish Quarter. There was extensive damage to Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues. This caused most of the 1,800 Lebanese Jews who had not already left to emigrate in 1976. There was considerable fear of the growing power of Muslim Lebanese and the Syrian presence. Most Lebanese Jews emigrated to Europe, especially France, the fornmer colonial power. Others went to the United States and Canada. This left a miniscule Jewish community in Lebanon. The Shite Hizballah
movement kidnapped several prominent Jews from Beirut (mid-1980s). They were mostly leaders of the Jewish community. Four of the kidnapped Jews were later found murdered. There are still a few Jews in Beirut according to a2004 report. They are apparently mostly elderly women. It is reportedly not safe for them to practice their religion in any open way.
Jews appeared in Morocco during the Diaporra following the Roman suppression of the Jewish Revolt (1st century AD). Most Jew after the Islamic conquest lived in ghettos known as mellah. There was a degree of toleration during the Islamic era, but also periods of persecution, including massacres. One such attack occuured in Fez in which 6,000 Jews were killed (1033). The largest attacks occurred in
Fez and Marrakesh when over 100,000 Jews were killed (1146). There was another attack in
Marrakesh (1232). There were also periods of toleration during whic Jews even received important appointments (13th-15th centuries). Many Jews expelled from Spin and Portugal souught refuge in Morocco (15th century). Some stayed in Morocco, others settled in other provinces of the Ottoman Empire.
France occupied Morocco creating aprotectorate (1912). This brought French law to Morocco which ended the legal decrimination of Jews. This changed again after the fall of France (June 1940). The Vichy regime issued anti-Semetic laws which applied in Morocco. Many Jews were interned in work ca,ps. King Muhammad prevented deportation of Moroccan Jews to NAZI death camps. Some Jews with French passports were deported. The Allies landed in Morocco as part of Operation Torch (November 1942). This precented the NAZIs from proceeding furher against Moroccan Jews. Morocco at the time had over 250,000 Jews, the largest Jewish population in the Arab world outside of Palestine. After Israel declared independence and the Arab states invaded, Arabs rioted in Oujda and Djerada, killing 44 Jews. About 18,000 Jews emigrated, most but not all to Israel (1948-49). Jewish immegration slowed down after 1949, but continued at a few thousand annually during the 1950s, gradually reduciing the Moroccan Jewish community. Zionist organizations promoted further emigration, seeking to expabd Isrrael's population. They focused on the relatively poor and conservatibe south where many Jews wee involved with agriculture.
Morocco achieved independence (1955). Jews at the time held political positions. There were three Members of Parliament and a Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. Emmigration increased with independence. Jewish emigration to Israel increased from 8,171 (1954) to 24,994 (1955) and increasing even more the following year (1956). The Suez War inflamed anti-Isreali feeling and he Government banned further Jewish emigration (1956). Authorities felt that allowing Jewish immigration was strenthening Israel.
The Goverment quietly relaxed emigration laws to allow Jews to leave. This allowed more than 80,000 Jews to reach Israel (1961-63). This significantly reduced Morocco's Jewish population. There were about 60,000 Jews left in Morocco at the time of the Six Days War (1967). Tenons between Arabs and Jews increased and emigration continued. Many Moroccan Jews at this time went to America and Europe.
This left about 35,000 Jews in Morocco (1971). While the Jewish community is now very small, the Government continues to protect the remaining Jews. The King has a Jewish adviser, André Azoulay. Jewish schools and synagogues receive government financial support. Some Islamists devilver vituperative anti-Semetic sermons. The public is generally hostile to Jews and there have been attacks on Jews. Al-Qaeda's bombed a Jewish community center in Casablanca. There are about 5,000 Jews left in Morocco. Most Moroccan Jews live in Casablanca, but are also small communities in Fez and other cities.
Jews have a long history in Syria. At the time of World War II there were about 30,000 Jews in Syria. There were three major Jewish communities in Syria. Kurdish-speaking Jews were centered in Kamishli. Jews of Spanish ancestry were concentrated in Aleppo. Jews desended from the original eastern Jewsish community lived primarily in Damascus and were referred to as the Must'arab. The status of these Jews changed radically with the dall of France (June 1940) and the formation of the Vichy Government. Syria and Lebenon (administered as part of Syria) were only two Vichy controlled colonies around the Mediterrean. Vichy also controlled Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Vichy's 1940 anti-Jewish regulations were extended to all these jurisdictions. The Vichy regulations involved a range of persecution and denial of of rights. Committees for Aryanization were established and the citzenship of French Jews was revoked. Camps were established abd many Jews internened. The pattern differed somewhat in each jurisdiction with Tunisia adopting particularly harsh regulsations in 1941. The Vichy High Commissioner in Syria, Henri Dentz, was planning to open concentration camps, but theBritish and Free French forces seized control of Syria before he was able to do so. [Stillman, p. 146.] As a result of Vicvhy support for the pro-Germanm Rashid Ali revolt in Iraq, British and Free French forces occupied Syria (June-July 1944). About 1,350 Syrian Jews were transported to Palestine in a complicated operation as part of the Aliyah effort. The Jewish community in Syria gained only a brief respite from persecution. After Syria achieved independence, the government prohibited Jewish immigration to Palestine. Other regulations followed as well as attacks on Jews.
Jews have a long history in Yemen, dating back to Biblical time more than a milrnium before the advent of Islam. In modern times the Ottoman Turks extended their rule tio the south of the Arabian Peninsula and occupied Yemen (1872). The Ottomans had a traditiion of relatuve religion tolerance, having managed a diverse empire for hundreds of years. This began to chng in the 19th century, but there was much more tolerance of Jews than in Arab society at the time. Ottoman authorities who established themselves in Yemen asked an assembly of Yemeni Muslim leaders to stop Muslim children from throwing rocks at Jews. The Yemeni Muslim authorities declined. They insisted that was an ancient religious custom called 'Ada' and insisted that it could not be forbidden. Yemeni Jews were one of the most isolated Jewish communities in the world. And Yemen was one of the most backward countries in which Jews lived, virtually untouched by the modern world. As part of the Ottoman Empire, Yemeni Jews were able to move within the Empire. Small numbers begn to move to the Levant including Palestine. This was unrelated to the largly European Zionist movement. Most Yemeni Jews setlled in agricultural communities in Syria. Just before World War I, Zionist organizers made contct wih Yemeni Jews and more 1,000 Yemeni Jews came to Palestine (1911-12). changes the political make up of the Middle East. The Ottoman Empire was destroyed and the British and French obtained contol of the Middle East. Yemen became independent and conditions for Jews deteriorated. In particular they begn enforcing the 'oephan's decree'. British regulations made furthur emigration to Palestine difficult for Yemeni Jews. This changed with the creation of the state of Israel (1948). Attacks on Jews esclated. Jews were killed in vicious pograms The situation was even worse than in most other Arab states. Virtully the ntire Jewish comminity was evacuated to Israel as part of Operation Magic Carpet (1949-50). The effort actually began during the First Arab-Israeli War (1947-48), biy most of the Jews arrived immeduattely after the War. The Yemeni Jews because they came from such a backward Arab state proved one of the most difficult immigrabt grouos to assimilate.
Littman, David. (1979).
Sanasarian (2000).
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