Zionist view of Mizrahim mirrored Christian ambivalence toward Jews

Evidence

It is important to note that this Zionist ambivalence toward Mizrahim echoed the Christian ambivalence toward the Jews as, on the one hand, the carriers of the Hebraica Veritas or the ancient Hebrew truth, and, on the other, as those who rejected the gospel, in context of the Enlightenment and European culture. The Mizrahim were perceived as upholding the ancient traditions, but incapable of being conscious of its content, as they existed “outside of history.” The oriental Jews in Zionist discourse are “The Jews” in Christian theology. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 653 (#expands, via linked claim)

Jews found themselves in a Europe constructed upon a series of evolving dichotomies: Christendom and Islam, Europe and Asia, West and East, Aryan and Semite. The Jews posed a challenge to these dichotomies on practically every level. At first, their role was passive, as others debated their proper classification. By the nineteenth century, Jews had entered the debate, questioning not just their classification, but the very validity of the dichotomies. Such dichotomies were regarded as obstacles to assimilation, which remained the dominant project of central and western European Jewry from the French Revolution to the Holocaust. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 634 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Zionism adopted the Christian supersessionist critique against exilic Jews; Zionist ambivalence toward Mizrahi Jews structurally echoed Christian ambivalence toward the Jews. — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 653; Zionist views of Arabs reproduced Christian typological thinking (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Zionist ambivalence toward Mizrahi Jews structurally echoed Christian ambivalence toward the Jews. #expands (0.98) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 653
• European Jews questioned Christian dichotomies primarily because those categories blocked assimilation #complicates (0.71) — Ivan Davidson Kalmar, Derek Penslar, Orientalism and the Jews, 634