Researcher David Collier busts the myth that Israelis are all from Europe. Tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of Israelis have their roots in Arab or Muslim countries. Over a million Israelis are Arab. Here are a couple of examples from his collection of Israeli faces on Facebook:
Menashe Amir
Menashe Amir was born in Tehran, Iran in 1940 in the ancient Jewish quarter. He left Iran for Israel in 1959. Amir broadcasts in Persian on Israel Radio International. Amir is one of over 130,000 Israelis of Iranian descent.
Ninet Tayeb
Ninet Tayeb’s father was from Tunisia. Her mother Moroccan/ Algerian. Her parents arrived in Israel separately, both fleeing persecution. Nina is a successful musician, singer-songwriter, composer, DJ, model and actress. There are 10,000s of Israelis who can claim Tunisian descent.
Leave a Reply