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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...
Footnotes:
* NCSY is the National Council for Synagogue Youth, the national Orthodox
youth group. Young Judea is a national Zionist youth group. Camp Ramah
is the national yearly camp for Conservative youth. BBYO is the B'nai
Brith Youth Organization, the national Reform youth group.
This article was published in Response Magazine. ©1995 by Loolwa Khazzoom.
All rights reserved. No portion of this article may be copied without
author's permission.
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