Patriotiko Los Muestros de los mis ojos,
Ke me eskozgan mi Nona Satula i mi Papu Avraham, en gan eden repozen sus almas, por loke no vo avlar lakerdi por sus artikulos, "Postemas de Mujer" i "Postemas de Ham Avraham." La razon es ke oy, a la okazion de los sinkuenta anios de la egzistensia de lsrael, kero avlar unas kuantas palavras sovre el Sionizmo entre los Sefaradim.2 Today, it is safe to say that Ashkenazic Jews have been the primary architects of the modern Zionist movement. But this was not always the case.
Not so long ago, it was the Sephardic Jews who took the lead in Jewish nationalism, the resettlement of the land of Israel and even Hebrew revivalisml Even Ashkenazim have long recognized that, throughout the ages, Sephardim have nurtured an ardent Iove for the land of lsrael. Yehudah Halevi, considered one of the greatest Hebrew poet of all times, was a Spanish-Jew most famousfor his mournful odes to the land of lsrael. (One of his most famous poems begins, "My heart is in the East, and 1 in the uttermost West...) Halevi's devotion to our historic land extended beyond pen and parchment. This great Sephardic poet spent the last years of his life journeying to the land of lsrael, and, according to legend, was killed while declaiming a poem to Zion near the Western Wall. Halevi's dream of spending his dying days in the land of Israel was shared by Sephardim throughout the centuries.
Until the early twentieth century, many elderly Ottoman Sephardim, men as well as women, made pilgrimages to the holy land, wherethey intended to pass their last days.
lndeed, the land of lsrael would have remained largely devoid of any Jewish presence in the early modern era if it weren't for Sephardic Jews. After the Spanish Expulsion of 1492, hundreds of Sephardic refugees streamed into the holy land, increasing the Jewish population exponentially, and bringing prosperity to the Jewish inhabitants of such cities as holy Jerusalem and mystical Safed. lberian Jews were so prevalent in the land of Israel that Ladino became the dominant language of Palestinian Jews for the next 3-400 years!
Ladino remained the language of the land, and Sephardim the Jewish majority, until the early 19th century, when Ashkenazic Jews began to populate Palestine in significant numbers.
Many Ashkenazim, and even Sephardim, do not realize the important role Sephardim played in the modern Zionist movement. Sarajevo-born Judah ben Solomon Hai Alkalai (1798-1878,) a native Ladino speaker who wrote his first two works in Ladino, is considered one of the major precursors of modern Zionism. Alkalai developed a revolutionary definition of teshuva, Hebrew for "return." While teshuva is traditionaIly understood as a 'return' to righteousness, or, religious repentance, according to AIkalai, teshuva should be understood as a literal return to the land of lsrael, and as a precondition for the redemption of the Jewish people. Alkalai's Jewish nationalism had a great impact on his Ashkenazic contemporary, Tsvi Hirsch Kalischer (1795-1874), a native of Posen, also regarded as a harbinger of modern Zionism. David Alkalai (18621933,) a grand-nephew of Judah Alkalai, carried on the family tradition when he founded and led the Zionist movement in Serbia and Yugoslavia. A native of Belgrade the younger Alkalai represented his native city at Theodor Herzl's First Zionist Congress in Basel (1897) and was elected to the Zionist General Council (the Actions Committee.) Even the modern Hebrew language owes its development to Sephardic Jews. Eliezer Ben-Yehudah (1858-1922), the so-called father of modern Hebrew, could not have accomplished his work without the endeavors of the Sephardim he knew and associated with in Palestine. One of these was Nissim Behar (1848-1931,) a Jerusalem native and founder and director of the Alliance Israélite Universelle school in Jerusalem. Behar was a stanch supporter of Ben-Yehuda and proved instrumental in securing Ben-Yehuda's release from prison in 1895, after ultra-religious Jews, opposing the mundane use of what they regarded as a holy language, framed Ben-Yehuda for treason against the Turkish government. Behar, who became an influential member of the New York Sephardic kolonia after immigrating in 1901, is credited with the development of the "Hebrew i Hebrew" (" Ivrit be-lvrit") method of language instruction. For a time, Nessim taught Ben-Yehuda in "HaTora VeHaMelaha," the school the former opened in Jerusalem. Behar also assisted Ben-Yehuda with his newspaper and dictionary. The Hebrew accent that has become accepted throughout the Jewish world is the Sephardic pronunciation of Hebrew, no doubt largely due to the influence of Nessim Behar and other Sephardic pioneers. Scholar Moshe Sokolow of Yeshiva University has commented that if Eliezer Ben-Yehuda is the father of modern Hebrew, Nessim Behar is to be regarded as the grandfather of modern Hebrew !
So how is it that Sephardim lost their great influence in the modern Jewish nationalism movement? Part of the answer is that Sephardim have traditionally approached Jewish nationalism in a very different way from most Eastern European Ashkenazim. Sephardim nurtured a deep loyalty to the Ottoman Empire for embracing their refugee ancestors during the period of the Inquisition and Expulsion. Abraham ben lsaac Asa, an eighteenth century Ottoman Sephardic translator, described the Ottoman rulers of the late 15th through early 18th centuries as "kings of mercy who bestowed much compassion on the Jews..." This attitude continued well into the 20th century.
ln early 1917, Moise Gadol, editor of the New York Ladino tabloid, La America, wrote that Sephardic Jews should not demand a Jewish state from Turkey "being that it [Turkey] was the only country that opened its doors to our Sephardim during the time of the Inquisition in Spain..." Asking for a Jewish state (before the English reclaimed Palestine in 1917) would be tantamount to insurrection against the Ottoman government. Also, Sephardim did not have a record of suffering persecution in their most recent lands of residence within the Ottoman Empire, as opposed to Eastern European Jews, who were fleeing pogroms and anti-Jewish legislation in the late 19th and early 20th century. Thus, most Sephardic Jews were staunchly opposed to autonomous Jewish rule in the land of lsrael. A Jewish settlement under Ottoman rule was the only situation they could advocate.
The Ashkenazic Zionist movement can not understand itself until it becomes truly conscious of the great influence Sephardim have exercised in the development of modern Jewish nationalism. So, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the state of Israel, let us remember that Sephardim were the first Jewish pioneers of the modern land of Israel and were once the leaders of Jewish nationalism, Sephardic style! Kon el kualo kedo, akodrando, tu, Amiga Serena.4
N.B. Because of printing errors appearing in previous installments, Amiga Serena has decided to eliminate all accent marks from her Ladino material.
Nota a los Meldadores-Note to the Readers Amiga Serena would like to hear from the readers of Los Muestros. Send your letters to :
Amiga Serena c/o M. Rahmani, Editor, Los Muestros, 66 Avenue de Messidor 1180 Bruxelles/Belgium
(Important Note: Amiga Serena reserves the right to print aIl oral and written correspondence from readers, unless anonymity is specifically requested.)
Notes
1 Anxieties of a Granddaughter. All translations are from the Ladino.
2 May my Grandma Satula and my Grandpa Avraham, may their souls rest in the Garden of Eden, excuse me for not discussing their articles, "Pet Peeves of a Woman"and "Pet Peeves of Rabbi Avraham." The reason is that today, on the occasion of 50 years of the existence of Israel, I wish to say a few words about Zionism among Sephardic Jews.
3 "Colony," the word Ottoman Sephardim used to refer to their immigrant community in the United States.
4 "With which I remain, reminiscing, your, Amiga Serena."