Blogger: Point of no return
Article: Last Algerian Jews left as late as 1967
Originaly Posted On: 2008-02-24 13:50:00

The vast majority of Algerian Jews left with the French in 1962 in the wake of the Algerian War, but Benaya BenHamou’s family stayed on in Oran. They remained another five years until conditions were so unsafe that even their Muslim friends were advising them to leave. Benaya told his story to Point of No Return.

“It always stuns people when I tell them that not all Algerian Jews left when Algeria became independent.

My family sided with the Algerians in the late 1950s, when the FLN asked all Jews to choose (between the Algerians and the French). There were only about 1,000 Jews in Oran. My father was well-loved in the city. We thought that nothing would happen to us. But in 1965 Islamists spread rumours about Jewish spies working for the Mossad. At that time we realized that we had better leave the country. But it all happened so fast. I was 15, and all I wanted to do was see my other cousins and friends in France.

“At school I used to be bullied because of my Jewish origins. People would ask me explanations for the suffering of the Palestinians. Everybody in the neighbourhood knew we were Jewish. The synagogues and graveyards had been vandalized. In 1967, when war broke out in Israel, my father’s Algerian friends advised him to leave the country before it was too late. That is how, in a rush, I left my beloved city of Oran. I never saw it again.

“I do not know any Jews still living in Algeria. Most emigrated to France. Some went to Morocco.”

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About the Decret Cremieux:

Following the French conquest of Algeria, the Decret Cremieux offered French citizenship to Algerians - Muslims as well as Jews. The Muslims declined. Initially fewer than 5% of Jews accepted to become French citizens. Then it was imposed on them. Benaya believes that French citizenship not only weakened the Jews’ ties to their religion, but caused tension with Muslim Algerians. (On the positive side, however, it enabled the Jews to escape the humiliations of dhimmitude, which historically placed the Jews last in the social pecking order.)

Scroll down to a post by Hubert Hannoun, setting the context for the Decret Cremieux on Zlabia, the Algerian Jews’ website.

Benaya adds:

“When the French passed the Décret Crémieux in 1870 most Jews accepted French citizenship but some were reluctant. The Décret Crémieux sparked debate and soul-searching, especially among important families in Oran, Tlemcen and Constantine. Algerian Jews asked themselves whether the Jews would be better off under French law or whether tradition and religion would suffer under France’s lay legislation.

“When the French saw that very few Jews were interested they went even further. They didn’t allow Algerian Jews to decide for themselves. Anyone who was born Jewish automatically became French. The other Algerians did not benefit from that law - if they wanted to become French they could, but they did not want to. (And neither did the Jews at the beginning). So the history of Algerian Jews is very complex: they became French, and they threw in their lot with the French against the Arabs. Than in 1940 they lost their citizenship. So they had to face French antisemitism on one side, and the Arabs’ anger (because they felt betrayed) on the other. We were trapped!

“It was a kind of a trap, for two reasons.

“First, most French in Algeria were antisemites. There even was an ‘anti-Jewish’ party. In the 1940s the French betrayed the Jews by stripping them of their citizenship under Vichy law. The Jews were caught between two stools: most Arabs had not forgiven them for accepting French citizenship; the French spread antisemitism throughout Algeria.

“Secondly, the religious argument turned out to be true: As Algerian Jews arrived in France they became less religious, and lost their traditions from fear of being considered ‘Arab’.

“I consider that if the French had not introduced the Décret Crémieux in the first place this would have never happened. Giving citizenship to the Jews and not to the Muslims aroused jealousy and tension between the two communities. The French translated antisemitic texts into Arabic during the 1940s. That is why Algerian Jews had to deny their origins.

“It is possible to hear a Moroccan Jew say he is proud to be Moroccan, or a Tunisian Jew say he is proud to be Tunisian. But an Algerian Jew can only be proud to be French, and nothing else.”

Blogger: Chaldean Thoughts
Article: Prayer For a Meeting With Christ
Originaly Posted On: 2008-02-24 14:04:00

Loving God,
let me meet you today
as the Samarian woman met you at the well.
Surprise me in the middle of my work day.
Ask me for water, food — any sort of help.
Talk to me, lead me to a new truth.

Keep me alert so that I can recognize you,
listen, question and drink your living water.
Let me hear your voice today,
that voice with which you speak to me every day,
the one I keep missing.

Blogger: jerusalem wanderings
Article: Hot times in the City
Originaly Posted On: 2008-02-13 16:43:00

At the beginning of the month there was a Sextival in Tel Aviv. I laughed at the headlines in some of the news articles: “Sex Festival Penetrates Tel Aviv” - “Make Love Not War”….. Of course I didn’t go even though I was tempted to take a voyeuristic peek at the goings-on and who goes to such places. With my Hubby being in Canada, it was hard (no pun intended) to find a partner-in-crime. It would have been actually fun to go and then bump into all these people whom you know but that you wouldn’t have expected them to be there.

Then my HOT Cables were not behaving internet-wise and twice the internet stopped working - even now as I’m staying late at work not to work but to blog because I have no internet at home. My son is fighting me for the TV as he’s “bored” without his internet companion.

My soldier daughter had a fit at my son and slapped him across the face for not helping me out one Friday. Then there was a whole lot of yelling and screaming which prompted my only neighbor on our floor to quickly lock her door, in case the war spilled over to her apartment. Did she actually think we were gonna just run and chase each other in her apartment? Probably. So much for our wonderful reputation in our new apartment.

And last week it was so warm, the almond blossoms were beginning to bloom, and I had put away my heavy winter coat in the closet, only to put it on again today. They say it’ll snow again in Jerusalem.

We could use a bit of cooling off here, I think.

Blogger: Mideast Youth - Thinking Ahead
Article: A philosophical approach to find a solution beyond religion adherence (part one): Religion and sexual arousals
Originaly Posted On: 2008-02-23 15:36:07

I’ve always wondered why people become religious and religion adherent. Sometimes I tried to have conversations to find out and sometimes I was in the middle of religion related or religion philosophy discussions and debates to have my conclusions; in school, with every people I meet, through university and even in blogosphere! But never ever I had convinced them and never have been truly convinced! The best achievements, always is some doubts that I do more than the rivals!

Some days ago I read Esra’s article on bashing Islam and found it helpful to bring out my new viewpoint about religion related subjects!

As many societies tried to learn (but not middle eastern) that religion is some personal achievement of life that one should have his own. Some “live and let live” act! Here comes an example:

Finding a partner and a lover is something related to our tastes! When a man finds a woman fit for him to start a life in association, he may have some factors to pick his lady from bunch of women around. He may concentrate on some traits due to his life, his family ideology (what they appreciate), family and social influences, social and cultural situations and some many more factors; e.g. being nice, beautiful, aware, kind, coy, hot, sexy, having good mothering ability, rich, famous, family position … and every traits that brings out his love and is an arousal to go after her (You can find yours and add them to traits list)!
And that’s the same when a girl wants to find his partner. But she is not into a coy or shy guy Then she is going after some confident, strong, famous, rich, kind, sexy, hot and whatever that is an arousal for her. And when she wants marry him, she picks him beyond her premises: Social and cultural influences and limitations, family will and her way of goodness that she has learned in her life (definition of goodness for her).

Then he/she had his/her lady/man and will live his/her life with her/him happily for ever!

But some in the middle of way find out that he/she wasn’t the match. They leave each other and maybe try to find a better one that suits!

First Question: Should we blame each other because of how our partners are? If mine isn’t very nice, should you blame me and say, “hey dude, your chick is an ugly one, then you’re a stupid”? If your husband isn’t rich, should I blame you and say “when you’re husband is poor, then you are a stupid”?

Answer: As we all know, picking our partners depends on what we FEEL and FIND good for ourselves! It depends on what is tastier for us and it also depends on some factors about how our life has been, where we’ve been grown and what we have experienced in our life!

In the case of ideologies that’s the same story!
When you birth in a Jewish family that’s your first premise! When you loose your family and home in Iraq terrorism acts, that’s another big influential premise! When you live in Middle East, that’s another fate! When you are born in a Norwegian rich family, that will lead to another form of experience! Your father was Bahai and you’ve been born in Iran, that’s another experience!
Some may have some great and fine lives, then they are living different paradigm than those haven’t.

I don’t want to count more situations that effect on your ideological life; but they made you to become an adherent in a special ideology! That’s it!

But maybe in the middle of your life you find out that fits you not and you deserve a better one! What you do is to just pick a better one if you FEEL there is a better one! That’s it!

Second Question: Should we blame each other because of how our ideologies are? If mine is Islam, should you blame and bash me and say, “hey dude, your religion is supporter of terrorism (by referring to Jihad or some other fundamentals), then you’re a terrorist”? If you are an atheist, should I blame you? If you are a Christian should I say “why you are Christian when god revealed us the holy book Quran”?

Answer: Again it depends on the factors that have influenced our life and are influencing it right now. I’m adherent to my ideology because I found it useful! Or I changed because I found mine to be useless and found a better one; Just it!

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Blogger: Baha’i Faith in Egypt
Article: Ongoing Dialogue: Status of the Baha’i Religion in Egypt
Originaly Posted On: 2008-02-22 17:04:00

Egyptian and Middle Eastern media continue to examine the recent court verdicts that permitted some of the Baha’is of Egypt to obtain ID cards and birth certificates. They also address the general status of the Baha’is of Egypt as a religious minority in a modern society. The scope of these articles extends beyond the mere description of the court ruling itself, but rather carefully examines other essential elements regarding Egypt’s need to come to terms with the fact that the Baha’i religion is one of the established religions worldwide.

For example, these articles are now addressing the roots of the current crisis, dating back to Nasser’s Presidential Decree (263) of 1960 that outlawed the Baha’i religion in Egypt, confiscated all Baha’i properties, dissolved Baha’i institutions and arrested many leading Baha’is. The question of the official recognition of the Baha’i religion in Egypt is being openly discussed and arguments in its favor are put forward.

One of the headlines even dares to go as far as stating that “the problem with the Baha’is is the need to recognize them and not necessarily the implied acceptance of their beliefs.”

Some of the articles attached to this post (Qattar’s Al-Raayah-page 31 & Egypt’s Al-Qaherra) are currently being translated and will be hopefully posted again in the near future.

The 29 January 2008 court ruling allowed only those Baha’is who had previously held paper ID cards or birth certificates stating that they were Baha’is to obtain the newly established national ID number and identification documents (with no religion entered), thus permitting them to enjoy the rights of citizenship owed to them. However, those Baha’is who do not hold an old ID card or birth certificate, or if the documents held had wrongly stated other than their religion in the specified field, will continue to have no solution to their dilemma. That is if they want to obtain any of these official documents, they would be either forced to lie (in violation of the law itself) on the application form about their true religion and enter one of the three approved religions (Islam Christianity or Judaism) or be left without identity.

Clearly, as has been repeatedly proposed by Egypt’s–government appointed–National Council for Human Rights, the ultimate solution to this ongoing crisis is the complete elimination of the field of religion from all identity documents, as is the case in several other (mostly Muslim) countries in the region and as in many other parts of the world.

Even though the recent verdict is limited in scope, it must be said that: 1) the Baha’is of Egypt are indeed pleased with this new development, 2) they hope that Egypt’s government continues to work towards finding a satisfactory solution that would benefit all the Baha’is–and other religious minorities–of Egypt and not only a fraction of their population, 3) they are grateful to all those activists, human rights workers, journalists, bloggers, thinkers, scholars, attorneys, official figures and many others who have courageously supported them and defended their rights, and 4) the Baha’is of Egypt continue to analyze and study the full text of the recent two court verdicts–which are quite expansive and complex–in order for them to act on the implementation of their directives as well as to determine further necessary action in their quest for their full rights.

For example, another pressing and critical matter that must be addressed and resolved soon is that Baha’i marriage certificates remain unrecognized in Egypt, thus married Baha’i couples living in Egypt are considered to be living in concubinage and their children are considered by the authorities as illegitimate.

Blogger: Point of no return
Article: Jewish leader slams Arab writers’ boycott
Originaly Posted On: 2008-02-25 08:47:00

A Sephardi leader has slammed Arab writers for boycotting the Turin Book Fair, where the guest country is Israel, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The move will only hold back Jewish-Arab dialogue - the key to an inevitable peace - he maintains.

“The Union of Arab Writers is falling into a trap which discredits it,” David Bensoussan, President of the Communaute Sepharade Unifiee du Quebec, told Canadian Jewish News. ” It is sad to see how far poisonous messages of hatred and disinformation about Israel and the West put out by the media have reached the intellectual classes. In a world of mass communications the Union wants to go back to the gagging era of the old totalitarianism.”

Bensoussan was especially disappointed that Moroccan publishers were being discouraged from attending. “This boycott is happening at a time when we are trying to revive Jewish-Arab dialogue, and especially Jewish-Moroccan dialogue. Instead of going backwards, writers should be helping to get the Middle East out of its present stalemate.”

Bensoussan has just visited Morocco for the first time in 40 years. He noted a sameness of attitudes, with extreme left-wing and marginal Jewish ideas in evidence in intellectual circles. “They do not ask the right questions, or wish confront the truth about Jewish-Moroccan relations in all their diversity, the good times as well as the bad. There should be no limits to freedom of thought.”