I don't know if Kemalism can be classified as right or left, but jews were over-represented in that faction too (both regular and Donmeh). Although, despite rumors, Ataturk was not actually secretly a jew.
Great peice. While reading I couldn’t help but wonder about the ethnic origin of these Italian Jews.
My first thought was they were probably Sephardi. As is evident by looking at modern Israel, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews tend to be more right wing and hot tempered (they behave more characteristically Arab whereas Ashks more euro).
The connection to left wing politics is much more pronounced with Askenazis who also seem to leave the most significant impression, good and bad, of any group of Jews. As a result, these are the Jews people tend to reference and care about in strong terms (I’m reminded of your coal about Mizrahi chuds and Nobel prizes).
A quick google search brought some Reddit answers and a forward article that claim they are both and neither. The forward article references populations that remained in Rome from the time of Titus and never went East with their ancestry who would become the Ashkenazi (according to Razib Kahn at least). It also referenced mysterious French migrants in the 14th and 16th centuries that are curiously not called Ashkenazi as well as later Ashkenazi Sephardi and Mena Jewish migrants that, I guess, all intermixed.
This is a longwinded backdrop to ask you, did you consider this when writing? If so, did you find a more satisfying answer? I linked the forward piece below.
Excellent
I don't know if Kemalism can be classified as right or left, but jews were over-represented in that faction too (both regular and Donmeh). Although, despite rumors, Ataturk was not actually secretly a jew.
Great peice. While reading I couldn’t help but wonder about the ethnic origin of these Italian Jews.
My first thought was they were probably Sephardi. As is evident by looking at modern Israel, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews tend to be more right wing and hot tempered (they behave more characteristically Arab whereas Ashks more euro).
The connection to left wing politics is much more pronounced with Askenazis who also seem to leave the most significant impression, good and bad, of any group of Jews. As a result, these are the Jews people tend to reference and care about in strong terms (I’m reminded of your coal about Mizrahi chuds and Nobel prizes).
A quick google search brought some Reddit answers and a forward article that claim they are both and neither. The forward article references populations that remained in Rome from the time of Titus and never went East with their ancestry who would become the Ashkenazi (according to Razib Kahn at least). It also referenced mysterious French migrants in the 14th and 16th centuries that are curiously not called Ashkenazi as well as later Ashkenazi Sephardi and Mena Jewish migrants that, I guess, all intermixed.
This is a longwinded backdrop to ask you, did you consider this when writing? If so, did you find a more satisfying answer? I linked the forward piece below.
https://forward.com/opinion/407472/neither-ashkenazi-nor-sephardi-italian-jews-are-a-mystery/?amp=1