The Ashkenazi Revolution

tools at its disposal. It always follows the furrow that Ashkenaz hadplowed. It did not produce, from its midst, great politicians or greatmilitary men, and it did not establish institutions to study the wisdom ofSepharad or its own history. Ladino popular culture, which possessesunusual treasures of Mediterranean poem and folklore, is rapidlydisappearing. This death is not entirely natural, but in part it is the fruit ofthe barbaric decimation, through which the artificial Israeli culture, whichis a culture of offices and academies, decimates the natural cultural assetsthat were created in the bosom of Jewish peoples. The tunes and poems ofthe Ladino Jew, the creation of fishermen and simple Jewish people whodwelt upon the shores of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, are many timesmore precious than the third, and fourth, class Biblical insights that ourcultural institutions drown us in. The anti-Ashkenazi outbursts, of Knessetmember Binyamin Arditi, aroused anger in the heart of every Ashkenazi.But, on the other hand, the writer of these lines feels some sympathytoward Mr. Arditi’s war for the preservation of Ladino cultural assets. Inhis war, Knesset member Binyamin Arditi shows that he has a correctassessment toward cultural values. The Ladino’s dearth of tools andpossibilities is dramatically expressed in a man who is, perhaps, the mostoutstanding of its representatives. I am referring to the activist, andpolitician, Avraham Rakanti. Mr. Rakanti was among the first to joinJabotinsky, but, in an argument between the two concerning the activistmethods of the Revisionist Movement, and concerning its policy towardEngland, it was Rakanti who was right, and not Jabotinsky. Since he hadkeen political intuition, which got sharper through his studies in theinteresting, and diverse, field of the political struggle in the lands of theBalkans, Rakanti rejected the approach of appeasement toward England,and demanded a warlike approach. In this, he was a pioneer of the politicalthought that begat the underground movements. Had Rakanti been born inWarsaw, he would have brought about a turning point in the Zionistmovement. But he was born in Thesaloniki, his language was Ladino, andas a result of this, his opportunities to influence were minimal. In additionto this, he was always burning with the fire of his love for Sepharad, andanger burned within him toward Ashkenaz. This exemplary man becamemore and more isolated, even within his own community. His approach, to213