THE HOLOCAUST IS OVER WE MUST RISE FROM ITS ASHES

erasing with them the social and cultural affinities to the neighboring Arabs andMuslims.The old, proven familiar structure was destroyed and replaced by an empty“Israeliness” that was weak on spirituality. Therefore the literature of Middle EasternJewish immigrants should be read with attention. A bitter cry emerges from the pages:we suffer, we grieve, we beg for recognition for the price that we paid in ourconversion from Middle Eastern Jews to Western Israelis. That recognition was nevergiven.Also lacking was the recognition that the end of Middle Eastern Jewry may be noless, and sometimes even more, meaningful to Israel than that of the European Jewry.Middle Eastern Jewry could have provided a reliable human bridge between Israeland its neighbors. The Shoah, winner of the trauma competition, cast a long shadowthat hid Israel’s internal distortions. It also influenced life in the most intimate ways, asin the case of Mr. D.Mr. D. is an outstandingly successful businessman, a native of Israel in his earlyfifties. Some time ago we tried to set up a meeting but it was cancelled again andagain. He told me that he had to go on a business trip to Poland and I expected themeeting to take place a few weeks later. But a few days later, his secretary called andsaid that he was available.We met that same day, and I asked him what happened in Poland that cut his visitshort.“I couldn’t bear it any more,” he replied. “Everything came back to me. I landed inWarsaw and it was cold and snowy. The same day we traveled into the Polishhinterland to check on a few opportunities that I was being offered. The snowy plainsblinded me. It was cold to the bone and all we saw were birch forests and shrubbery.We spent the night there and then continued on a night train. The train traveled formany hours. The wheels and the cars shook and the ticket conductor was aggressive.Then a sudden ticket control. I just couldn’t bear it anymore. Polish trains are toomuch for me. Everything came back to me. The following day, I hopped on a planeand came back.”I called him in the evening at home. “Tell me,” I asked, “where are your parentsfrom?”“From Iraq,” he answered.