Researcher: Bialik didn't hate Sephardim
Long-held notion that national poet hated eastern Jews stems from statements wrongly attributed to him, say researchers
"The national poet of Ashkenazim only," "A well-known Sephardim hater," and "a famous racist" are only some of the sentiments – often expressed in talkbacks as well – aroused by the name Chaim Nachman Bialik.
The national poet himself has been dead since 1934, so he is not here to defend himself.
However, the notion stems from a statement attributed to Bialik: "I only hate the Arabs because they resemble the Sephardim." But it turns out that Bialik never said those words, but rather editor and translator Aryeh Leib Smiatzky.
Smiatzky included the statement in his book "Bialik on Atar" as a joke, and some researchers later claimed that literary circles hostile to Bialik attributed the words to him in a bid to besmirch him.
Notably, none of Bialik works includes any mention of hatred or patronizing towards Sephardic Jews.
The 'ultimate orientalist'
In 2003 Shmuel Avnery, archive and research director at Bialik House, published an article refuting what has become a historical convention – the national poet's racism. Avnery delved deep into Bialik's writings and found nothing that could substantiate the allegations against the poet.After publishing the article Avnery started hearing from people who up until that day harbored a deep-rooted antagonism for Bialik because they grew up on believing that he hated Sephardim. "A woman whose father is buried next to Bialik said that she was so relieved. For years whenever she would visit the grave with her mother, the mother would spit on Bialik's grave and say, 'This is how those who insult our ethnic group should be treated.'
"After the article was released the daughter realized that what she had felt for years was true – that everything was unfounded."
The facts are actually quite straightforward: Not only did Bialik never curse or insult Sephardic Jews, he was actually "the ultimate Orientalist." Ayelet Bitan Shlonsky, the director and curator of Bialik House, says that "Bialik believed in Sephardic culture in the deepest sense of the word.
"Contrary to others who came from Europe, like David Ben Gurion for example, and who aspired to create a new, European-like Zionist, Bialik believed in preserving the tradition. He believed that each of the 12 tribes should preserve its uniqueness, that every Judaism should maintain its customs, traditions and food, and that all of them should share a common ground."
Bitan Shlonsky adds that claims regarding hatred to Sephardim are simply absurd. "Who if not Bialik assembled and published the poetry of the Golden Age of Judaism in Spain? Who if not Bialik promoted and introduced the poetry of the east? I invite all those who are still in doubt to visit the Bialik House and find out for themselves," she concluded.
