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Despite feeling qualified to lecture Jews about our religion, self determination and culture, most Europeans know almost nothing about us.
Here’s a short thread to show you a few unknown unknowns...>>
Here’s a short thread to show you a few unknown unknowns...>>
Jews are part of an exclusive and fast shrinking group of people who are indigenous to the Middle East, with an unbroken presence for thousands of years...>>
Since the (by our timeframe) recent colonisation of the region by Arab forces, without a place to call their own many indigenous people faced extinction. Most recently the Ezidi for example. We pray they survive as they are part of the history of mankind...>>
Yemeni Jews are more common than you think. I have Yemeni jews in my own family. They are fairly common in Israel thank goodness, otherwise they would no longer exist...>>
I also have Kurdish Jews in my own family. Some Kurds still speak Aramaic, the English of ancient times. Jewish Kurds are thought to have created that high pitched ‘lalalalalala’ noise that the women make....>>
Kurdish Jews are more common than you might think, in Israel they represent about 5% of the population in Israel...>>
In fact, there are more Kurds in the world than you might think. Maybe about 50-70 million. Most suffer terribly. In Turkey their culture and language were banned...>>
Until the 90s Israel was made up of about 80% of Middle Eastern Jews. After immigration from Russia and elsewhere in and after the 90s, the figure went down, although they still just constitute the majority...>>
This is not a lecture about Israel. But the fact is Jews who never left the Middle East mostly live there, proudly and with their safety in tact, which is more than can be said of any other group indigenous to the region...>>
Next time you’re tempted to think you know about Jews, think again. Perhaps you’re categorising us using a lazy and simplistic outlook out of ignorance or because European antisemitism is so culturally ingrained.
