Syria, You Are My Country
April 25, 2018 6:49 AM Subscribe
"In April 1928, approximately a year after the conclusion of the Great Syrian Revolt––ninety years ago this month––Tunisian Jewish superstar Habiba Messika [1903-1930] walked into the Berlin studio of the Baidaphon label and recorded, “Syria, you are my country” (“Souria Anti Biladi”). More about Messika's life, including her early death, and the pan-Arab anti-colonial effect of 78s."
That you for posting this.
posted by hoyland at 6:20 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by hoyland at 6:20 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
From what I understand, Jews were popular entertainers in many Arab countries as well as the Maghreb and Levant. I think it had a lot to do with Jews' social position: music was a way for them to temporarily escape the (literal or metaphorical) ghetto. There's probably some parallel here between Jews of the Middle East, Roma in Europe, and Blacks in the US.
Messika rose to fame at a time when these restrictions seemed to be weakening. There were Jews back then who described themselves as Arabs, although I don't know if she did. Her music was sung for a world in which Pan-Arabism could succeed, and in which Pan-Arabism could include Jews. That didn't last: xenophobia and Nazi influence turned the Arab anti-colonialist movement into a nationalist one from which Jews were excluded. It's a bit sad to note that the author can only describe her as "an Arabic-speaking Jew" – sad, but accurate: her birth excluded her from the very movement she championed. Within two or three decades Jews in many Arabic-speaking countries had been variously murdered, imprisoned, and/or deprived of citizenship. For that lost world and for Messika,
.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:50 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Messika rose to fame at a time when these restrictions seemed to be weakening. There were Jews back then who described themselves as Arabs, although I don't know if she did. Her music was sung for a world in which Pan-Arabism could succeed, and in which Pan-Arabism could include Jews. That didn't last: xenophobia and Nazi influence turned the Arab anti-colonialist movement into a nationalist one from which Jews were excluded. It's a bit sad to note that the author can only describe her as "an Arabic-speaking Jew" – sad, but accurate: her birth excluded her from the very movement she championed. Within two or three decades Jews in many Arabic-speaking countries had been variously murdered, imprisoned, and/or deprived of citizenship. For that lost world and for Messika,
.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:50 AM on April 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by Sheydem-tants at 8:24 AM on April 25, 2018