January 28th, 2020 Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum Brief History of Jews in Muslim Majority Countries The Prophet Muhammad (571 – 632 ce) Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem Within 100 years Islam spread throughout Arabian Peninsula Religion Christians ~ 2.3 billion (31%) Muslims ~ 1.8 billion (24 %) Hindus ~ 1.1 billion (15%) Buddhists ~ .5 billion (7%) Jews: ~ 11-12 million World population ~ 6.8 billion Most Muslims live in South and South East Asia Role of Arabic and Arab culture 10-15% Shia (only majority in Iran and Iraq) 85-90% Sunni Abrahamic religions Qur’an (mikra) Judaism not idolatry according to Islam Islam not idolatry (avoda zara) according to Judaism (According to Judaism - Christianity is avoda zara) Both monotheisitic religions Sharia law = Halachah Jewish law Both have oral traditons: Islam: Qur’an – Hadith 1 Judaism: Written Torah (Torah sh’bichtav) – Oral Torah (torah sh’ba’al peh) Brief overview of Jews in Muslim Majority Countries Ancient Antiquity Arabian Peninsula North Africa - Maghreb (Libya, Algeria, Mauritania, Tunisia, Morocco) Middle Ages Golden Age of Spain (North Africa) Early Modern Period Ottoman Empire Kurdistan Bukhara Zaydi Yemen Post Colonial Dhimmi status Maimonides Golden Age of Spain After 1492 – Morrocco – Berber Jews/Jews from Spain and Portugal Arab Culture relationship to Muslim religion Ottoman Empire 2 Birth of Zionism (1881, 1896 – responses to antisemitism in Russia – Bund/Revolution, Zionism, Emigration) Sikes – Picot Agreement – End of Ottoman Empire (May 1916 – France and UK with Russian agreement) Britain: what is today southern Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Southern Iraq, Haifa and Acre France: Southeast Turkey, Norhtern Iraq, Syria, Lebanan Russia: Western Armenia, Constantinople, Turkish Straits Italy agreed in 1917 and got Southern Anatolia Palestine British Mandate Palestinians – Muslims and Christians Palestinian Diaspora Palestinian Territories/Palestine/West Bank/Judea and Sumaria Double Narratives ~700-800,000 Jews in Muslim Majority Countries 1939 Palestinian refugees of 1948 Israel Independence Day/ Nakba Trump “Peace Plan” 2 State Solution? 1 State Solution – Secular with 1 person, 1 vote? Why do people use the word Apartheid? Right of Return Law of Return PLO – secular What is BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement? 3 Status of Palestinians who: Live inside the “Green Line” Live in East Jerusalem Live in Gaza Live in West Bank/Palestinian Territories Antisemitism in Europe (Berlin, Paris, Stockholm etc) 4 “How to tell when criticism of Israel is actually anti-Semitism” Rabbi Jill Jacobs: 5/18/2018 Washington Post “People who pay special attention to Israeli policy are not necessarily anti- semites” Israel attracts additional security: 1. it is top recipient of US foreign aid 2. Only Western nation currently carrying out a military occupation of another people 3. Territory is sacred to three major religions 4. Existence of US based lobby dedicated to promoting the policies of the Israeli government unsurprisingly generates a counter response 5. Palestinians have built a national movement over the past five decades unlike more recently displaced people. “But I also see plenty of criticism that crosses the line. Jews increasingly feel unwelcome on the left unless they abandon their commitments to Israel… Called “Zionist baby killers” “Zionist listed with Nazis” “So how can you tell the difference between antisemitism and anti-Zionism?” 1. Seeing Jews as insidious influencers behind the scenes of world events. (on the right it’s “globalists” and “elites” and on the left it’s “Zionists”) 2. Using the word “Zionist” as code for “Jew” or “Israeli” 3. Denying Jewish history 5 4. Dismissing the humanity of Israelis 5. Assuming that the Israeli government speaks for all Jews 6 .