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Remembering “Old Jerusalem”: Storytelling and the Politics of Sephardi/Mizrahi Cultural Revival
- Journal of American Folklore
- American Folklore Society
- Volume 129, Number 512, Spring 2016
- pp. 146-170
- Article
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Abstract:
This article interrogates the cultural politics of a series of storytelling performances in Jerusalem in light of an ongoing “revival” of Sephardi and Mizrahi Jewish heritage in Israel. An examination of performers’ on-stage narratives and interactions reveals three discursive approaches to defining authentic Jerusalem culture through descriptions of “old-time” lifeways: emphasizing the city’s cosmopolitan past; challenging contemporary social hierarchies in Israel via jabs at “Ashkenazim” and idealization of Sephardi culture; and through claims of underlying Jewish unity.