sephardic jews

Prof. Sasson Somekh, scholar in the field of Arabic literature and translator of poetry, was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1933. (Emet Prize CC BY-SA 3.0)

Bidding farewell to ‘the last Arab Jew’

Born in Baghdad, Prof. Sasson Somekh was a prominent expert on Arabic literature, and a notable author and activist. He passed away this week. By Raanan Shemesh Forshner Prof. Sasson Somekh, one of Israel’s most prominent experts on Arabic literature and a lifelong proponent of peace, passed away this week in Tel Aviv. A winner of…

By +972 Magazine August 23, 2019

An Israeli Black Panthers protest at Tel Aviv University. Shemesh is third from right. Yigal Bin-Nun (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Mizrahi rebel: Bidding farewell to an Israeli Black Panther

Kochavi Shemesh, one of the legendary leaders of the Israeli Black Panthers, believed that the liberation of Mizrahim was bound up with the freedom of Palestinians, black South Africans, and other oppressed people. He passed away last week at the age of 75. By Asaf Shalev Kochavi Shemesh, who was born in Iraq during World War II and…

By +972 Magazine May 19, 2019

Sultan Bayezid II.

When the Sultan took in Jewish refugees

Bayezid II, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, saved my family’s life during the Spanish Inquisition. The Israeli government could learn a thing or two from him. By Tom Pessah I am a Jew of Sephardic origin, which means the defining moment of my family’s history was their expulsion from Spain in 1492. I still have…

By +972 Magazine January 25, 2018

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Prime Minister Netanyahu and Sara Netanyahu (right) during a Mimouna celebration. (photo: Activestills.org)

Unraveling Netanyahu’s Sephardic spin

Netanyahu knows that even in 2016, Mizrahim have the ability to kick him out of power. Benjamin Netanyahu has seen better weeks. Between being strong-armed by members of his cabinet over the confirmation of Avigdor Liberman as defense minister, and the fact that his wife, Sara, may soon be indicted over her unscrupulous handling of…

By Edo Konrad May 30, 2016

Jewish Home party chairman Naftali Bennett (Photo by Activestills.org)

Israel’s education minister wants to reduce Jewish history to pogroms

A new committee is tasked with exposing Israeli students to Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish history. The problem? There is more than one narrative. By Gil Gertel A committee in Israel’s Education Ministry meant to “expose Israeli students to the cultural, philosophical, social, and historical wealth of Jewish communities of the East and Spain” began its…

By +972 Magazine March 12, 2016

Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef (Wkimeida Commons CC BY SA 3.0)

Sephardic spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef passes away at 93

Former Sephardic chief rabbi and spiritual leader of Shas was known for efforts to reconcile Jewish law with modernity, advance the status of Mizrahi Jews in the Israeli religious establishment and in Israeli politics and society. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Sephardic-Haredi Shas party passed away Monday at the age of 93.…

By +972 Magazine October 7, 2013

Spineless bookkeeping: The use of Mizrahi Jews as pawns against Palestinian refugees

Calls to define Jews from Arab countries as refugees were silenced in the past by Israeli governments. The change of policy has to do with the relatively new recognition that Israel will not be able to escape its responsibility for the Nakba. But leaders of the new campaign should first learn the history of their…

By Haokets September 25, 2012