From Ashkenazi to Mizrahi: Israel's political and demographic transformation

The prevailing view on Israel is that it is a European country.

The founder of Zionist thought, Theodor Herzl, was Hungarian, and the initial waves of Jewish migration to Palestine were mostly from Europe, which increased with the rise of Nazism during World War II.

These European Jews are commonly known as Ashkenazi.

In 1947, Ashkenazi Jews constituted 85% of the Jewish population in the land of Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel, while Middle Eastern Jews, known as Mizrahim, formed a minority.

However, Israel is no longer a predominantly "white" European nation due to three waves of Jewish immigration from Middle Eastern countries, which changed its demographic composition:

1. Migration after the 1948 Nakba

2. Migration after 1967

3. Migration following the Islamic Revolution in Iran

Mizrahi Jews from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey now constitute over 50% of the Jewish population in Israel.

Not only has the demographic composition changed, but the political and economic influence has also shifted.

The gap between European Jews, who were historically politically and economically dominant, has decreased over time.

Furthermore, individuals with Mizrahi backgrounds have even held prominent positions, such as Moshe Katsav, who was of Iranian descent, and Gadi Eizenkot, the first Moroccan-Israeli Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.

But a leader of Mizrahi descent has never become the Prime Minister of Israel.

In politics, Israel was historically a left-leaning and secular state, primarily due to the European majority.

However, the rise of Benjamin Netanyahu and the right wing saw support from Mizrahim.

Netanyahu, of Polish descent, and his Likud Party managed to attract Mizrahi voters through settlement expansion and addressing their concerns.

Even today, with the rise of extremist Mizrahi figures like Bezalel Smotrich, who advocates arming settlers, these changes continue to shape Israeli politics.

So, how do Jews of Arab origins support parties that hold the most animosity towards Arabs?

According to their narrative, these Jews were forced to leave their lands in Arab countries and migrate to Israel, while the Holocaust in Europe profoundly impacted the European Jewish conscience.

European Jews have historically considered, from the time of Rabin and onward, that a two-state solution was possible, even supporting opposition leader Yair Lapid, who advocates for a two-state solution.

Israel attempts to downplay this racial conflict by emphasizing that all Israelis are united in the face of external threats like Hamas. But can the Israeli society withstand its internal ethnic and political divisions?