Israeli textbooks erased Mizrahi history as non-Jewish

Evidence

The artist Meir Gal represented this reality in a piece titled “Nine out of Four Hundred”: a photograph in which he holds up the nine pages devoted to the history of Mizrahi Jews in a textbook by Shmuel Kirshenbaum, illustrating the prevalent attitude in Israel culture toward Mizrahi Jews as a group without a history, as well as the dominant conception of Jewish history as Ashkenazi history. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 661 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

“Arab-ness” was not an identity; it was a cultural-linguistic reality, expressed first and foremost through language, but also through a deep sense of belonging that persisted long after their immigration to Israel (although sometimes secretly, given the disapproval on the part of the dominant society). In Israel, Mizrahim became the new Marranos; in this case, however, it was not their religion that had to be concealed, but their culture. People had to hide their Arabic culture, afraid to listen to the music that preserved their contact to a cultural framework considered hostile and primitive. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 662 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Israeli textbooks reduced Mizrahi Jewish history to nine pages out of four hundred — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 661; Zionist scholarship reduced oriental Jews to objects then erased them; Mizrahi critique only works when framed as Jewish, not class-based (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Israeli textbooks reduced Mizrahi Jewish history to nine pages out of four hundred #exemplifies (0.95) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 661
• Zionist scholarship reduced oriental Jews to objects then erased them #corroborates (0.92)
• Mizrahim had to conceal their Arab culture, not their religion, in Israel #complicates (0.84) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 662
• Mizrahi integration into Israel required renouncing their Arab culture #complicates (0.82) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 657