The creation of the State of Israel and its Impact on the self-image of the Sephardim, as reflected in Judeo-Spanish parodic war Haggadahs (chapter 11)

Abstract

Both sub-genres of the parodies of the Ladino translation of the Passover Haggadah, the Polemic and the War Haggadahs, make a neglected genre of the Sephardic humoristic literature. The main aim of the present article is to check the impact of the creation of the State of Israel on the self-image of the Sephardic Jews, as it is reflected in the lesser subgenre: in the War Haggadahs. Out of twelve known War Haggadahs, eleven were written before the creation of the State of Israel and only one in its immediate aftermath, in 1949. Interestingly, in that last known Judeo-Spanish War Haggadah, there are no more traces of the self-humor, so typical of the previous War Haggadoth. The ethos of the group seems to have changed, and with - it’s self-image.