Rachel Shabi’s book builds on a tradition of resistance to the Eurocentric Jewish narrative
Reviewed by Jordann Saliba Sullivan
In a time when the Middle East is portrayed as a hotbed of religious and ethnic conflict, the label “Arab Jew” seems like an oxymoron. From the beginning of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict onward, Arabs and Jews have been painted as separate, warring peoples, fighting over religion, land and even their place in history. Moreover, Israel has sufficiently demonized Arab culture as to have virtually eliminated the classification of “Arab Jew” from its modern lexicon. However, perhaps the two aren’t as disparate as we’ve been led to believe.
Author Rachel Shabi’s first book, We Look Like the Enemy: The Hidden Story of Israel’s Jews from Arab Lands, eloquently combats the notion that Arabs and Jews are cut from a different cloth. Shabi was born in Israel to Iraqi parents, and grew up in the UK. Her book explores the little-discussed fate of “Mizrahi” Jews from Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Yemen, and other Arab/Muslim nations who immigrated to Israel. Shabi critically yet thoughtfully examines the vast socio-economic disparity that characterizes the Mizrahi and European “Ashkenazi” experiences in Israel.
You must be logged in to post a comment.