Life in Tripoli until 1967

Name of speaker: 
David (Didi) Bechor Tayer
Gender of speaker: 
Male
Occupation of speaker: 
Butcher, butcher shop owner
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
67
Year of immigration: 
1967
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Documentation: 
ʿAliza Brosh (ʾArviv) and Meʾir Brosh
Year of recording: 
2019

Translation: 

I left Tripoli at 15 years old. I was a boy, but I understood everything that has happened.

My father owned a butcher shop, he was a butcher. My mother was a housewife that took care of all our needs.

We had a Muslim house worker who helped my mother with everything that was needed, like laundry, cleaning etc. We lived a good life.

I went to “Scuola Italia”, which was an Italian school, where both Christians and Muslims studied.

We had a better quality of living than the rest of the locals. We were respected. Thanks to our social status, I was invited twice to the King’s Palace for a party dedicated to his son.

I tell you this to demonstrate how good our life was until 1967.

In 1967, after the victory of Israel in the Six-Day War, the Muslims attacked the Jews, burnt houses and killed people.