Mordechai Zaken

Mordechai Zaken also Moti Zaken (Hebrew: מוטי/מרדכי זקן‎; Arabic: مردخاي زاكين‎) (born 1958 in Jerusalem) is the 2019 laureate of "the Prime Minister Prize for the research of the Jews of the Orient."[1] [2] He is an expert on the Kurds and Middle Eastern minorities both as academic – he is historian of the Jews, the Kurds in Kurdistan[3] and as professional - serving as the advisor on Israeli Arabs and minorities to the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (1997–1999), and to the Ministry of Public Security from 2001.

Dr. Mordechai (Moti) Zaken

Education, expertise, prizes

On 6 March 2019, he was announced as the laureate of "the Prime Minister Prize for the Empowerment of the research of the Jews of the Orient and Iran."[4][5][6] [5][7][8] Previously he earned hisBA, MA, cum laude, and PhD (2003), in Islamic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He studied as well in the US in both SUNY Binghamton and New York University (1987-1990). Among his influential teachers were Moshe Sharon,[6] Benjamin Z. Kedar and the late semitic linguist Gideon Goldenberg, with whom he published the Book of Ruth in Neo-Aramaic.[7] He published another Neo-Aramaic text in a book honoring Goldenberg's jubilee.[8]

New oral history documentation on the Jews of Kurdistan

The severe dearth of written sources on Kurdistan, drove him as a student to embark an oral history fieldwork research, conducting altogether hundreds of in-depth oral interviews with more than sixty elderly Jewish Kurdish informants, whose excellent memory was the product of oral culture. He thus saved their memories from being lost forever.[9] This study forms a new set of historical records. His book on the Jews and the tribal Kurdish society has received wide attention and commended even in its Arabic translation, published in Beirut, as an "innovation,"[10][11][12][13][14][15] and has been translated as well into Kurdish, in both Sorani and Kurmanji, Persian and French.[16][17][18]

Prime Minister's Advisor on Arabs & Minorities Affairs

Expertise in the Arab Minorities in Israel

As advisor to the Prime Minister on Arab affairs at the Prime Minister ministry (May 1997 – November 1999) he was engaged in the complex relations between the government and the communities of minorities. In 2016, within the Public Security Ministry, he formed a new governmental forum for dialogue with local Arab leaders[19][20][21][22][23][24]

Forming the Government-Christian Forum

As an advisor on minorities to both the Prime Minister and the ministry of Public Security[25][26][27][28][29] he has been standing up against hate crimes.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] In 2013 he initiated with Christian leaders the Government – Christians Forum that addresses the concerns of the Evangelical Christian community vis a vis the government.[45][46][47][48][49] Two prominent Christian leaders in this forum have been Rev. Charles (Chuck) Kopp, of the Baptist Church and Rev. David Pillegi, Rector of the Christ Church in Jaffa Gate.[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][50][51]

Founding the Israeli-Kurdistan Friendship league
A newsletter entitled "Yedidut" (Hebrew, Friendship) edited in 1993 in Jerusalem, as one of the first steps of the newly established "Israeli-Kurdistan Friendship League", to send the message across to the Kurdish people in Kurdistan and the diaspora.

In 1993, he founded the Israeli-Kurdistan Friendship League, possibly the first friendship association between Jews and any community in the Arab states, together with Moshe Zaken and Meir Baruch, Michael Niebur and Mathew B. Hand, the last two with whom he edited the newsletter Yedidut[52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61] In October 2012 he visited Kurdistan at the invitation of the World Kurdish Forum and in October 2013 participated and delivered a presentation for this forum that was held in Stockholm, Sweden.[62]

The dispute between Muslims and Christians in Nazareth

He was the coordinator of the third Ministerial Committee set to resolve the dispute between Muslims and Christians in Nazareth regarding a dispute near the Basilica of the Annunciation, a dispute that concerned leaders throughout the world, such as the US president George W. Bush and the Pope John Paul. The daily presence of Muslim activists in the plaza near the old mosque, known as "Shihab al-Din," became an obstacle for the plan to built an open plaza for the historical visit of the Pope John Paul II in the year 2000.[63][64][65][66] He constructed the final draft for the cabinet resolution,[67] which was used by the State Attorney in the Supreme Court to repel the appeal against the government, in the years 2001–2003.[68][69]

Director of the Institute of Students and Faculty on Israel, in New York

Moti Zaken served as the last National Director of ISFI, or "The Institute of Students and Faculty on Israel," in New York, an organization under the auspices of the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Consulate in New York City (1989–1991). ISFI provided political and cultural resources, ideas and tools, for Jewish and pro-Israel student activists throughout the US and Canada, through which Israeli oriented activities and the message of Israel could be promoted in US campuses.

Journalism, Media and Public Speaking

In 1982, as Chief-Editor of the students' newspaper at the Hebrew University Pi-Ha'aton (פי האתון) ("The donkey's mouth", taken from the Book of Numbers, 22:28), one of his main journalistic achievements was the unearthing of an old photograph from 1948, taken by Arabs and showing mutilated faces and bodies of Jewish soldiers that were part of an army unit that later became known as "Nabi Daniel Caravan" (שיירת נבי דניאל). He published the photograph and the story behind its discovery in a special Independence Day Edition, on 26 April 1982. He was also the Co-Chief editor of "Tipul Shoresh" (Heb.,root canal treatment) an annual newspaper of the public activists' program at the Hebrew University, the circulation of which was stopped by the directors and university administration, due to its critical approach towards the university policy regarding social issues.[70] As a scholar, Dr. Zaken has been a frequent guest in radio and TV programs, speaking mostly on the Kurds and the minorities in the Middle East, and has been interviewed by newspapers as an expert on these subjects.[71][72][73][74][75] He also speaks in public on these topics.[76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107]

Publications

Thesis
  • "Tribal Chieftains and their Jewish Subjects in Kurdistan: A Comparative Study in Survival," PhD dissertation, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2003.

Books (including translations)
  • Jews of Kurdistan & Their tribal Chieftains: A study in survival, by Mordechai (Moti) Zaken, 2nd and Revised EBook Edition, "(Jerusalem:2015).[108]
  • Jewish Subjects and their Tribal Chieftains in Kurdistan: A Study in Survival, in Jewish Identities in a Changing World, vol. 9 (Leiden and Boston): Brill, 2007. (Review of the book)
  • Arabic translation: Yahud Kurdistan wa-ru'as'uhum al-qabaliyun: Dirasa fi fan al-baqa'. Transl., Su'ad M. Khader; Published by the Academic Center for Research, Beirut, 2013; يهود كردستان ورؤساؤهم القبليون : (دراسة في فن البقاء) / تأليف مردخاي زاكن ؛ ترجمة عن الانكليزية سعاد محمد خضر; بيروت, 2013 : المركز الأكاديمي للأبحاث.[109]
  • Sorani translation: D. Mordixai Zakin, Gulekekany Kurdistan, Sulaimaniyya and Arbil: 2015.
  • Kurmanji translation of one part of the book: "Jews, Kurds and Arabs, between 1941 and 1952", by Dr. Amr Taher Ahmed Metîn n° 148, October 2006, p. 98-123.
  • French translation of one part of the book: "Juifs, Kurdes et Arabes, entre 1941 et 1952," Errance et Terre promise: Juifs, Kurdes, Assyro-Chaldéens, etudes kurdes, revue semestrielle de recherches, 2005: 7-43, translated by Sandrine Alexie.

Selected lectures or conference participation

Selected articles
  • The Jewish communities in Kurdistan within the tribal Kurdish society in M. Gunter, ed., Routledge Handbook on the Kurds, 2018: 181-201
  • The Lost from the Land of Ashur – the migrations from Kurdistan and the settlement in Eretz-Israel, in A. Mizrahi and A. Ben-David, eds., The Tribes – Evidence of Israel, Exile, Immigrations, Absorption, Contribution and Integration, 2001: 340-373, Hebrew.[113]
  • Inventors’ Fate" A Folk-Tale in the Neo-Aramaic of Zakho, in M. Bar-Asher (ed.), Massorot: Studies in Language Traditions and Jewish Languages, vols. 9, 10, 11 (1997): 383-395, Hebrew.[114]
  • The Book of Ruth in Neo-Aramaic, by Gideon Goldenberg and Mordechai Zaken, in W. Heinrichs (Ed.), Studies in Neo-Aramaic, Cambridge: Harvard Semitic Studies Series (1990): 151-157.

References
  1. Israel Hayom, 6 March 2019.
  2. Israel Hayom, 6 March 2019.
  3. His research is quoted and referred to by many scholars who deal with different subjects touched upon by Zaken. See for instance the following publications: Nader Entessar, Kurdish politics in the Middle East, Lexington Books, 2009:213; Michael Fischback, Jewish Property Claims Against Arab Countries, Columbia University Press, 2010: 215, 355; Oman Tax Guide, Lulu.com, 2015:79-80.
  4. Israel Hayom, 6 March 2019.
  5. Israel Hayom, 6 March 2019.
  6. "Professor Moshe Sharon".
  7. "The Book of Ruth in Neo-Aramaic," [By] G. Goldenberg and M. Zaken, in W. Heinrichs (Ed.), Studies in Neo-Aramaic, Cambridge: Harvard Semitic Studies Series(1990): 151-157.
  8. "Inventors’ Fate" A Folk-Tale in the Neo-Aramaic of Zakho," in M. Bar-Asher (ed.), Massorot: Studies in Language Traditions and Jewish Languages, vols. 9, 10, 11 (1997): 383-395 [Heb.]
  9. The Jews of Kurdistan & their Tribal Chieftains: A Study in Survival, by Mordechai (Moti) Zaken (Jerusalem, 2015), Rev. & 2nd EBook edition; Jewish Subjects and their Tribal Chieftains in Kurdistan: A Study in Survival, in Jewish Identities in a Changing World, vol. 9 (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2007; The book has recently published into Arabic by the Center for Academic Research in Beirut, 2013. Its importance may be viewed in the introductions of the editors of the book. The translator into Arabic Dr. Suad M. Khader explains: "This book is considered an important contribution to both the Kurdish and the Arabic library…the translation of this kind of book is considered an important necessity… the author introduced an important picture of this era of Kurdistan." Dr. Nasir al-Ka’bi, Director of the Center for Academic Research in Beirut wrote: "The major innovation of this study is the use of the verbal narrative (oral history) as it was clear that the other traditional and archival sources were not sufficient…" This study is distinct from other studies of the Jews of the Orient, as it concentrates on the nature of the relations of the Jews with their vicinities, namely the aghas and the masters; their relations with the authorities, the rulers and the leaders of the towns, which permits the political dimension, and their relations with the Muslims, including the religious dimension…"His book on the Jews and the tribal Kurdish society has received wide attention and commended even in its Arabic translation, published in Beirut, as an "innovation."
  10. the study is very detailed and provides much hitherto unknown information on Kurdish Jews and their relations with their Muslim neighbors... according to Rachel Simon of Princeton University, at the Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter, May/June 2008, Volume XXVII, No. 4 (PDF)
  11. Jewish subjects and their tribal chieftains in Kurdistan : a study in survival. OCLC 646789877.
  12. Zaken, Mordechai (January 2007). Amazon.com: Jewish Subjects and Their Tribal Chieftains in Kurdistan (Jewish Identities in a Changing World) (9789004161900): Mordechai Zaken: Books. ISBN 978-9004161900.
  13. The Ph.D. committee was composed by Prof. Moshe Sharon of the Hebrew University, Prof. Joyce Blau previously of INALCO, Paris, and Prof. Yona Sabar of UCLA
  14. Zaken, Mordechai. "Announcesment of the publication of "Jewish subjects and their tribal chieftains in Kurdistan" in Arabic, in Beirut, 2013 - Jews of Kurdistan".
  15. Yahud Kurdistan wa-ru'as'uhum al-qabaliyun: Dirasa fi fan al-baqa'. Transl., Su'ad M. Khader; Reviewers: Abd al-Fatah Ali Yihya and Farast Mir'i; Published by the Center for Academic Research, Beirut, 2013; يهود كردستان ورؤساؤهم القبليون : (دراسة في فن البقاء) / تأليف مردخاي زاكن ؛ ترجمة عن الانكليزية سعاد محمد خضر ؛ مراجعة عبد الفتاح علي يحيى، فرست مرعي. زاكن، مردخاي، ١٩٥٨م-;خضر، سعاد محمد; بيروت, 2013: المركز الأكاديمي للأبحاث;
  16. D. MORDIXZI ZAKIN, CULEKEKANY KURDISTAN, ERBIL, 2015; French into Kurmanji translation of an article by Moti Zaken, "Jews, Kurds and Arabs, between 1941 and 1952", by Dr. Amr Taher Ahmed Metîn n° 148, October 2006, p. 98-123.
  17. Juifs, Kurdes et Arabes, entre 1941 et 1952, Errance et Terre promise: Juifs, Kurdes, Assyro-Chaldéens, études kurdes, revue semestrielle de recherches, 2005: 7-43, translated by Sandrine Alexie.
  18. name="Israel Hayom, 6 March laureate2019"/>
  19. al-akhbar (Nazareth, Arabic newspaper) 11 March 2016, front page article.
  20. "Temple Mount Terror Attack Highlights Key Role of Israeli Druze Community". Algemeiner.com.
  21. name="auto">"Jerusalem terror and the split between minorities". The Jewish Star.
  22. name="algemeiner.com1">"After Bedouin Riots, Israeli Arabs Set Violent Precedent for Future Demolitions of Illegal Communities". Algemeiner.com.
  23. name="algemeiner.com">"Despite Having Full Rights, Some Israeli Arabs Work to Undermine the State". Algemeiner.com.
  24. https://www.dukium.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/JRep.pdf
  25. Raphael Israeli, Green Crescent Over Nazareth: The Displacement of Christians by Muslims in the Holy Land, London: Frank Cass & Co., 2014; first edition 2002: pp. 89, 100, 183,194.
  26. "Israeli Arabs Protest Demolition".
  27. "Israeli Arabs Protest Demolition of Homes". latimes.
  28. Michael R. Fischbach, Jewish property claims against Arab countries, Columbia University Press, 2013, p. 205
  29. "Report on the Government Activities in the Non-Jewish Sector in 1997". Mfa.gov.il. Retrieved 2014-06-20."sikkuy" report November 1997, following a summary of government activities amongst the non-Jewish sector: is Bibi good for Arabs?
  30. "Christians, Israeli Jews Fight Persecution Together | Christian Coalition of America". Cc.org. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  31. "Christians in Israel Must Be Treated with Respect". Voice of Israel. Archived from the original on 2015-07-14. Retrieved 2015-09-09.
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  33. "Government Official Visits Vandalized Church". Mezila.mops.gov.il. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  34. "Israeli Christians Condemn Acts Of Vandalism". Armeniandiaspora.com. 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
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  38. Sid Roth, a Christian Mesianic commentator, writes about Zaken the following, quoting from Psalms 16:3, "As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all My delight." Archived 2014-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
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  48. A statement by Rev. Chuck Kopp of the Baptist Church in Jerusalem, to remain committed to his "growing involvement with government officials on improving relations with Christians and Government Relations Forum spearheaded by Dr. Mordechai Zaken, Head of Minority Affairs at the Ministry of Public Security
  49. "Analysis: Arab-Israeli MKs of Joint List opting for conflict instead of cooperation". Observatorio Electoral.
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  51. "al-Akhbar", Arabic newspaper printed in Nazareth, writes extensively about the Forum, in its front page and page 5, on October 14, 2016
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  73. "Temple Mount terror attack highlights sharp dichotomy between Israeli minorities". JNS.org. 18 July 2017.
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