When We Were Arabs: A Jewish Family’s Forgotten History by Massoud Hayoun

Review by Andreanna Mond

The Short: Massoud Hayoun recounts the lives of his grandparents in this semi-biographical work, that delves deep into the history of the Zionist movement, who it excludes, and who it endangers.  

The Long: This book will challenge the narrative of what it meant to be Jewish in an Arab country in the 20th century. It also provides a look at the Zionist movement impact on non-European Jews with personal anecdotes from the lives of Hayoun’s grandparents mixed into this historical narrative. It speaks of colonization from an intensely personal perspective that details the loss of identity that repeatedly occurred for the Arab and African people’s living along the Northern stretch of the continent. Interspersed with the snatching away of identity is the loss of home that occurred in the upheaval during WW2 and after with the founding of the Israeli state. In the case of the Hayouns, their journey to find a home took them from the streets of Northern Africa to the hills of California and many places in-between. Throughout this book, we’re offered a glimpse into that Arab region before it became synonymous with Islam.

To read or not to read: Read! The story takes you through multiple facets of history through the lens of how this family came to be, allowing for grounding to occur and the impact of how world leaders’ decisions at that time influence the narratives of today.