ie Jews of non-European origin. Make up about half the Israeli population, used to be more until the last Eastern European influx. According to Thinking Allowed, Israeli society is divided between the professional, political class of Ashkenazi Jews and the working class, often right wing (!) Mizrahi Jews – state sponsorship of the arts, for example, is usually predominantly directed towards European cultural forms. But this is not something well recognized within Israel itself.

This divide, whereby Middle Eastern culture is under-represented and under-valued even when expressed by Jews themselves, is likely to impact on the potential for peace in the Middle East more broadly.