Cast Out. The History of the Jews of Arab Lands by Lyn Julius

 ´850,000 Jews, more than 99% of the Jews living in Arab states, fled their countries of birth, in one of the largest displacements of non-Muslims from the region after WWIÍ´, outlines Lyn Julius in her 100-page essay published recently with The Jewish Quarterly. Julius, herself a Babylonian Jew, wrote before about the fate and the circumstances of Jews from Muslim lands - in the essay, the Iranian Jews are sometimes without too much academic care for precision included in the category of Arab states, as examples.

The essay is stating the realities of the Jewish communities shaking the myths supported by the zealots supporters of the ´traditional peace´ between Jews and their Arab neighbours. Few decades ago - and sometimes now, in some non-informed peaceniks milieus - it was bon ton to counter the pogroms with the ´tolerance´ between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East, eventually mentioning ´before the state of Israel was born´. But the reality is more nuanced and violent, as co-existence is not the precise word to describe the everyday life of Jews in Iraq, Algeria, Tunesia, Libya or Syria. And this is not necessarily related to the state of Israel.

Julius is quoting the Tunesian-Jewish intellectual Albert Memmi who addressed the Libyan dictator Ghadafi in France in 1973 as follows: ´The state of Israel is not the result of Auschwitz, but off the Jewish predicament at large, including its predicament in Arab countries´. Although the relationship between the state of Israel and its non-European Jews is complex and far from being perfect, but reflects the mentalities of the time. The European Jews were very much integrated into their European societies, like German or French or Polish, and once in Israel they brought with them the prejudices and sometimes the arrogance of their places of birth and education.

I particularly liked the comparative references and the informations about episodes from the Jewish life in Morocco or Tunesia or Iraq. The general framework is relatively unsurprising, but relies on the general knowledge - legal, historical - about the topic. 

Jews from Muslim lands aren´t officially recognized as ´refugees´. The issue of the properties took over by the states aren´t the subject of international/inter-state agremeents, like the Abraham Accords. Their cultural and linguistic heritage is struggling to survive - but the Internet is offering a safe and creative space for revival. 

Documenting and repeating those realities creates a framework for discussion and information. This essay adds historical information to a history too big to have been reached its end.

The Blue Mountain by Meir Shalev translated into German by Ruth Achlama

I was recently looking to update my list of recommended Israeli literature reads and from one reference to another, I´ve got The Blue Mountain by Meir Shalev, translated into German by Ruth Achlama as Ein Russischer Roman.  

I always love a good read featuring kibbutzniks as through the story of beginnings one can better understand the present, especially when it comes to the State of Israel. If they will still belong to the future, it is hard to say, but as for now, the kibbutzim - although in a more capitalistically-oriented form - still exist, and their resilience defines the nation. 

Told by Baruch, the third generation kibbutznik who set up a cemetery, it is a multi-generational story of (now) old people with funny ways of being. The characters are full of humour, wild, over-sexual, they love plants and animals. One bull´s name is Jean Valjean.

The story is going back and forth, with a timeline that it´s often confusing. There is not too much happening, as we are took into the story with the imagination of a voyeur: we are watching what the characters are doing - not that much - how they are getting old and dying. Some episodes are funny, some just life - not always exciting. And this takes about 500+ pages to share.

There are clearly parts of this book that I enjoyed, but concision is not the strongest feature of this book. I had some literary expectations - in terms of story structure, character and plot development - that were barely met, but at least I had a great laughs in the company of the kibbutzniks and their stories. Sometimes it may be enough when you are looking to some inspiration for better appreciating the flesh and blood brave kibbutzniks.

PS: Although I usually appreciate the German-speaking edition houses book covers, this time - a  1860 portrait of the French Catholic Louis Auguste Cézanne by Paul Cézanne - was not necessarily an inspired choice by the Swiss edition house Diogenes Verlag.

Nicht ohne meine Kippa! by Levi Israel Ufferfilge

'Für Antisemiten habe ich überhaupt keine anderen Eigenschaften. Keine eigene Geschichte´.

Levi Israel Ufferlige grew up in North Rhein Westphalia region of Germany. He graduated Jewish studies, was a religion teacher and speaker, and the director of the Masorti Jewish International School in Berlin, and currently he is the rabbi of the community in Oldenburg.

He is also proudly wearing his kippa on the German streets and further sharing his story in an account of his daily life in Germany as a Jew: Nicht ohne meine Kippa! (Not without my kippa!). The book was published in German and as far as I know was not yet translated into other languages.

In addition to the personal and family details, the author is extensively sharing his experience in facing and sometimes fighting against the antisemitism when openly Jewish. There may be voices complaining that there is maybe too much ´love for the Jews´ in this country, but for someone living as a Jew here, the experience is largely contrary to this assumption.

For Levi Israel Ufferfilge, as for many others before him, and many other right now, especially after 7th of October, there are the same challenges over and over again. Although holding official positions - including as a teacher - he is sharing the experience as an individual, without any institutional support or intervention. 

Although I´ve found his experience very relevant as an alternative and realistic version of the everyday Jewish life in Germany, some of the personal details shared weren´t necessarily a contribution to the main topic. But because I was so avid to find out all the possible details of his Jewish experiences as a visible religious person in Germany, that´s it.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Chopping Onions on My Heart by Samantha Ellis

I am always happy to discover new books about the rich heritage of Iraqi Jews, as each book brings more information about a world that once was. Most part of the books I´ve read are generally related to the issues of identity and belonging in the Israel context, Chopping Onions on my Heart. On Losing and Preserving Culture by Samantha Ellis is adding a different identity layer: the role of language in keeping alive a world that exist only in memories.

Iraqi Jews, as many other Jews from Arab lands, don´t have a place to come back for the summer vacations. Children cannot experience the flavors and language inflections of their mother tongue. They cannot build their own memories of the places where they are coming from. Iraq is a place out of reach and for the newest generation - diaspora-born - there is no direct connection with the place. The Iraq of their parents and grandparents doesn´t exist anymore either. 

Judeo-Iraqi is a language that for Ellis, as for many Jews of Iraqi origin living all over the world, may build that bridge to the world as it was once. Ladino or the many variations of Jewish Persian dialects are kept alive by a community of language enthusiasts, some joining the fantastic courses of the Oxford School of Jewish Language that I had the pleasure to visit twice. Ellis herself attended the Judeo-Baghdadi classes. There are even more initiatives lately where people, not necessarily with a direct connection to the realm, do learn, translate, converse in those ´lost´ languages. It´s the power of zachor - as long as we remember them, we talk about them, they will stay alive.

Ellis is following the usual intellectual format of identity memoirs: food, family history, language longing. But although the format is similar with other memoirs, the content is different and this is what enriches the story about Iraqi Jews. Each chapter was a door towards a cultural realm which is about to disappear.

For me, it was another topic that interested me dearly: how can you connect your children to a traumatic heritage. It is all about that life choreography which is so difficult to keep under control and repress without diminishing its authenticity. In the end, everything belongs and depends on the power of stories and their storytellers.

I had access to the book in audiobook format, read by the author.