Article Title

The Sephardic-Mizrahi Moment: Cultural Renewal, Jewish-Arab Rapprochement and Zionism in the 1920s

Authors

Boaz Israel Levy, University of North FloridaFollow

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Chris Rominger, Assistant Professor

Faculty Mentor Department

History

Associated Prize (or Other Information)

2023 Undergraduate Student Library Research Prize Recipient (Honorable Mention)

Abstract

This study examines the Sephardic-Mizrahi nationalist strategy in the British and French mandates of the early 20th century. Scholars including Abigail Jacobson, Moshe Naor, and Yitzhak Bezalel indicate this community developed a unique approach to nationalism. Utilizing Alex Winder’s conceptual framework for violence, Yehuda Shamir’s conceptual framework for culture and Rashid Khalidi’s analytical framework, this study broadens the research on Sephardic-Mizrahi communities, the development of 20th century nationalism, and the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Drawing on correspondences, reports and newspapers, this paper argues a Sephardic-Mizrahi Moment began by 1925, employing institutions— such as activist organizations and the press—to simultaneously achieve cultural renewal, Jewish-Arab rapprochement and Zionism. By 1929 the Sephardic-Mizrahi Moment foreclosed, with the Western Wall Riots signifying that institutions ironically wrought cultural decoupling, Jewish-Arab violence and the defeat of Sephardic-Mizrahi Zionist organizations. While the brief rise of the Sephardic-Mizrahi Moment represented the diversity of early 20th century nationalism, its fall symbolized the closure of possibilities for Jewish and Arab nationalists.

Recommended Citation

Levy, Boaz Israel (2023) "The Sephardic-Mizrahi Moment: Cultural Renewal, Jewish-Arab Rapprochement and Zionism in the 1920s," PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas: Vol. 4: No. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/pandion_unf/vol4/iss1/3