CULTURAL INTERSECTIONALITY
Outsiders have historically seen Jews as a cohesive ethno-cultural group, continuing the ceremonies and practises of their forefathers. Rather, Jews residing in and emanating from different areas on Earth hold culturally and religiously unique traditions originating from their differentiating histories that separate them from other populations of Jews worldwide. The Ashkenazim, or Jews of European descent, originally migrated to the continent of Europe following the rise of the Roman Empire, and spread across the nation, initially in the Rhine region of France and Germany on the outskirts of the Empire. Following the rise of the Holy Roman Empire in ~800AD, an intergovernmental coalition which included hundreds of German, Italian, Dutch, Czech and Polish princedoms, the vast majority of Jews living in continental Europe moved to Poland, one of the most tolerant and accepting countries during the Dark and Middle Ages. ~1450AD, following the creation of the nation of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth, a Golden Age for European Jews began, where many jobs and governmental positions of high importance were held by the previously marginalised group. However, in the mid 1600s, the power of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth faltered, seeing a division between German, Russian, Hungarian and Russian ownership. This started an era of hardship for European Jews, including pogroms and public burnings of Jewish families and Jewish owned property throughout the aforementioned countries, particularly Russia. This ultimately culminated in the Holocaust that occurred alongside World War 2 which saw 6 million Jews massacred en masse by the Nazi party of the 3rd German Reich. Nowadays, the Ashkenazi population is the most numerous Jewish subcultural group in the world, numbering 6 million in the US, 2.6 million in Israel, 400000 in Russia, 300000 in Argentina, 260000 in the UK, 240000 in Canada, 120000 in Australia, 80000 in South Africa and 5000 im New Zealand. The Sephardim, or Jews of Iberian descent (Spain and Portugal) also began their migration to South West Europe following the Roman Conquest of the land of Israel. Mainly centred around the town of Sepharad, Spain, the Jews of Iberia enjoyed relative peace and acceptance compared to the other Jews of Europe. Controlled initially by the Pagan Roman Empire, which then converted to Christianity, then the Christian kingdoms of Occitania of France, then the Muslim emirates of Al-Andalusia and Granada, followed by the Christian Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, the Jews of Iberia held politically essential roles, including acting as the financial advisors of several Spanish and North African Maghrebi kings and dukes. However, in 1492, the king of the newly formed Spanish nation passed a royal law known as the Alhambra Decree formally declaring an expulsion of all Jews, a move quickly followed up by King Manuel I of Portugal in 1496. This edict stated the demanded erasure of Spanish and Portuguese Jewish culture, giving Sephardis 3 options: 1: to convert to Catholicism and therefore to be allowed to remain within the kingdom, 2: to remain Jewish and to be expelled by the stipulated deadline, or 3: to be executed. This resulted in a huge population shift of Jews previously living in Iberia, who moved en masse to South America and the Ottoman Empire, which controlled a major segment of the Middle East. Currently, Sephardi Jews number 1.4 million in Israel, 400000 in France, 300000 in the US, 50000 in Argentina and 40000 in Brazil. The Mizrachim, or Jews of the Middle East, likewise moved elsewhere following Roman conquest of Israel, but rather than their Ashkenazi and Sephardi counterparts, the Mizrachim chose to move to regions such as Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Morocco and Central Asia. Due to the hugely varied history of each of those aforementioned regions, it is hard to collectively summarise the experiences of Jews specific to those nations. However, several universal themes can be seen within the histories of Mizrachi Jews - they nearly always held a position of second class citizenship within their respective societies, often forced or pressured into concealing their traditional songs and customs, with many being force converted into Islam throughout the millenia. Some Mizrachim however held positions of power and influence as kingdoms and rulers of regions changed, including especially Syrian, Iraqi and Iranian Jews, who held local governmental position's such as mayorships, jobs as merchants, textile workers and goldworkers in the cities of Damascus, Baghdad and Tehran respectively. Following the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948, many pogroms and burnings of Jewish communites occured across those 3 nations, forcing a mass population drain of nearly 50000 Jews from across the Middle East into Israel. Many other Jews of the Middle East, including Moroccan, Tunisian and Algerian Jews, were not forced violently from their homes, rather migrating to Israel in the 1940s and 1950s, searching for economic liberation and empowerment. In modern times, 3.2 Mizrachim live in Israel, with a further 250000 in the US, 15000 in Kazakhstan, 12000 in Uzbekistan, 11000 in Azerbaijan and 8500 in Iran. Apart from the three larger branches of Jews discussed above, there are several other small populations originating from other places on the planet. These include the Beta Israel tribe of Ethiopia, who number 4000 in Ethiopia and 130000 in Israel - the Georgian Jews of Georgia of which there are 3000 in Georgia and 200000 in Israel - the Bene Israel Jews of Mumbai, India, who number 6000 in India and nearly 80000 in Israel - the Romaniote Jews of Greece, who number 1500 in Greece and 45000 in Israel - the Italkim of Italy, who number 50000 in Italy and 10000 in Israel and the Kaifeng Jews of Chinese origin, who number a tiny population of 1000 in China and only 16 in Israel! Now, during Pesach more than nearly other time of the year, it is important to both acknowledge the diverse history and culture of the Jewish people, but likewise also acknowledge our shared heritage and practises.
Written by Jake Hochstadt on Shnat 2019, Shavit Melbourne   13
