Staging Heritage by Mizrahim Young Artists-Activists in Israël

Nowadays, more than sixty years after their migration to Israel, a great number of Mizrahi Jews, originating from the Middle-East and Maghreb, still have the feeling of being socially, economically, culturally, and symbolically dominated by the Ashkenazy population, originating from Europe. At their arrival, pushed by the integration necessity as well as the creation of a new Zionist Israeli identity, the Mizrahim had to cease speaking Arabic (language of the enemy) in public, and they attempted to forget their heritage to the benefit of a new Israeli history. Today, some activists from the third Mizrahi generation use artistic creation in order to hustle the national-historical-cultural Ashkenazy domination and break the cycle of silence of their forefathers. This committed minority wants to rebuild its own origin and heritage. But is it a search for an “authentic” heritage belonging to the ancestors or the creation of an attractive staging of a rebuilt Mizrahi culture, fantasized and trendy?