Israelis of North African origin have just ended a week-long celebration and examination of their historic origins entitled “Shorashim (Roots): The World Conference of North African Jewry.”
But the event, devoted mainly to music, dancing and folklore, did not appear to come up to the hopes and expectations of its organizers, who had anticipated mass meetings with the participation of hundreds or even thousands of Jews of North African origin now living the U.S. and Europe.
The events were only sparsely attended, apart from the opening and closing celebrations, with few visitors from abroad.
The initiator of the event, Shaul Bena Simchon, had stressed the unifying character of the conference, but most observers agreed that it had rather tended to put the spotlight on the ethnic differences between the many components of North African Jewry.
BEGIN: UNITY DOES NOT NEGATE UNIQUENESS
This aspect was, indeed, brought out by Prime Minister Menachem Begin who failed to make a planned appearance at the closing open-air musical celebration in Jerusalem last Thursday.
In a statement read out on his behalf by Bena Simchon, Begin said: “Unity of the people does not negate stressing the uniqueness of local values inculcated over the centuries. These historic tinges and hues enrich the entire nation, if we always bear in mind that we are one people, all linked back to a common root.”
The opening ceremony in Tel Aviv the previous week was addressed by President Chaim Herzog, France’s Chief Rabbi Rene Sirat and Jewish Agency, Histadrut and army leaders.
One of the high points and major attractions of the North African conference was a computer terminal at which participants could trace back the origin of their names.
LARGEST GROUP IN THE ORIENTAL COMMUNITY
Jews of North African origin form what is known as the Maghrabi section of Sephardic Jewry and are the largest group within the Oriental community of Israeli Jews. Strictly speaking, the Sephardim are Jews who originated in the Spanish peninsula, with Ladino (a mixture of Hebrew and Spanish) as their linga franca. These exiles from the Spanish Inquisition went to southem France, Holland and the Balkans.
The largest group from North Africa now in Israel lived in or are the children of Jews who lived in Morroco, with slightly smaller communities in Libya, Algeria and Tunisia. Other Sephardim are made up of Oriental Jews of Iraqi, Yemenite, Iranian, Syrian and Lebanese origin.
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