The History of Mizrahi Jews

The term “Mizrahi Jews” defines the Jews who lived under Islamic rule throughout the Middle East and North Africa since the Ottoman era. Most of the Jewish settlement in that area began before the Muslim conquest, and since then created a unique heritage that absorbed local Muslim customs and languages alongside the Jewish cultural and religious traditions of those areas.

Jewish presence in these countries of Islam ended almost completely in the mid-20th century after most Jews emigrated to Israel and a minority migrated to other countries. In 1948, the year Israel was founded, about a million Jews lived in the countries of Islam, while in 2024, about 30,000 remained, mostly in Turkey and Iran.

Each of the communities in the region had its unique world of history, culture, and heritage, alongside common similarities shared by most of these communities. However, the research literature on them - referred to as Arab-Jews, Mizrahim, or Sephardi - is still lacking compared to the research on European Jews.

In this course, we will learn about the history, sociology, culture, and intellectual horizons of those Jews who lived in Arab countries and later immigrated to Israel.

The reading will pay special attention to the ways they were absorbed in Israel, to their difficulties and processes of integration - all against the backdrop of the current Israeli-Arab conflict and memories of past coexistence.

By that, we will also examine broader questions concerning decolonization processes, nationalism, identities, secularization, and religion.  

The main part of the second stage of this course will outline the contours of Mizrahi culture in their homelands and later in Israel as it has developed in recent decades in various fields: music, literature, television, cinema, food, theater, art, and more.

In addition to the articles, the students will watch and review films, music shows, speeches, and other primary sources

At the course's end, the students will better understand the unique history, politics, and culture of Mizrahi Jews.