In Israel the often uneasy relations between Jews of European origin and Jews of Asian/African origin (referred to sometimes as Mizrahim and sometimes as Sepharadim) have been a major social issue for many years. It is now almost universally accepted that Mizrahi Jews were not treated respectfully during the prolonged process of "absorption" following their immigration, and that this treatment has had long lasting negative effects. There are those who claim that discrimination against Mizrahim is still widespread despite high levels of intermarriage between the two groups. The issue of relations between 'edot' as they are referred to, is considered a sensitive subject with explosive potential, especially when it is introduced into local and national politics. Over the last few months, this issue has become yet again a central topic in Israeli political life. In an interview with Ari Shavit in Ha'aretz, Silvan Shalom, contender for the leadership of the Likud party that has a strong base of support among Mizrahim, claims that it is time for Israel to have its first Mizrahi prime minister. In Jerusalem, Ayala Marciano-Sabag sister of the late Black Panther Sa'adia Marciano is trying to revive that movement.

There has been very little discussion of 'edot' in the context of Jewish Peoplehood. One of the few references to this issue was made by Ezra Kopelowitz and Ari Engelberg in a position paper on Jewish Peoplehood commissioned by the Nadav Fund. They observed that almost all the Jewish leaders who support Jewish Peoplehood are Ashkenazi with a secular or moderate religious upbringing. This led them to claim that Jews of African/Asian descent, who are for the most part traditionalists, do not need a formally constructed ideology such as Jewish Peoplehood to explain their connection to the Jewish People.

Mizrahi traditionalism is often looked down upon by both secular and Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews. In a series of articles (all in Hebrew) Meir Buzaglo sets out to defend Mizrahi traditionalism. As Buzaglo explains in another article, for the masorati Jew (traditional, but not necessarily strictly observant of Jewish law), following the traditions bequeathed to him is a value in of itself; the need for an ordered ideology may be only a European concept. Sepharadi traditionalism, as he describes it, seems to have a lot in common with new ideas of Jewish Peoplehood; in both cases a commitment to Jewish continuity is paramount. We present here Rubik Rosenthal's interview with him.

Two articles in the latest edition of 'Contact,' a magazine published by The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life, that was devoted to Jewish Peoplehood touched upon the issue of Ashkenazi and Sepharadi Jewish identity, each from a different side of the divide. The first by Rokhel Kaffrisen bemoans the neglect of Yiddish by "much of the Jewish world." She points to the role Yiddish played in the past as a filter that enabled Jews to absorb gentile culture without assimilating. She calls for a revival of Yiddish but does not discuss how such a revival would affect Sepharadi and Ashkenazi relations. The second article is by Ruth Ouzana who was raised in France by parents of North African origin and is active in promoting Jewish Peoplehood. She recalls how on a Jewish solidarity trip to Lithuania with other French Sepharadi Jews a local Jewish woman made offensive remarks regarding their Sepharadi origin. She was not deterred by these remarks and is today active in various Jewish organizations that cater to Jews of all origins, including KolDor. She views the strength of "Jewish Peoplehood" as a result of its inclusive attitude towards all Jews.