Return of the Jew?!

Thank you to Evelyn Dean-Olmsted of the sephardi-mizrahi caucus listserve for posting this fascinating NPR article about a Lbyan Jew who retunred to Tripoli after 40 years.

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/03/141014576/hostile-crowd-forces-libyan-jew-out-of-synagogue

On most days I still harbor optimism that the Arab Spring will bring about real democratic change and even usher in a old/new middle-east energized by the cosmopolitanism, commercial alacrity, openness and tolerance of the Islamic Golden age. A modern "Mediterranean Society" with the ports and cities of the Maghreb and the Levant connected and engaged with the wider world. A precondition for such a world is the basic tolerance for difference that Islam was able to cultivate for centuries. In the 21st century, I believe that that tolerance must extend to the Jew. Not only because I am Jewish, but because the Jew and Judaism are intimately linked to Arabic history and culture- from Baghdad to Yemen, From Cairo to Marrakesh, and Cordoba. If Libya and Egypt will be free then their Jews and Christians must be respected and welcomed aswell.
That said, a story like this does not inspire optimism. Dr. Gerbi, now an Italian was born in Libya and he returned to his native city. His inability to return to his community's place of worship is troubling, but not surprising. It points to the long road ahead before any true Arabic renaissance can begin in this part of the world.
ImishAlla the Libyans, Egyptians and Syrians are on the road which will eventually lead to restoring the dynamism and radiance of their cultural legacy.