It's interesting, you can tell them apart from Ashkenazi Jews. Back when my parents were young, they had many friends who were 'Arab' Jews. They would visit Gaza as well, and Palestinians would visit or work in Israel. One of my distant cousins is married to an Mizrahi Jew as well. I haven't met any personally, I've only met Ashkenazi being that I am in the US. I've seen interviews with Mizrahi's and they seem to be reserved about their background. Some of them seem to have an identity crisis too. They play it safe and just state they're Israeli, since I think they face some pressure from the society. Now the Ashkenazi ones are more influential.
I'd be interested to learn about Arab Jews in Mecca, I don't think they are the Mizrahi ones.
There is definitely an element of pressure if we are to believe reports such as those and many others.
Jews don't understand/can't come to terms with the fact that there have been non-Jewish/Hebrew/Israelite Jewish communities. Of course the original Hebrews/Israelites/Jews native to Southern Levant were obviously very similar to neighboring Arabs and other Semites (genetically, in terms of appearance, culture, language etc.) but obviously those Hebrews/Israelites/Jews like Arabs and other Semites intermarried with each other/outsiders creating diverse populations.
For instance Jews from Arab countries, most of whom live in Israel today (but not all), do not differ genetically from their Muslim and Christian counterparts. So obviously those Arab Jews/Mizrahim are most likely descending from not only remnants of the now extinct Hebrews/Israelites but obviously Arabs and other Semites as well.
As for the Jewish communities in Arabia pre-Islam and at the time of Prophet Muhammad (saws) and a few centuries afterwards, were a mixture of ancient Hebrews/Israelites and local neighboring Arabs. Some tribes were converts while others were not but most were probably mixtures.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_tribes_of_Arabia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_the_Arabian_Peninsula
I mean outside of Southern Iraq (where Hebrews/Jews apparently claim to originate from) and Southern Levant, Arabia is the region with the oldest Jewish/Hebrew/Israelite history.
For instance take the example of King Herod the Great. His mother was an Nabatean (Arab) princess. And that was over 2000 years ago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great
After all Arabs and Jews, also according to traditional scripture and even historical/genealogical (which has nothing to do with religion per se) trace their ancestry from Prophet Ibrahim (as). When you read some of the earliest non-Muslim reports of Prophet Muhammad (saws) he is called/described as a son of Prophet Abraham (as).
So to sum it up Arab Jews definitely have the most affinity (genetic and historical) to ancient Hebrews/Israelites but since they have lived among Arabs for over millennia and intermarried with Arabs, a large portion of them (if not the majority) likely being local Arab converts to Judaism, I would not really consider them anymore foreign than I would consider Arab Christians or Arab Semitic pagans (if they even exist any longer, lol). It is quite complicated because I have seen Arab Jews who claim that they are basically Arabs but just following Judaism and then I have heard stories of Arab Jews who claim that they are ethnic Hebrews/Israelites who have just intermarried with Arabs and lived in Arab lands for a very long time.
Anyway as far as genetic tests on Arab Jews/Mizrahim from Arab lands, they do not really differ from the local non-Jewish populations so it should not be difficult to reach a conclusion here. I mean it's not like Iraqi Jews (now Israeli citizens) or Yemein Jews (now Israeli citizens) look different from the average Arab Yemen or Iraqi.
Anyway ask yourself this question. Let's assume that we live in year 1937 and not year 2017. There is no Israel. There are no Jewish settlers from Eastern Europe either (many had already arrived by 1937 but this is only an example) but the indigenous Jewish Arab communities in Southern Levant were present or a dying group like the Samaritans. Would any sane Palestinian or Arab in the Levant look at those people as alien foreigners when we know that this is not the case/view of Arab Christians by fellow Arab Muslims in Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere? Or would Jews of Yemen and Iraq be looked at as complete foreigners despite sharing everything in common with their countrymen except for a different religion that moreover was/is a fellow Abrahamic religion?
Of course not. However today the situation is totally different and Mizrahi Jews/Arab Jews are now part and parcel of Israel and as guilty as the Eastern European migrants when it comes to oppression and denying a Palestinian nation. So I don't look at those people as "our own" anymore unless they are not voicing support for current Israeli policies and do not deny their background.
Much of this is described in the report by the author (she refers to herself as an Arab Jew btw) herself.
Anyway I just thought that it would be an interesting share given how little people know about this issue. Lastly personally I feel that Arab Jews/Mizrahim/whatever we should call them, should lead at the front by trying to pressure Israeli society from within to change its policies. They should/could (if peace one day is reached) play a key role as bridge between both communities.
Anyway the first Mizrahi Jews/Arab Jews arriving to Israel were the ones that had the biggest ties to their ancestral Arab lands. Their children probably tried to do everything to fit into "mainstream Israeli society" and their grandchildren have probably intermarried with Ashkenazi and now only refer to themselves as Israeli. Many are probably not even religious Jews either. So Israel is basically the US of the Middle East and the only such nation. A nation of immigrants from across the world who have adopted a new culture. This is why you can see traditional Palestinian and in general Arab dishes being portrayed/paraded as "Israeli" by Israelis. Technically this is not wrong but it gives you a picture of what Israel really is.
all jews are. thats what we belive. mizrahi jews lived in arab countries for 2000 years and come back to israel. we have diffrent culture but today we are 2nd generation israeli born so it will be gone in few years. im half moroccan half syiran jewish for example
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Just out of curiosity. What do you think about what I wrote above? What is your view of such topics? I understand that they are complicated and it depends on what your ideology/beliefs are but notice the part where I discuss DNA which does not lie.
Anyway is it true that Yemeni Jews make the best food and music in Israel? I have also heard that Yemeni Jews were the ones who mastered Hebrew the best and who persevered ancient Jewish culture the best and also had/have some of the best theologians.
I think that the Yemenite Jews are the most interesting Jewish community in the world. It seems that many share this view.
BTW those look people like Yemenite Jews?
There were Jews in KSA as well until the 1930's when all of them migrated to Israel. They were/are a part/closely related to the Yemenite Jews.
Most historians claim that the Jewish communities of modern-day KSA and Yemen are the original/genuine Biblical Hebrews and there is in fact a very big chance of this being the case. This is also what their traditions say. That's quite cool.
See video and photos below: