My anxiety levels rise whenever I see this Mizrahi vs Ashkenazi stuff.

I just don't think Ashkenazim should be shamed, made fun of, or deemed "inauthentic" for having been banished to Europe and colonized by Europeans (both against our will). But perhaps that's just me.

Of course Ashkenazi culture carries European influences. That's to be expected. And, as with all colonized peoples, not all of the habits we picked up are "good".

But good god, that doesn't mean we're white people or that we're not Middle Eastern anymore.

Given the circumstances, Ashkenazim did a *remarkable* job preserving their Middle Eastern heritage. And were very quick to reincorporate forgotten traditions and customs *that we had been ROBBED of, by dint of exile*.

It's not like we asked to be exiled from our homeland, or to have European customs forced on us, or to lose memory of (or the ability to maintain) certain traditions from pre-diaspora times.

It just feels like there are too many people who think Israel/Jews will never be "genuinely Middle Eastern" unless Ashkenazim either disappear or make themselves invisible. And yeah, that shit hurts.

Ashkenazim are Middle Eastern. Centuries of exile in Europe doesn't change that