Israel: The melting pot of cultures
When I think about one of the most unique things about Israeli culture, I think about the true melting pot of Jewish cultures that have come together to create a unified Israeli culture. On the one hand, Israel is a young country (only 73 and looking great!), with only 1-2 generations having been born in Israel in most families, and on the other hand, today, a true Israeli culture has emerged, created from a beautiful melting pot.
How did Israel turn into the melting pot that it is today?
It all started with the waves of Jewish immigration (aka aliyot) dating back to 1882, long before the founding of the modern State of Israel. The first waves of immigration came from Eastern Europe and Russia and were influenced by Jews having the desire to return to their homeland and solve the Jewish problem as well as the Russian pograms. The early settlers worked the land and were the founders of the first kibbutzim! After WWI, the waves of immigration continued from Eastern Europe and Russia, particularly among Polish Jews in the 1920s.
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Starting in 1929, and growing greatly in 1933, German and Austrian Jews started escaping the Hitler regime to the land of Israel. Before WWII began, there were approximately 475,000 Jews in Palestine, amounting to 40% of the total population. During the war, legal Aliyah was basically impossible, with various rescue missions taking place. At the same time, Aliyah from Northern African countries began as well as the Middle East. The majority of northern African and Middle Eastern Jews (of Sephardic and Mizrahi backgrounds) took place after the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. Approximately 900,000 Jewish emigrants fled Northern Africa, 680,000 of whom ended up in Israel (with the large majority of others arriving in France and other European countries and the Americas).
Over time, Jews from other regions made their way to Israel. This includes the very large Russian population present in Israel today, the Ethiopian Jews and Iranian (Persian) Jews.
The difficult beginning of the melting pot
The idea of bringing together Jews from the entire world into one Jewish State sounds ideal and even surreal. But unfortunately, the combination of various cultures, languages, lifestyles, and more, led to great difficulties in the beginning years of the State.
Many of the issues surrounded the Middle Eastern and Northern African immigrants, who were often viewed as second class citizens. Most were put up in “refugee camps” in the beginning (and which lasted for many years), living in difficult conditions, having to disguise the Arabic language that they grew up speaking, and much more.
The story goes on. While the beauty of the land that welcomed all Jews was forming, many groups sticked together (a phenomenon that still occurs today). Moroccans lived together with Moroccans, Ashkenazim with Ashkenazim, Russians with Russians, Ethiopians with Ethiopians, and so forth. It was difficult in many cases to get the new Israelis to interact with one another, to learn to accept new cultures and lifestyles, so vastly different than what they knew from home.
But, despite the difficulties, the Israelis knew that their mission was critical and therefore, Israel was proud to sponsor various missions to allow the Jews to make it to their homeland.
Israeli rescue missions in Ethiopia
Two of the most famous missions to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel were Operation Moses (1984) and Operation Solomon (1991). Operation Moses brought Ethiopian Jews secretly to Israel from Sudan. The mission combined the IDF, CIA, US Embassy in Khartoum, Sudanese state security forces and mercenaries. Each of the 30+ flights brought 200 Ethiopians at a time to Israel. This was at the same time as thousands of Ethiopians were attempting to make their way by foot to Israel, which led to an estimated 4,000 deaths. Operation Solomon in 1991 was a 36-hour mission which brought 14,325 Ethiopian Jews to Israel, including family members of those brought over in Operation Moses.
The Melting Pot in Israel today
Today, Israel is a true melting pot of cultures, languages, culinary traditions, holidays and so much more. While the individual histories and cultures can be found in every corner, today we have created a new culture: Israeli. With most Israelis today being second or third generation to be born in Israel, we’re still learning how to create this Israeli culture. Let’s look at some of the ways that the melting pot can be seen:
- We love to combine languages. In Hebrew you can find Arabic slang (yalla!, sababa), Yiddish words, phrases and jokes dating back to the old days in various countries.
- Foods: this wouldn’t be Israel if we didn’t talk about food. Each part of the melting pot has contributed (for better or for worse!) their own culinary treats. This means that Israel has some of the most interesting foods in the world (and a bit of competition, if I must say so myself). Just head over to Tel Aviv to find: Moroccan, Libyan, Tunisian, Iraqi, Persian, Yemenite, Ethiopian, Russian, Eastern European, and more foods from the Jewish kitchens throughout the world. And what do you get when you combine them all together? ISRAELI FOOD! The Israeli kitchen today is a mixture of the wonderful Middle Eastern, European, Mediterranean and Northern African kitchens, coming together to create wonderful cuisine that is different than other place in the world.
- Celebrations: Have you ever heard of Mimouna? Henna party before a wedding? These are two traditional Moroccan celebrations that have become commplace in Israel. Mimouna is a celebration after Passover ends, full of sweets that traditional Moroccan families host (all of a sudden, this time of year, everyone wants a Moroccan friend!). Henna parties before weddings have also become common, with traditional dress a major part of the celebration (if you haven’t been, you must!). During weddings, different cultures have different dance styles, music and so much more.
- Music: Cultural background plays its part in Israeli music today in a wide variety of ways. Mizrahi music has a unique style that is amongst the most popular throughout the country today. Even mainstream Israeli artists like to tap into their traditional backgrounds to create interesting and unique music. This is what Dudu Tassa did in his project, “Dudu Tassa and the Kuwaits”. Upon discovering the remarkable story of his grandfather, whose music was banned in Iraq by Saddam Hussein when discovering that he was Jewish, Tassa created an amazing album based on recordings by his grandfather from Iraq.
Are Israelis still connected to their ancestral roots?
The short answer is yes. While most Israelis identify as Israeli today and not as Egyptian, Moroccan, Polish or Yemenite, the base of culture is still there.
Be it at family celebrations, prayer in the synagogue, food preferences, and more, many Israelis still feel a connection to the country that their grandparents (and in many cases, parents), came from.
One of the most beautiful celebrations of this happens in school around Bar/Bat Mitzvah age. Every child in Israel has to do a “roots” project. It’s a tradition throughout the country and it’s fascinating to see kids exploring their ancestral roots and discovering that even though they knew that their grandparents were Polish, they are actually also part Syrian and part Russian! The children take the time to explore their family history, connect to the different parts of the world that they came from, and feel pride in who they really are.
The Israeli Melting Pot- a beautiful representation of what Judaism truly is
Israel is so many things to me: and the true melting pot is one of them. I love knowing that the Jews of Israel are connected through religion, but that each brings his/her own unique background, customs, and traditions.
Today, the melting pot keeps expanding. With new immigrants arriving from all over the world (even during the pandemic!), Israel remains the true home for all Jews, throughout the world.
Want to learn more about Israeli culture? Check out these blogs:
Want to learn more about the Israeli melting pot?
Our monthly boxes feature a wide range of products from different cultures and backgrounds.
Shalom, I’m Maya, a native Israeli (aka sabra) and the founder of Israelibox.
IsraeliBox is a subscription box that brings Israel closer to you than ever.
I started Israelibox to give you the chance to experience Israel like Israelis do.
Join me in supporting Israel in a unique way while enjoying the great products our small businesses have to offer.
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