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January 22, 2010
Finding out more about family
Malta trip includes sightseeing, but also two dominant themes: war and remembrance.
KAREN GINSBERG
When my husband and I went to the island of Malta last fall, it was for several reasons. First, my husband’s eldest brother, a young Spitfire pilot, was shot down over Malta in 1942 and we wanted to learn more about the country and people he experienced just prior to his death. We also knew that many of today’s Maltese were likely descendents of Conversos, Sephardi Jews who had escaped the Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions by converting to Catholicism, and we were interested in finding out more about them. Finally, it had not escaped our notice that Malta was increasingly becoming a tourist destination, located on the cusp of Europe and Africa, rich in history and in cosmopolitan resorts. It was all too inviting to pass up.
Our first objective was easily satisfied. A trip to Malta’s War Monument and Aviation Museum provided a wealth of information. The museum is small and run by volunteers who strive to ensure that Malta’s story and the sacrifices of those who fought for them not be forgotten. From the moment my husband explained our interest, we were treated like gold.
One volunteer showed us all the airfields that existed during the war so that we could see from where my husband’s brother, Charles Ramsay, flew his missions at age 22. Another volunteer asked for Charlie’s name and squadron number and pulled out a book that we had never seen before in which there was actually a picture of Charlie. We watched a video that explained Malta’s strategic wartime importance and the hardships suffered by the Maltese and their allies in 1942, a period referred to as “the siege of Malta.” We learned that King George VI awarded a medal to the entire country in recognition of its bearing during the war. And we learned that, immediately following the war, there was a population explosion. These Maltese, now in their mid-60s, refer to themselves as “celebration babies.” The most significant thing we learned, however, is that the Maltese remember very well who stood with them in the war. Everywhere we went, we were accorded what can only be described as kuvet, or respect, for Charlie’s sacrifice. The experience felt personal and positive.
Our second objective was not so easily satisfied. Our connection to the Jewish community in Malta came through sheer perseverance. It took the services of our concierge, plus a guide we used for an unrelated outing and, finally, a Maltese Jewish employee of the Hilton Hotel to put us in touch with the community’s informal spokesperson, Shelley Tayar. I contacted Shelley, a dynamic, funny, kind and lovely woman of some 75-plus years, who walks with two canes after an accident several years ago. Her personal roots are first in Israel and later in the United States, where she attended Vanderbilt University and worked as a journalist. A second marriage brought her to Malta. Widowed now 10 years, she remains out of love for the community and because of her belief that “there must be a permanent Jewish presence in every county so that the world will come to know us as we are – Judaism must be transparent.” She believes that “it is not enough to remember the Holocaust but that Jews must also show the beauty of their love of G-d.”
When she met with my husband and me, Shelley brought with her a book she had written in honor of her husband, called An Account of Malta’s Jewish Community Since 1800 (Best Print Co., 2009). The entire history is too rich to share in one article, but the following are some highlights.
The first Jews are believed to have come with the Phoenicians. Undoubtedly, they were on Malta during the Roman occupation; the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 brought many more to Malta, where they became Conversos. There is also evidence that, in the late 15th century, Jews compromised one-third of the residents of the Maltese city of Mdina. Under the protection of King George III of England, Jews from Gibraltar moved to Malta, where they engaged in commerce.
Shelley’s book shows that, by the mid-1800s, there were rabbis serving the community and that the question of mixed marriage was central to the community’s concerns. During the Second World War, Maltese Jews kept an open house for Jewish servicemen from Allied countries. While most Jews in Malta have Sephardi roots, there is evidence of at least one prominent family with Ashkenazi roots coming to the country at the beginning of the Second World War. Unfortunately, the first synagogues have been destroyed and the community, at various times, has worshipped in the Israeli embassy or the homes of members. Today, the community owns an apartment in a suburb close to Valletta, the capital city, where religious services are conducted.
Malta’s population is just over 411,000 and there are about 100 who self-identify as Jews. There are two Jewish cemeteries on the island: the Ta’Braxia and the Marsa, both of which have had their graves catalogued. There is a rabbi and other lay leadership to support the community that remains. Relations with the non-Jewish community are positive. Shelley hosts a Passover dinner for the entire community and invites religious leaders from other communities to share in the event, as well as local dignitaries. She shared both pictures and stories of Catholic, Muslim and Anglican events where she has represented the Jewish community.
Intermarriage continues to be a challenge to the Jewish community, as is the ability to educate the youth in Hebrew and Yiddishkeit. A shochet (kosher butcher) comes to the community once a year. Conversions to Judaism are supported by Israel and sometimes the Jewish community in Turkey. The Maltese Jewish community is also supported in a variety of ways by the Jewish Federation of Europe, which works on behalf of small Jewish communities within the European Union.
While the opportunity to tour the main island and its sister island Gozo were fun and worth the trip, these two aspects – discovering more about our family and our “extended family” and remembering the sacrifices that have been made for us (and the precariousness of life itself) – were what gave the journey real meaning and touched our hearts.
Karen Ginsberg is a freelance writer living in Ottawa.
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