Sephardic Heritage Update 490
David Shasha
Friends,
Before we get underway I would like to point out one of the many examples of anti-Sephardi racism that permeates the Jewish world. One would think that scholars in the academic world would not adopt such a racist perspective, but for those who read widely in Judaic scholarship it is no surprise that studies of Jewish modernity completely shut off any Sephardi representation.
This forthcoming title by Princeton professor Leora Batnitzky is a representative case in point:
http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9543.html
http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i9543.pdf
Examining the list of 29 names listed on page 4 of the introduction we note that there is not a single Sephardic name. After beginning with the Sephardi apostate Spinoza – who is more associated with the Ashkenazi Jewish Enlightenment than he is with the traditions of Iberia and the Middle Eastern Jewish civilization – the discussion centers exclusively around European Jewish intellectuals and their culture.
Although the book has not been published, it is clear from the introduction what the contents of it will actually be. There is no discussion of Sephardic Jews because Sephardim are not acknowledged as a legitimate part of the cultural-intellectual development of modern Judaism. This in spite of the fact that figures such as Moses Mendelssohn, Heinrich Graetz, and Ahad Ha’am – to name a few – are greatly reliant on the classical Sephardic tradition in their writings and teachings.
Sadly, this is not simply a situation of oversight. Scholars – of all people – are required to examine a subject with scientific rigor and precision. The common exclusion of Sephardic thinkers in the Modern period – thinkers like David Nieto, Elijah Benamozegh, Sabato Morais, Israel Moses Hazzan and, more recently, Jose Faur – is the product of an outright Ashkenazi ethnocentric racism. It is not that Ashkenazi Jewish thinkers should be ignored or dismissed, but that Sephardim should be included in the discussion to allow for a more nuanced and balanced view of the matter. The exclusion is as shameful as it is pervasive.
On this same note, we begin this week’s newsletter with the first article in the Forward about the famous letter from George Washington to the Sephardic congregation at Newport, Rhode Island. The article is framed by the concern that this important Jewish artifact is not in Jewish hands. The article fails to mention the Sephardic provenance of the letter and the place of Sephardic Jews in American history.
Anthony Julius presents his repugnant views on Arab Jewish history in a review of Adina Hoffman and Peter Cole’s recent book on the Cairo Geniza. Using the book review as a means of asserting his political views regarding Muslim oppression of Jews in the Middle East, he serves to distort a history of which he knows little. Sadly, this anti-Sephardi prejudice permeates discussions of the subject. I present drafts of letters that I wrote in response – one of which was submitted to the New York Times but not published.
Our good friend Claudia De Martino reviews the republished version of Ella Shohat’s classic work Israeli Cinema.
Steve Paulson provides us with yet more prejudice against Middle Eastern civilization, this time attacking Islam for a supposedly anti-scientific stance.
The great Arab Jewish writer Sami Michael discusses the pluralistic literary world of Haifa.
Kiera Fledman provides us with another in the many articles that have been written about Birthright Israel and its impact on American Jewish culture.
We close with a very disappointing article from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks that presents an extremely negative and fatalistic view of European Jewry and its future.
David Shasha
Solving the Mystery of George Washington’s Famous Letter
By: Paul Berger
The Secret Life of Cairo’s Jews
By: Anthony Julius
Two Letters Responding to the Anthony Julius Review
By: David Shasha
Book Review: Ella Shohat on Israeli Cinema
By: Claudia De Martino
Does Islam Stand Against Science?
By: Steve Paulson
Haifa: A Refuge for Writers
By: Sami Michael
The Romance of Birthright Israel
By: Kiera Feldman
The Future of European Jewry
By: Jonathan Sacks