History, Diaspora, and Politics

Episode 332

with Evyn Lê Espiritu, Margaux Fitoussi, and Kais Khimji

hosted by Shireen Hamza and Chris Gratien

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Migration has long been a driving force in the history of global and transnational connections. In this episode, we explore the politics of diaspora surrounding different migrant communities in the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond with three student guests. First, we discuss the little-known history of Vietnamese migrants in the state of Israel. Then, through film, we revisit the history and memory of Jewish urban life in North Africa between Tunisia and France. Finally, we consider the political implications of the relationship between Canada and the Ismaili diaspora.

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Contributor Bios

	Evyn Lê Espiritu is a Rhetoric PhD candidate and filmmaker at UC Berkeley. Her dissertation examines the Vietnamese refugee diaspora in Guam and Israel-Palestine as a means to trace not only circuits of empire—how the Vietnam War is linked to US military build-up in Guam and an unwavering support of Israel—but also circuits of solidarity—how Chamorro decolonialization efforts and Palestinian resistance struggles are connected via the Vietnamese refugee figure.
	Margaux Fitoussi is a PhD student in anthropology at Columbia University studying migration and memory in North Africa.
	Kais Khimji recently graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College where he majored in Social Studies with a focus on Islamic Modernism and Western Thought. His thesis explored the relationship between the Canadian government and the Ismaili Imamat as represented by His Highness the Aga Khan IV.
	Shireen Hamza is a doctoral student in the History of Science department at Harvard University. Her research focuses broadly on the history of science and medicine in the Islamicate Middle Ages, and more specifically on the history of women's health.
	Chris Gratien is Assistant Professor of History at University of Virginia, where he teaches classes on global environmental history and the Middle East. He is currently preparing a monograph about the environmental history of the Cilicia region of the former Ottoman Empire from the 1850s until the 1950s.

Individual Conversations

Credits

Episode No. 332
Release Date: 10 September 2017
Recording Location: Harvard University
Audio editing by Shireen Hamza and Chris Gratien
Music: Harmandali - Recep Efendi, Cemal Efendi; Katibim (Uskudar'a Gider iken) - Safiye Ayla; Baglamamin Dugumu - Necmiye Ararat and Muzaffer; from Excavated Shellac - Lili Labassi - Mazal Haye Mazal
Special thanks to Kara Günes for permission to use the composition "Istanbul"
Images and bibliography courtesy of Evyn Lê Espiritu, Margaux Fitoussi, and Kais Khimji

Images

This synagogue was demolished in 1961. The Hebraic inscription above the doors says in Hebrew: Beith Haknesset Haguedola, which translates as the Great Synagogue. Below this is engraved: Dirshou hashem veouzo bishou panav tamid, which translates as “Seek recourse with the eternal and to his support, seek his face continually.” In the background we see the Sidi Mahrez Mosque, which was constructed during the Ottoman Empire (not the tenth century). The legend says that at the end of the tenth century, Sidi Mahrez ben Khalif stood in the tower of the mosque and all areas within throwing distance were set aside for Jews. So, the story goes, his staff landed within the north-east of the medina and this zone came to be known as the Jewish quarter. Photograph: Angel Lumbroso (1960). From Bernard Allali Collection 

Exiting the synagogue, these young boys celebrate their bar mitvah and are accompanied home by children singing liturgical songs known as ouled el bayout. Photographer unknown

A father and his son in front of the Ben Turka door on Sidi Mfarej Street. Tunisian Jewish men wore the black band around their legs as a sign of mourning for the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem. Some form of this symbol of mourning can be found in Jewish communities all over the world and some older Jews in Djerba continue to wear this style of clothing. Photographer unknown (1890). From Bernard Allali Collection 

Select Bibliography

Vietnamese Refugees in the State of Israel

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Bryen, Shoshana. “Israel and the Boat People.” Times of Israel 6 Jan. 2012. Web.

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Carter, Jimmy, and Menachem Begin. “Visit of Prime Minister Menahem Begin of Israel Remarks of the President and the Prime Minister at the Welcoming Ceremony.” White House Lawn. 1977.

Chamberlin, Paul Thomas. The Global Offensive: The United States, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Making of the Post-Cold War Order.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

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El Hara

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