April 15, 2024
Thank you for taking our quiz on Jewish History in the Middle East. Here are your answers.
Which of these countries is not considered part of the Sephardic diaspora?
A-Tunisia
B-Egypt
C-Turkey
D-Belarus
Answer: D. Belarus. Tunisia, Egypt, and Turkey are all part of the Sephardic diaspora. Belarus, in Eastern Europe, is part of the Ashkenazi diaspora.
What is the traditional Sephardic language?
A-Ladino
B-French
C-Aramaic
D-Amharic
Answer: A. Ladino. Ladino, otherwise known as Judeo-Spanish, was the primary language spoken by thousands of Jews in the Mediterranean between the Spanish Inquisition and World War II. While it is not the primary language of most Sephardi Jews anymore, there has been a trend to revive the language among younger generations. Some American universities are even offering courses in the language now.
What was the name of the airlift operation that brought most Yemenite Jews to Israel?
A-Operation Magic Carpet
B-Operation Solomon
C-Operation Moses
D-Operation Ezra and Nehemiah
Answer: A. Operation Magic Carpet. This operation—a nickname for “Operation On Wings of Eagles—between June 1949 and September 1950 brought some 49,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel. British and American transport planes made some 380 flights from Aden, Yemen to Israel.
What was the Farhud?
A-Traditional headdress worn at Yemeni weddings
B-Pogrom against Baghdad Jewry
C-Egyptian Jewish prayer book
D-Anti-Jewish riots in Tripoli
Answer: B. It was the pogrom against the Jewish population of Baghdad. On June 1, 1941, during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, Iraqi Muslims killed nearly 200 Iraqi Jews and injured another 1,000 in the Farhud—an Arabic term best translated as “pogrom” or “violent dispossession.” Approximately 900 Jewish homes were destroyed during the massacr and thousands of Jews fled the country.
Season 2 of The Forgotten Exodus
The multi-award-winning, chart-topping Jewish podcast, The Forgotten Exodus, is back for season two.
The world has overlooked an important episode in modern history: the 800,000 Jews who left or were driven from their homes in the Middle East and North Africa in the mid-20th century to forge new lives for themselves and future generations. Watch the trailer below and tune in now.
