Wij-Articles-Maghrebi Women by Moshe Ovadia-Final

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

Moshe Ovadia, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel

Abstract The article examines the socioeconomic status of Maghrebi (North African) Jewish women in the four holy cities during the British Mandate. Apart from the historiographical research of Michal Ben Ya'akov, who studied the life of these women during the Nineteenth Century, no comprehensive study was conducted. This article sheds light on the socioeconomic circumstances of the Maghrebi Jewish women during the first half of the Twentieth Century when Maghrebi women witnessed the profound growth and advancement in Eretz Yisrael – the transition from the old Yishuv to the new Yishuv.

Introduction In recent years, great progress has been made in historiographical research into the subject of Jewish women in traditional and secular society. Particular importance has been attributed to the historiographical research concerning women since they were not generally the focus of any scientific debate. At the present time, when scholars add the narrative of Jewish women to the historiographical findings, new insights are being discovered regarding their world and their socioeconomic role.1 Yael Atzmon writes about the exclusion of women from Jewish historiography. She states that the omission of women’s contributions is more prominent in Jewish historiography than in general historiography, since the exclusion of women as part of Jewish history bears some resemblance to the problem of the history of the Jews as part of general history.2 Indeed, the exclusion of women from public life in the Jewish community stems from the traditional Jewish way of life, in which a woman's role was confined to the home and family while observing rules of modesty, such as non- revealing apparel and head covering. During the British Mandate, the status of women in Palestine changed, as this was a time of immigration to the country. Among the immigrants were educated females from the First and Second Aliyah (1882-1914), who aspired to achieve equality between the sexes and hold positions in public life.3 In fact, the new female

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Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

immigrants represented the change in the traditional Jewish view that women had to preserve their modesty and stay at home.4 Michal Ben Ya'akov studied Maghrebi Jewish from a geographical, historical, and cultural approach in order to gain insights into the Maghrebi Jewish woman's world.5 Along with their male counterparts, the women also believed in the virtues of permanent settlement in Eretz Yisrael – longevity, health, the answering of their prayers, and atonement for their sins. In Ben Yaakov's opinion, women participated in rites and celebrations of Moroccan sages and wanted to reach Eretz Yisrael to frequent the tombs of Sages, such as the tomb of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes (Rabbi Meir the miracle maker) in Tiberias. Ben Yaakov also states that both elderly and young Maghrebi widows became independent, and that motivated them to make aliyah to Eretz Yisrael. Divorced women who wanted to immigrate turned to the rabbis in Morocco and ask that their marriage certificate (ketubah) would not be invalidated as a result of their aliyah to Eretz Yisrael.6 Ben-Yaakov's research into Maghrebi Jewish women in the Nineteenth Century facilitated future study of these women, their daughters, and granddaughters who settled in Eretz Yisrael during the British mandate. It should be noted that for generations Maghrebi Jews have settled in other locations in Eretz Yisrael, such as Jaffa (Yafo), Neve Tzedek, Haifa, and other places. However, this study discusses the Maghrebi Jews in the four holy cities – Hebron, Jerusalem, Tiberias, and Safed.7 Under British rule the Maghrebi Jews in Jerusalem numbered 2,500. In Hebron, there were only a few families, while in Tiberias and Safed the Maghrebi Jews were counted together with other North African and Sephardic communities. Therefore, it is quite difficult to ascertain the exact number of Maghrebi women during this period. The ancestors of the Maghrebi women in the four Holy Cities settled in the Maghreb in ancient times, some after the Spanish Decrees of 1391, and some after the Great Expulsion from Spain in 1492. Over time, certain families immigrated to Eretz Yisrael and settled in the four holy cities and in other parts of Eretz Yisrael. The Maghrebi families were included in the Sephardic kollels (Sephardic community committees) of the Old Yishuv, namely, a sector that was chiefly poor, unemployed and supported by charity. From 1860, the kollel of the Maghrebi community separated officially from Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Spring 2014 Volume 11 Number 1 2 ISSN 1209-9392 © 2014 Women in Judaism, Inc.

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

the Sephardic kollel in Jerusalem.8 Maghrebi women were dependent upon the donations that reached the kollels during the period of the old and new Yishuv. This study inquires whether Maghrebi women in the 20th Century preserved the way of life of Jewish women in the 19th century. It should be noted that during the Mandate period residents of the Yishuv wrestled with gender related issues in the spheres of work, family, education, and equality.9 The study utilizes oral testimonies, along with general and religious literature, and archival documents. Furthermore, photographs are used as a source for historiography, for example, change in women's attire. Three generations of Maghrebi Jewish women are discussed: 1) women who arrived in the 19th and 20th Centuries with their children or were born in Eretz Yisrael; 2) women born in the Maghreb or in Eretz Yisrael, and 3) granddaughters born in Israel. Before embarking on the study of the Maghrebi women's socioeconomic milieu, it is essential to list the educational institutions where these women were educated. A great number of Maghrebi women enrolled in the following institutions: Evelina de Rothschild School, founded in 1864 with funds from Baron Lionel from the English branch of the Rothschild family. In 1899, Hannah Judith (Annie Edith) Landau was deputy principal. The students studied music, gymnastics, sewing, French, English and Arabic and Jewish studies.10 Most of the pupils were from the Ashkenazi community.11 Ruchama School, founded in 1927, was a branch of Talmud Torah for Girls A, and was run by Chana Spitzer (1866-1955). In this school, the girls studied Hebrew, math, Jewish history, natural sciences, geography, English, gymnastics, sewing, and housekeeping. But priority was given to religious studies – prayers, Mishnah, Halakhah, and the weekly Torah portion.12 The A and B schools for girls were primary municipal schools under the auspices of French Alliance.13 Among the Maghrebi students who studied at the school in December 1947 and January 1948 were Esther Abuzaglo, Sarah Sabah, Ora Vaknin, Avigail Mimran, Yael Biton, and Esther Ben-Shimon.14 The Mission was established at the end of the 19th Century and beginning of the 20th Century. Some of the Maghrebi children studied at the Mission schools, whose aim

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

was to provide a warm home to the Jewish poor and to girls in distress, teach them a profession and bring the Jewish children closer to Christianity.15 A school for Jewish girls was established within the confines of the Messianic Church in the Old City of Jerusalem. The church's archives from the 1920s and 1930s list names of girls from every Jewish community, along with Christian and Arab girls. Among the Maghrebi girls were Zipporah Shushan, Rina Shitrit, Esther Shitrit and Hanna Kadosh.16 On a tour of the Old City, Esther Azulay nee Harrush (1916-2012), who attended the Mission School at the Messiah's Church in the 1920s, showed the author the classrooms and playroom where she studied. In a photo from 1924, Esther recognized one of the Mission's teachers, under whom she studied.17 Esther excelled in English reading and writing. Levana Cohen also studied at the Mission and pointed out that the school was free of charge; therefore, poor families could enroll their children.18 Ruth Bahloul nee Ben Ezra studied for one year at St. Joseph's school in Jerusalem founded in 1887.19 A letter from the Maghrebi community committee in Jerusalem to the board of the Sephardic community committee in Jerusalem reveals that the Maghrebi Jews requested financial aid for a Maghrebi assimilationist who wanted her children to receive a missionary education:20 Surely, the heads and leaders knew or have heard of the woman Camus Hassan [Me-ir ve-em be- yisrael] from the metropolis of Tripoli [yagen aleha amen], who is already assimilated amongst the gentiles, Heaven Forbid, living with a gentile as man and wife and the gentile and his wife want to educate their sons at the Mission. And indeed this matter is a disgrace to the Jewish people and in particular to people outside Israel and desecrates holy honor. And so in our last assembly it was decided to send the woman and her two sons back to Tripoli in order to save them from the Mission's network and to this end we need money, at least twenty Egyptian pounds. We are asking you esteemed members to share with us in this mitzvah (good act) and to send us your help in order to send them away as soon as possible and remove this disgrace and dishonor. We are certain that it would be best to answer us at the earliest opportunity, we will be eternally grateful to you, respectfully, the Committee.

In 1929 Avraham Elmaliah, a scholar and President of the Maghrebi community in Jerusalem, praised the administration of the local Alliance, which worked to save the children of the poor from the Mission by accepting them to the school and providing their textbooks, and clothes. Elmaliah was opposed to missionary education, even though the children gained a general education and knowledge of languages. According to Elmaliah, the missionary education alienated over 650 Jewish children

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

from the Jewish tradition, and he felt ashamed that most of these children were from the Mizrahi communities. He did not record the exact number of Maghrebi students, but urged businesspersons to do their utmost to transfer children from the Mission to the Alliance school.21 From the registration lists after World War I, it can be seen that several girls from Safed studied at the girls' school that served, as did the boys' school, as a municipal school. Several Maghrebi girls appear on the list, among them Esther Abuhana, Mazal Abuhana, Bolisa Ganon, Shoshana Yaish, Yael Maman (orphan), and Lea Sabah.22 In 1919, following indecent acts by a teacher at the Hebrew School for Girls, both the Sephardic and Ashkenazi rabbis protested against the teaching of girls by male teachers and the teaching of boys by female teachers. Among the opponents was the Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Safed, Yehoshua Waish, who along with fellow rabbis published a letter calling to preserve modesty and prevent coed social events.23 Other girls studied at the Mizrahi School that espoused national-religious education and was under the supervision of the Zionist Federation at the start of the Mandate and later supervised by the Israeli Knesset. In this educational system, students studied religious studies (Hebrew Bible, Ta'amim [cantillations], Rashi, prayer, Halakha, Mishna and Gemara) and secular studies – Hebrew, geography, history, social studies, science, math, engineering, painting, sculpture, singing, gymnastics, gardening, crafts and English.24 Alliance was established in Safed in 1869, and although the town's rabbis boycotted the Alliance institution, it nevertheless continued to exist, supported chiefly by the Sephardic community.25 After World War I, an attempt was made to transfer the Alliance pupils to the educational department of the Zionist Federation. In a 1920 letter to the educational department in Jerusalem, it was noted that the majority of Alliance students were of Sephardic descent, and that the plan of the educational department was to transfer them to a Zionist-Hebrew school. According to this letter, Alliance was considered an assimilationist institution. Furthermore, after World War I, the Zionist Federation promoted Hebrew education, since in the view of its leaders a Zionist education was imperative in Eretz Yisrael.26 At the Alliance school system, four languages were studied: Hebrew, Arabic, French, and English. All other subjects in the school were taught in French. Graduates from the school received their Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Spring 2014 Volume 11 Number 1 5 ISSN 1209-9392 © 2014 Women in Judaism, Inc.

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

matriculation certificate, and the outstanding pupils received a scholarship to study in Paris.27 Some Maghrebi children did not attend the Alliance schools because of the requirement to study foreign languages and the coed classes.28 In July 2006, Rafael Camus organized a conference of Alliance graduates in Safed, and stated that this network saved the Jews of Safed by granting them a high quality education including secular studies, Hebrew, Arabic, and French. He claimed that instruction was conducted in Hebrew, but some subjects, such as history and geography, were taught in two languages, Hebrew and French. Rafael also noted that religious studies such as Mishnah and Gemara were also taught, and he even maintained that the practice of prayers was included.29 The Municipal School in Tiberias: from the school's records it is clear that many of the Maghrebis and their daughters studied at this school, which served as an educational framework for the children of Safed from first grade through to eighth grade.30 Adele Maman (Toledano) studied at the Municipal School for Girls and in her report from 1921 the following subjects are mentioned: Bible, Mishna and Agadah, Hebrew, math, science, art, music, crafts, agriculture, gymnastics, English and French.31 In 1900, the Alliance School for Girls was established, where they studied French, Hebrew, Arabic, and needlework, and in 1917, the Hebrew School for Girls was opened.32 Some of the Maghrebi girls studied at state high schools:33 The Coeducational school: In 1923, the two Hebrew schools were amalgamated, and in 1925, it had 235 male and female pupils. Rabbi Baruch Toledano, a board member of the boys' school, sent a letter to the education department of the Zionist administration regarding opposition to the amalgamation of the schools. In order to protect the modesty of the boys and girls34 some of the Maghrebi students pursued external studies outside the school.35 The Mission: In 1884 the Mission began to infiltrate Tiberias.36 A Maghrebi called Yosef Bahloul was one of the pupils at the Scottish Mission School.37 Girls, who studied at the Italian Mission School in Tiberias, among them Maghrebi girls who acquired the skills of needlework and handicrafts, were exempted from school fees and received clothes and hot meals. In 1924, when a Christian guest visited the Italian Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Spring 2014 Volume 11 Number 1 6 ISSN 1209-9392 © 2014 Women in Judaism, Inc.

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

nuns in Tiberias, the Jewish students took part in a procession in his honor. The girls' parents and the Jewish community in general were shocked that religious Jewish girls participated in a procession in honor of a Christian. In response, the Jews of Tiberias protested against the mission and its educational institutions in order to pressure the girls' parents to enroll their daughters in other educational institutions.38 It appears that Maghrebi girls integrated with other Jewish girls in the various Jewish educational institutions in the country, as well as students who studied in non-Jewish educational institutions. Maghrebi Jewish Women in the Four Holy Cities In Jerusalem Maghrebi women participated in public activities. Delicia, (d.1924) the daughter of Rabbi David Ben Shimon, leader of the Maghrebi community in Jerusalem, married Rabbi Moshe Kreuz, the secretary of the Ungren Kollel, and was one of the Maghrebi women who assisted the poor of Jerusalem. She founded 'Hevrat Ezrat Nashim' (the society for aiding women) to support Moroccan immigrants. She appealed to affluent women for monthly donations, especially for the poor who lived in the houses of the Maghrebi Kollel in the Old City, and for the handicapped that lived near the Wailing Wall. The 'Ezrat Nashim' foundation continued its activities up until the death of Delicia in 1924. On the day of her death, Rabbi Yosef-Haim Zonnenfeld, the first Rabbi of the Haredi community in Jerusalem, declared the cessation of all work during her funeral.39 During WWI, Rachel Attiah (b.1900), granddaughter of Rabbi David Ben Shimon was involved in social work. She volunteered to help the American Aid Committee, which investigated the condition of the Jews in Jerusalem, and her role was to investigate local families and determine what aid they should receive.40 During the British mandate the Maghrebi women of Jerusalem were employed in the following professions: homemakers, housekeepers, panhandlers, salespersons in a commercial center, teachers, laundresses, cooks, wet-nurses, cleaners, seamstresses, hospital workers, restaurant workers, restaurant owners, shopkeepers, clerks, house managers, waitresses and factory workers. Some Maghrebi women left Jerusalem to become kibbutz members.41

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

Maghrebi women, who were widows of rabbis and scholars, were supported by 'Kupat Tiferet Yisrael' of the Maghrebi community committee. These were the widows of Rabbi Nachman Betito, Rabbi Yosef-Haim Tov Hacohen, Rabbi Shmuel Buchbut, Rabbi Shalom Bochbot, Rabbi Malca, the scholar Rabbi Mahlouf Sharvit, Rabbi David Chelouche, Rabbi David Hacohen, Rabbi Yaakov Ben Atar, the acholar Rabbi David Malca, the scholar Swissa, the scholar Yitzhak Levi, Rabbi Yitzhak Elmashali, the scholar David Azulay, the scholar Moshe Marji, Rabbi Shimon Haroush, Rabbi Shmuel Corcos, the scholar Shimon Asoulin, and an extraordinary widow - Zahara Malca, whose husband's name was not listed.42 In his memoirs, Yaakov Elazar described the poverty and destitution of the first generation of Maghrebi women in the Old City:43 As a veteran resident of Jerusalem, I remember the shelter (Dar El-Kollel situated in Maale Chaldea on the Hebron Road) of the Maghrebi community, in which 5-6 widows or elderly lived in a tiny corner. And I remember how my aunt, the pious Rachel Elazar (of Blessed Memory) together with the widow of the great Rabbi Shmuel Pedro, and another number of Sephardic women who did not belong to the Maghrebi Kollel, came down once a month to the endowed houses of the Maghrebi community on Tanur Street and brought baskets of undergarments and clothes, and washed and dressed and fed them, leaving provisions in their baskets. Thus once a month turning them into human beings.

A number of Maghrebi and Sephardic women practiced folk medicine, and 'Ventozas' (cupping glasses in Ladino). Esther Elbaz nee Danino was a folk healer who used cupping glasses and specialized in healing eyes.44 She explained to the patients the meaning of the shapes formed by a piece of tin that was in her hands from the cupping glasses. Yaakov Ezra wrote about his grandmother Rachel Deri (1900-1967) who arrived in Jerusalem from Meknes, and helped girls in distress and arranged their marriage. Ruth Bahloul, Yaakov's sister, mentioned the construction of a mikva (Jewish ritual bath) by her father, Yochanan. Her mother Rachel was in charge of the mikva for quite a while, and later Ruth became the cashier of the same mikva.45 It appears that besides managing their own homes, Maghrebi women, especially widows, engaged in jobs that did not require any education. Other Sephardic women were supported by contributions from the Sephardic community committee, but their lot was similar to that of Maghrebi women.46

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

In Hebron, sources about Maghrebi women are scanty, as very few Maghrebi families lived there. After the WWI, record of two Maghrebi women exists: one worked as a tailor and the other as a cleaner. Maghrebi women from the Peretz family in Hebron were homemakers. The riots of 1929 caused the migration of Maghrebi families to Jerusalem, and some widows were forced to tend for themselves and their families.47 In Safed, Maghrebi-Sephardic women worked in the following occupations: homemakers, housekeepers,48 midwives,49 fortunetellers, cheese-makers,50 and artists.51 In Tiberias and Safed between 1918 and 1921, Maghrebi women are mentioned as skilled in needlepoint.52 Ephraim ben Shimon noted that most of the women were homemakers, since they had to raise many children.53 Esther Edri relates the account of her grandmother from Algiers: Grandma was a homemaker, wonderful, serene, kind, and loving. And I learnt a lot from her, really a lot, especially Proverbs and Sayings. Every story had a saying that matched the current life situation; I loved Grandma very much.54

Some of the Maghrebi-Sephardic women in Safed were forced to cope with widowhood and run their households on their own. Others had husbands who traveled for work for long periods. The rabbinical emissary Shlomo Ohana often traveled abroad to collect charity, leaving the household in the hands of his Maghrebi mother. His wife, a Sephardic from Saloniki, had difficulty adjusting to life in Safed and dealing with languages different from her native Ladino.55 Another Maghrebi woman, Esther Maman nee Azulay, was orphaned at a young age, and had to move around her relatives' homes until she found a caring home with an Ashkenazi family, where she learned Yiddish. She said that she and her niece distributed bread to the needy and spoke about her work with the Hevra Kadisha (Jewish Burial Society) of Safed, performing the ritual cleansing of the dead.56 Another Maghrebi orphaned woman was Shoshana Afriat, who witnessed her parents' death in the 1929 Arab riots in Safed.57 Some of the Maghrebi-Sephardic women in Tiberias were homemakers who engaged in sewing and cooking.58 Adele Maman nee Toledano related that many Maghrebi widows were supported by the 'Ozer dalim' society. She mentioned that most of the Maghrebi women in Tiberias were traditional, not orthodox. Secularism had an effect on Adele's generation, and in her words, new immigrants that came and settled around

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

Tiberias influenced her religious views to such an extent that she abandoned her faith.59 A number of Maghrebi women were teachers. Aliza Malul nee Wazan and Adele Maman taught overseas.60 Jamilla Toledano (1900-1988) was publicly active in Tiberias during the British Mandate and also served on the administrative board of WIZO (Women's International Zionist Organization).61 Several Maghrebi women married rabbis, such as Leah, the wife of Rabbi Yaakov- Hai Zrihan, who was the chief Rabbi of Tiberias. They were childless. Nevertheless, Rabbi Zrihan did not divorce her. He valued her enormously and wrote that she enabled him to study Torah, later becoming one of the town's leading rabbis.62 Rabbi Meir Vaknin’s book includes sermons about Esther, Rabbi Ohana’s wife. Rabbi Vaknin delivered the sermon on the anniversary of her death in 1971. He stated that Esther lost her husband in 1922 and remained a widow for the rest of her life. Rabbi Vaknin witnessed her charity and anguish throughout her life.63 Marriage Age of Maghrebi Women Records from the 'Szold Institute for Child and Youth', April-June 1948, (the last days of the Mandate and the first month of the founding of the State of Israel) indicate that the age of marriage for Maghrebi women varied over three generations. In the first generation, women got married at the age of 9-18. The average age of marriage in the first generation was 12.8. The age of marriage among the second generation of Maghrebi women, the majority of whom married in Eretz Yisrael, was 11-28. The average age of marriage was 16.4. In the third generation, the Maghrebi women got married at the age of 16-24.64 Oral testimonies differ: one claimed that Maghrebi women became engaged at the age of 12 and got married at the age of 16. Another testimony indicated that the age of the women's marriage was 18-20. It appears that there is a change in the age of marriage over time, since the first testimony preceded the second testimony by a generation.65 However, these oral testimonies are similar to the data obtained from 'the Szold Institute'. The Language of Maghrebi Women

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

Several of the first generation Maghrebi women spoke Arabic in the Maghrebi dialect of their native land or that of their parents if they were born in Eretz Yisrael. They also spoke European languages such as Spanish and French that were used in the Maghreb in the days of the Protectorate.66 Ultimately, as a result of local cultural influences, a number of Maghrebi women spoke more languages, such as Yiddish, Jewish Arabic, Ladino, Hakitia (Ladino in North-African dialect), Middle Eastern Arabic, Palestinian Arabic, Georgian, French, English, and Spanish.67 The Role of Maghrebi Women in the Polemics on the Right to Vote After WWI, from 1918 until 1926, the Elected Assembly – the first elected body of the Yishuv in Eretz Yisrael – had to deal with gender issues concerning the right of women to vote and be elected to the Assembly. Supporters of women's right to vote included members of the Labor movement, middle class citizens and women's associations, whereas people of the old Yishuv, 'Hamizrahi,' Sephardim and people from North African communities disagreed and demanded that women be denied the right. The religious sector regarded the issue as a Halakhic discussion.68 The Sephardic Rabbi Ben Zion Meir Hai Uziel published his positive opinion about electoral rights in the Thirties, but thought that women should not be appointed as religious judges since their occupation would cause deprivation in their home. Most members of religious circles thought that women should be prevented from voting because of their domestic obligations.69 Margalit Shilo does not mention the attitude of Maghrebi public figures towards the right of women to vote, and possibly includes them with Sephardic and Oriental Jewish women. In 1925, the Maghrebi Community Committee and the Judges of the Rabbinical Court of the Committee in Jerusalem wrote a letter to Rabbi Yosef Haim Sonnenfeld, Rabbi of the ultra-orthodox community in Jerusalem, regarding women's right to vote:70 We have been asked to give our opinion regarding the right of women to vote and since the elections are scheduled for before the Yud Tet [19] Kislev, we found we had to announce to everyone that our Maghrebi community too is against the right of women to vote, since it is already known that this is against our Holy Torah and real Judaism. And in our lands in the Maghreb there are real Jews and God-fearing, and also here in Jerusalem the majority have signed against the aforementioned rights of women and therefore we the elected committee are also against it, and in this letter express our opinion against women and are waiting in hope for complete redemption with the coming of the Messiah and the unity of the Jewish people.

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

To reinforce the matter, the Maghreb Jews indicated that the committee represented them as religious ultra-orthodox Jews who rejected the right of women to vote. In 1925, the members of the community preferred the lifestyle of the old Yishuv and naturally denied the right of women to vote. In 1929 during the election to the Maghrebi Community Committee, R. Avraham Elmaliah indicated the openness of the Sephardic rabbis in various matters, implying also willingness to accept women's right to vote.71 Unlike Jerusalem, in Safed Maghrebi women participated in the election of the municipal committee at the beginning of the 1920s. This is evident in the list of 378 voters, among them Maghrebi women and men, and voters from other Jewish communities.72 It seems that the controversy regarding the right of women to vote existed among the traditional and secular leadership of the Sephardim, including the Maghrebi leadership. However, certain Maghrebi women are known to have participated in various elections, testimony to their influence and integration. The Fashion of Maghrebi Women Women’s outfits at the end of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th reflected their status. They wore stiff clothes and collars that limited movement; but between 1908 and 1910, there was a slight change in fashion, and women began to wear tailored suits. A woman's blouse was modeled after a man's shirt, and after a while, the woman's blouse lost its rigidity. In 1912 Paul Poiret, the French fashion designer, introduced a silhouette that made it easier for women to move around, but restricted their steps. He paved the way to alternative women's attire, and thus began changes in fashion that allowed free movement in comfortable and light clothes. In the 1920s and 1930s, there was a revolution in world fashion, and innovative sewing machines enabled the manufacture of various products. These changes also affected the fashion in Eretz Yisrael. Change began in the 1920s, with the Fourth Aliyah, when 65,000 Polish Jews immigrated to Eretz Israel, among them the founders of the fashion and textile industry in Tel Aviv.73 The wives of wealthy Arabs and Jews adorned themselves in fancy clothes. Those living in the Jewish Yishuv, including Maghrebi women, adopted oriental outfit as

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

seen in the photo collection of the appendixes. Women wore an embroidered Arab dress and placed on their head an earthenware jug or a wicker basket.74 The majority of Maghrebi women wore conservative dress. Pictures of Jewish Maghrebi, Sephardic and Ashkenazi women show that they dressed in long dresses and long sleeves and low or high collars. These dresses characterized the dress code of women from the old Yishuv, and continued under the British Mandate. Other Maghrebi women wore comfortable tailored dresses with V-shaped necklines. Several Maghrebi women wore dresses with round collars and short sleeves, or no sleeves at all. Various Maghrebi women dressed in the spirit of the time, wearing men's trousers and shirts. A few of the second and third generation Maghrebi women wore sleeveless blouses and some wore modern dresses and skirts.75 Married women from the first generation covered their heads with a scarf, with little hair visible, whereas women of the second and third generations wore no head- coverings, except when attending the synagogue. On their wedding day, women wore their ordinary clothes to the ritual bath, rather than the kaftan or vestido de baño, decorated with embroidery that was worn in Morocco. The Maghrebi brides wore festive garments at their weddings that matched the clothes of the period, and were unlike those from their place of origin: for example, in Morocco on the day of the henna celebration, the brides would wear the Kesoua el kbira, a large robe that was handed down from generation to generation, its elements belonging to Sephardic tradition, such as the shape of the large skirt called in Spanish Jiraldeta76 (meaning twirling). Evidently, the change in attire for the henna celebration and for weddings of the Maghrebi women was influenced by local customs, and thus the traditional ceremonial wedding clothes characteristic of Jewish women of the Maghreb was gradually abandoned. Conclusion It is feasible to contend that on the one hand Maghrebi women in the four holy cities maintained the socioeconomic lifestyle of the old Yishuv. On the other hand, the transition from the old world to the new during the British Mandate forced them to integrate into the newly formed socioeconomic life. Women who lived in Jerusalem, being the metropolis and the seat of the British High Commissioner, were offered more job opportunities and better economic welfare. Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Spring 2014 Volume 11 Number 1 13 ISSN 1209-9392 © 2014 Women in Judaism, Inc.

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

Appendixes

Photographs attesting to the transition of Maghrebi women from the old Yishuv to the new Yishuv

Sulika Azulay nee Amzalleg in Jerusalem with her husband Rabbi David Azulay and her son Akiva Azulay, who later became Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem and president of the Maghrebi community. (Azulay Family Collection)

Yocheved Aburabia, of the Tetouan immigrants in 1913, (Yochi Meridor Collection)

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

Istria-Kochava Mimeran nee Aburabia from Jerusalem with her girlfriends, wearing the latest European fashion, 1934 (Yochi Meridor Collection)

Hefzibah Mimeran nee Aburabia from Jerusalem in European dress, with her husband Ben Zion and her son Raphael, 1935 (Yochi Meridor Collection)

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

Two sisters from Jerusalem, Esther Azulay nee Haroush and Sarina Shochat nee Haroush, in clothes that testify to the transition from the old world to the new, 1940 (Azulay Family Collection)

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

Endnotes

1 The article is part of my doctoral thesis (Bar-Ilan University) on the topic of the Maghrebi Jews in the Four Holy Cities, which I read at a conference on The Position and Self-Image of Women in Sephardic Sources on behalf of The Society for Sephardic Studies, at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. For articles on Jewish women during various periods, see Yael Azmon, "Introduction: Judaism and the Distancing of Women from Public Activity", In A View into the Lives of Women in Jewish Societies, Jerusalem 1995, pp.13-42; Deborah Bernstein, "The Study of Women in Israeli Historiography: Starting Points, New Directions, and Emerging Insights," In Margalit Shilo, Ruth Kark, Galit Hazan- Rokem (eds.), Jewish Women in the Yishuv and Zionism, a Gender Perspective, Jerusalem 2001 pp. 7- 25; Ruth Lamdan, A Separate People - Jewish Women in Palestine, Syria and Egypt in the 16th century, Israel 1996, pp. 9-16. 2 Ibid. Yael Atzmon, p.13. 3 Ibid. pp. 30-31. 4 Ibid., Ibid. 5 Michal Ben Ya'akov, "Aliyatan shel nashim le-retz yisrael, In: Margalit Shilo (ed.), To be a Jewish Woman, Jerusalem 2001, p.301-307; Shilo, Kark and Hazan-Rokem (footnote 1), Michal Ben Ya'akov, Women's Aliya: Migration Patterns of North African Jewish Women to nineteenth-century Eretz Israel, pp. 63-83; Michal Ben Ya'akov, 'Shinui Makom Shinui Ma'amad?' Olot mi-tzafon afrika be-eretz yisrael be-meah ha-19, In: Tova Cohen, Shaul Regev (eds.), Woman in the East, Woman from the East, The Story of the Oriental Jewish Woman, Ramat Gan 2005, pp. 193-205. 6 Ibd. Michal Ben-Yaakov, Shinui, p.197. 7 On the Maghreb Jews In Israel see: Michal Ben Ya'akov, The Immigration and Settlement of North African Jews in nineteenth century Eretz-Israel, Jerusalem 2001; Ovadia Moshe, North African Jewry in the four Holy Cities from World War I until the end of British Rule (1914-1918), Ramat-Gan 2009. 8 Jacob Barnai also indicated the manuscript in his research on: Ha-eda ha-maaravit be-yerushalayim (1830-1918), (Master's thesis), Hebrew University, Jerusalem 1971, p. 60; Rachel Shar'abi,"The Splitting of Oriental Communities from the Sephardi Community 1860-1914", Pe' amim 21 (1984): 31- 49. 9 Lilach Rozenberg-Friedman, “The Genesis of Religious-Zionist Education for Girls,” In: Tova Cohen (ed.), Woman in Judaism, Bar Ilan University (Ramat Gan) 2002, pp. 5-6. 10 Norman Bentwich, , Beit ha-sefer Evelyna de Rothschild 1864-1964, London 1964, pp. 3, 6-7, 10-11, 18. 11 Interview with Samuel Sikron, Kfar Saba. 12 Michal Berkovitz, Beit Sefer Chana Spitzer – le-banot aleph (Talmud Torah) ben hashanim 1939- 1947, Yerushalayim, 1985, pp. 16, 71, 73-80; interviews with Moshe Penso, Jerusalem, and Esther Azulay, Mevasseret Tzion. 13 Interviews with Devorah Freund nee Dhan and Chana Kochnovsky nee Edhan, Jerusalem. 14 The Central Zionist Archive (CZA), Jerusalem, section: Education of the National Committee, Alliance School, no. of section and file: J17/4706, food factories; Alliance Girls; general list, 22 January 1948; letter from the restaurant fund of Hadassah to Alliance, 10 December 1947. 15 Yaron Peri, Clouds and Wind without Rain, the London Mission in nineteen century Palestine, Israel 2001, 186-190; Sapir Shul, "The Anglican Missionary Societies in Jerusalem", In: Ruth Kark, (ed.), The Land that became Israel, Studies in Historical Geography, Jerusalem 1989, p. 107. 16 Christ Church: L.J.S. Jewesses' Institution Day School, list with serial no. of the name Shushan 74, 1920; Shitrit, serial no. 963, 1936, serial no.988, 1936; Shitrit, serial no. 404, 1943; Vaknin, no. 243, 1941. 17 Tour of the Old City of Jerusalem with Esther Azulay, 27.4.2005. 18 Interview with Levana Cohen nee Zarzar, Jerusalem.

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

19 Interview with Ruth Bahloul, Tiberias. 20 Sephardic Community Committee Archive, Jerusalem, file no: 6208/6, the Maghrebi community, from the Maghrebi community committee to the Sephardi community committee, 28 Kislev 1924, the areas: Rabbi Shimon Ashriky, Shmuel Azran, Eliahu Ellejmi, and committee members Aharon Amiel, Avraham Elmaleh and Moshe Hai Ben-Naim. 21 On foreign education in Jerusalem: Avraham Elmaleh, 'Al ha-hinuch ha-zar be-yerushalayim', Doar Hayom (1928): 2. 22 Beit Hameiri Archives, Safed, file no. 01.12, notebook of sessions of Hebrew School in Safed, 1918- 1919; 1921-1933. 23 The Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP), Jerusalem, file no.11/Sa/1V12, return letter, number: A, ‘Harimu michshol mederech ami’, '1918, signed by the Sephardic and Ashkenazi Rabbis of Safed. 24 Yehuda Kiel, 'Shivim shana le-hinuch ha-dati-leumi be-yisrael', In: Rafael Yitzhak, Shragai Shlomo Zalman, (eds.), Sefer ha-tzionut ha-datit, Jerusalem 1978, p.16; interview with Arie Simana, Safed. 25 Nathan Schur, History of Safed, Jerusalem 2000, p. 235. 26 Cza, section: education department, file no. S2/717, Safed Education Dept., A"A to Dr. Y. Lurie (A), Head of Jerusalem Education Dept., 1 March 1920; Leven Narcisse, Hamishim shnot historia (translated from French to Hebrew: Avraham Elmaleh), II, Jerusalem, 1919-1922, pp. 122-124; Yuval Dror, Shimon Reshef, Hebrew Education in the Years of the Nation Homeland (1919-1948), Jerusalem 1999, p.4; A., Weissblum, "Beit ha-sefer shel ha-Alliance be-tzfat", Yeda Am, 11 (1965-66): 168-170. 27 Beit Hameiri Archive, Safed, transcription of interview with Avraham Ohana, with no mention of interview location, 15.1.1980, pp.2-4. 28 Ibid. Interview with Avraham and Shmuel Ohana, p.2; Nathan Schur ,(footnote 25), p. 227. 29 Moshe Ovadia, 'reports of conference of Alliance graduates, Safed' (manuscript), 12.7.2006. Interview with Rafael Camus, safed. 30 Beit Hameiri Archive file no. 15. 8, register of students for 1938-1939. 31 Interview with Adele Maman. It should be noted that some subjects were not graded, as she did not study these subjects; nevertheless, these subjects appeared in her report. 32 Ibid. 33 The Center for Research into Tiberias: Tikva Bochbut, personal questionnaire; on the founding of Alliance see Leven Narcisse (footnote 26), pp. 119-121. 34 Cza, Jerusalem, section: Education Department, Tiberias, 1921-22, file no.: S2/616, from Rabbi Baruch Toledano to the Zionist Administration, 1922. 35 Interview with Haim Ohana, Tiberias. 36 David Sarid, "Metzukat ha-yishuv ve-peilut ha-mission be-tiveria be-shanim 1884-1914", Mi'tuv t'veria, 2 (1983): 21. 37 Center for Research into Tiberias, personal questionnaire, Yosef Bahloul, who studied from 1936- 1941 at the Scottish School. 38 Avissar Oded, Sefer Tiveria, Jerusalem 1992, p. 206. 39 Maghrebi community committee, file without any signature of manuscripts, attributed to Avraham Elmaleh discussing people's biographies. Elmaleh delivered to Pinchas Graivsky details about Kroiz Delicia that were published in the Bnot Zion and Jerusalem pamphlet 1929. See also the new edition of Pinchas Graivsky, Bnot Zion ve-yerushalaim, Yerushalaim 2000, pp. 38-39; Shlomo Dayan, Hachmei ha-maarav be-yerushalayim , Yerushalaim p.105. 40 David Tidhar, Encyclopedia of the Founders and Builders of Israel, 13, Tel Aviv 1947 pp. 4231- 4232. 41 About the women's professions, see Moshe Ovadia (footnote 7), pp. 82-89; Maghrebi Community Committee Archive, files without signature, data on Maghrebi professions, including women; interviews with Esther Azulay, Hannah Kochnovsky, Haim Ben Atar and Menashe Penso. 42 Compte-rendu, présenté par le consistoire Israèlite Marocaine á Jérusalem, 1918, p. 16. 43 Elazar Yaakov, ha-rova ha-yehudi be-yerushalayim ha-atika, Yerushalayim 1975, p. 76. 44 On folk healers, see Benny Nachmias, Hamsa, Tell-Aviv 1996, p. 32; interview with Rabbi David Chelouche. 45 Interview with Yaakov Ezra and Ruth Bahloul. 46 Histadrut tzionit olamit, sefirat yehudei eretz yisrael, I, Yafo 1918-1919, p. 17.

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

47 Ibid. p. 37; interview with Yosef Ezra, Jerusalem. 48 Beit Hameiri Archive in Safed, from transcription of interview with Avraham Ohana, 31.12.1979, 15.1.1980, Safed, In the interview he spoke about his grandmother, Malca, who worked as a housekeeper; interview with Arie Simana, Safed. 49 Menachem Cohen, Stories from Safed, Israel 2003, pp. 106-107. 50 Interviews with Atzmona Finkelstein, Arie Simana and Elazar ben Shimon, Safed. 51 Histadrut tzionit olamit, sefirat yehudei eretz yisrael, II, Yafo 1918-1919, p. 25. 52 CZA, Jerusalem, section and file no. 130/3, Aid Committee, town committee for Jews of Safed 1918-1921, list of people from Safed. 53 Interview with Ephraim ben Shimon, Safed. 54 Beit Hameiri Archive in Safed, from text of interview with Esther Ederi, 6.7.1993, pp.1, 3. 55 Ibid. text of interview with Avraham Ohana, with no mention of interview's location, possibly Safed, 31.12.1979, pp. 1, 7. 56 Menachem Cohen (footnote 49) p. 154; Beit Hameiri Archive in Safed, text of interview with Esther Maman, 23.5.1979, Safed, pp.1-2. 57 Yecheskel Hameiri, (ed.) Maora'ot ha-damim, Av 1929 – 1979, chamishim shana le-tevach be-tzfat, Safed 1981, pp. 11, 15, 21. 58 Interviews with Balfour Samun, Haim Ohana and Emmanuel Shitrit, Tiberias. 59 Interview with Adele Maman, Ashdod. 60 Moshe Ovadia (footnote 7), p.179. 61 Yaacov Toledano, Descendants of Daniel Toledano, Tel Aviva 1999, p. 152; David Tidhar, 3 (footnote 40(, p. 1221. 62 Moshe Amar, (ed.), Mayyim amukim, mikveh ha-mayyim ve-shoshanat ha-amakim, Yerushalayim, pp. 1978, 53-55. 63 Meir Vaknin, Zichron Meir, II, Tiberias 1998. 64 Hanna Helena Tahoun, "Shloshim mishpachot ma'araviot be-ir ha-atika shel yerushalayim", Leman ha-yeled ve-ha-Noar, 33 (1948): 16-18. 65 Interviews with Esther Azulay and Yitzhak Vaknin, Jerusalem. 66 Aharon Maman, "Developments in the Magrebian Judaeo-languages from the Expulsion from Spain to Present", Sefunot 7 (22): 141-190. 67 Esther Dar, Mehamorot ve-mishorim, Yisrael 1990, pp. 14-15; Esther Azulay's mother, Zohara Harush nee Amozig, born in Morocco, learned on her arrival in Jerusalem to speak spoken Yiddish, Georgian and Palestinian Arabic, whereas at the Mission school Esther learned spoken and literary English. The mother of Yaakov Ezra immigrated from Tangier and therefore spoke Spanish and Haketia–Ladino of North African Jews. 68 Margalit Shilo, "Women's Suffrage as a Mirror of the Image of Woman in the Yishuv", Massekhet, 4 (2005): 49-50. 69 Ibid. p. 61. 70 David Avraham Mandelbaum, Michtavim ve-igrot kodesh, New York 2003, pp. 716-717. In the book there is a photograph of the letter, and it is signed by the Head of the Committee for Maghrebi Jews Shlomo Amiel, the rabbis Shimon Ashriki, Shmuel Azran and Eliahu Ellejmi. 71 Abraham Haim, Particularity and Integration, the Sephardi Leadership in Jerusalem under British Rule (1917-1948) Jerusalem, 2000, pp. 60-62. 72 Cza, Jerusalem, Aid Committee and Municipal Committee for the Jews of Safed, 1920-1921, file no. 130/10. 73 Ayala Raz, Changing of Styles, Israel 1996, pp. 23-24, 61, 65. 74 Soli Sharvit (ed.), Akiva Azulay Ish Yerushalayim, Yerushalayim 1987, pp. 20, 27- 29. 75 Ibid. Pictures from the beginning of the Twenties, p. 27, pp.31-33, Pictures from the Thirties. Photographs in my possession from a photo collection of Yaakov Ezra, Ruth Bahloul, Avraham Mekies, Adele Maman, a picture from 1928, Mordechai Sabah; picture of Rivka Kadosh see site of State of Israel, Ministry of Defense, We shall remember all of them, Memorial Site for I.D.F. Fallen, Remembrance Page in memory of Rivka Kadosh. 76 Elisheva Shitrit, "Temunot mi-hayyei ha-yehudim be-marokko ve-avodot, nosafot", Daat, Michlelet Herzog, 2004: www.daat.ac.il/daat/art/shitrit/tmunot-2.htm‏; Shalom Sabar, The Life Cycle, Jerusalem 2006 pp. 227-228; Issachar Ben Ami, Le Judaisme Marocain Etude Ethno-Culturelle, Jerusalem 1975 Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal Spring 2014 Volume 11 Number 1 19 ISSN 1209-9392 © 2014 Women in Judaism, Inc.

Maghrebi Jewish Women During the British Mandate (1918-1948) in Pre-State Israel

pp. 233-236; Joseph Shitrit, "Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic Wedding Poems from Various Communities in Morocco" pp. 185-280 In: Shitrit Joseph (ed.) Miqqedem Umiyyam 8 (2003); Gila Hadar, "Jewish Weddings in the North of Morocco", In: aforementioned Shitrit Joseph, pp. 324-325.

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