Jews who fled Arab lands now press their cause

SFgate.com ^ | March 28, 2004 | Jack Epstein

[Lent]

If you look at the history of Moroccon Jews it was a szhizoprenic type of life. Because most of Christianity was wiped out by the twelfth century the Jews were the only dhimmi left. Where under some Islamic despot they might have a more bearable existence as dhimmi then you would have 11-12th century massacres of Jews.

The sad reality is that you're right. They had nowhere to go. Indeed, even those Jews who fled the Spanish expulsions in the 14 century and who came to Morocco (amongst other countries) faced untold hardship.

[blondvenus511]

off topic also- i dated ike mansoura- son of alan mansoura who is the owner of mansoura's pastries- we dated for lamost 5 years and i, being of italian-catholic decent, and ike of syrian-jewish decent- faced many challenges. oddly enough, alan and his "hospitable" wife, josiane, broke us up when they saw that we were getting serious. when i read articles of their graciousness and how they are "keepers of tradition" i flounder and remember how they were exiled from a country due to their background and how they ostracized me in that same way. I think of how hate begets hate and how they made ike and i cry for months on end and he had to sneak out to see me and steal his father's car and lie to him. I recall how they were nice to my face and then behind my back they called me a "sharmuta" the Arabic term for slut. They told me that even if i converted, my blood would never be that of a true Sephardic woman and how it was pointless for me to continue to love their son even though he loved me back. We continued to carry on our relationship until i broke up with him and decided that i couldn't love someone in a closet any longer-- they threatened to take away his inheritance and called him a traitor and a snake for loving a non-jew. our love wa pure- first love-- i am married with a baby boy today-- but will never forget the mansoura's family hatred towards me for the background that I was born into-- oddly enough they have italian in them as well- josiane does-- ike sent me an email a few years ago saying he would always love me-- i will always love him too- and i will keep alive the memory that they have not come here and prospered but have continued to ostracize and critique as they have been ritiqued and ostracized. They put aunder what God had brought together and were very willing to give up their first son because of who he chose to love-- this is by no means "hospitable" and "carrying on a tradition" it is a story not many poeple know-- and now that ike is a CPA and not a full time baker in the store- i realize just how mad at them he truly was-- i always pushed him to go to college and follow his heart- as he has now done. SO, please psot this and read this and know that this family is merely "a show" and not accepting of love and warmth-- thank you!