זה מאמר שנאמר במערבא

Yesterday, we heard from three Mizrahi women. I won’t give their names, as it is illegal for them to be in Bethlehem, as it’s in Area A. They spoke about how the Ashkenazi discourse dominates the Israeli narrative, and ignores or redefines the Mizrachi narrative. The Ashkenazi narrative is grounded in zero sum game—there is no way that coexistence with Palestinians can exist, because they all want to kill us. This is rooted in Ashkenazi trauma and experience with Christians. While there were moments of violence against Mizrahim, for the most part Mizrahi Jews found ways to live with their Muslim and Christian neighbors—they found models that work, and they have familial knowledge of how it used to work. When they came to Israel, one of their grandfather’s brought a Koran with him, because it was part of their culture. After he realized that trick that Ashkenazi Zionists trapped on them (poverty, crappy housing, kidnapped children and medical experimentation), and how poorly they were being treated in Israel, the pictures of Herzyl and Ben-Gurion came down from the walls, but the Koran stayed. Despite the fact that the women that we spoke with have right-wing relatives, some of whom are openly racist against Arabs, the “trump card” that they hold against anti-Arab racism is saying “that’s not what our grandfather taught us”. Their grandparents’ memories of Arab neighbors were positive.

A friend compared the effect of the West Bank settlement process to the Homestead Act. Just like poor whites were given really cheap land in exchange for being the first line of defense against Native Americans, so, too, economically disadvantaged Mizrachim, who are very much not ideological settlers, are given highly subsidized housing in settlements in exchange for putting their bodies into the settler project. They are also investing their savings in housing whose value may rapidly diminish if a settlement is uprooted.

The women spoke about racism within the Israeli left. Mizrahim are not offered policy jobs, salaried positions, or leadership roles. During left-wing protests, Ashkenazi Jews harass Mizrahi and Ethiopian soldiers. Ashkenazi left-wing activists act patronizingly towards Palestinians because it reinforces their dominance. During the 2011 tent protests, the main protests that got the most attention were started by Ashkenazi students. These were called “gift” protests. The police treated them quite well. On the other hand, other tent protests that were started by Mizrahi single moms and homeless families (“need protests”) were beaten up by the police and the protest camps destroyed.

They specifically addressed the way that the Mizrahi narrative (that there was violence against Mizrahi Jews, and that they were kicked out of their homes) is weaponized by hasbaraists (they actually compared it to pinkwashing, calling it Mizrahi washing). None of their families want to return Iraq or to Yemen. And while in some places there was violence from local Muslims and Christians against Jews, there were also Zionist recruiters who promised them the world, and gave them the short end of the stick. Also, when they wee asked about the stereotype that Mizrahim are more right wing than Ashkenazi, they call it “fake news”. Ashkenazi built the settlements, and Ashkenazi expanded the settlements.

Later, we returned to Susya. When I first arrived in Susya, I wasn’t prepared for how temporary all of the homes looked. There are no solid roofs on any structure—they’re all just tarps. We worked with the Rural Women’s Association, a coalition of 120 women, both rural and Bedouin, from about 24 different villages, who focus on the special needs of women under Occupation, including access to education, economic development and water needs, but also that because they are constantly fighting for survival, they don’t have opportunities to play with their own children. They are turning one of the structures into a restaurant to feed international visitors, and we were there to help with décor. Fatima, our host, is a “Punters Queen” and has lots of ideas about using tires as colorful planters. We painted a bunch of tires, and put up a fence around the kitchen so that the goats can’t get in (yes, we built a fence in the West Bank). The women had originally wanted to expand the restaurant, but their lawyer warned them that any form of expansion would risk the army using it as a pretense to demolish the whole restaurant.

 After, Fatima, our host, started playing some music, and the kids pulled us in to dance. I put Ahmed (about 11), on my shoulders, and realized that this is what dancing on Simchat Torah has been preparing me for all of my life. We also watched women turn labneh into pyramids of goat cheese, which they sell in Yatta, the closest city.

Both yesterday and today, we were served lunch in Susyah, which included homemade pita, and goat cheese/goat butter, which kind of tastes like mascarpone cheese. Yum.

*Title means "this is a statement that was made in the West," meaning Jerusalem. I'm sure it's from somewhere in the Gemara, but I just know it from the Avraham Fried song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4mlmL1enX0