Jews and Muslims: Images of Sephardi and Eastern Jewries in Modern Times

by Aron Rodrigue

Overview

Following the rise of Islam, many Jewish communities lived in predominantly Muslim lands. Muslim-Jewish co-existence was not seriously challenged until the modern period when European colonialism and the emergence of Zionism and Arab nationalism led to growing friction and conflict, resulting in the mass departures of Jews from these lands in the middle of the twentieth century.

Jews and Muslims throws light on the history of these communities and on the developments that led to the snapping of ties between Jews and Muslims by focusing on the century before the end of Jewish life in these areas. It interweaves analysis with translations of primary documents drawn from the archives of a French-Jewish organization, the Alliance Israelite Universelle, that had an extensive Jewish school network around the Mediterranean basin and whose teachers reported extensively on local events and trends over the decades. It illuminates the political, socio-economic, and cultural changes that eroded the place of Jews in Middle Eastern societies and offers a unique perspective, from within, on the historical background of some of the most vexing problems of the modern Middle East.

National Jewish Book Awards Honor Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780295997803
Publisher:	University of Washington Press
Publication date:	07/27/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	16 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Aron Rodrigue is Eva Lokey Chernov Professor in Jewish Studies and professor of history at Stanford University. His latest book is Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries (with Esther Benbassa).National Jewish Book Awards Honor Book

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

A Note on the Documents

Map

Introduction

An Overview of the Alliance's Activities

PART ONE THE SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS OF THE ALLIANCE ISRAELITE UNIVERSELLE

Instruction in the Alliance Schools

The Alliance Teaching Corps

PART TWO THE DISCOURSE OF THE ALLIANCE TEACHERS AND THE "CIVILIZING" OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN THE LANDS OF ISLAM

The Moralizing Agenda

The Emancipation and Reformation of Women

The Transformation of the Social Structure of the Jewish Community

The Critique of Traditional Judaism

The War of Languages

A Portrait of the Communities

The Impact of the West and the Alliance Schools

PART THREE THE ALLIANCE TEACHER AS POLITICAL ACTIVIST AND POLITICAL OBSERVER

The Task of Protection

The Teacher as Patriot and Advocate of the Jews

The Age of Nationalism

Conclusion

Glossary

Bibliography

Index of Personal Names

Index of Place Names

Editorial Reviews

"Rodrigue provides insight into the life of Jewish communities in Iraq, Iran, Morocco, Tunisia, Syria, Palestine, Algeria, Turkey, Egypt, and Greece. The letters touch upon the internal structure of these Jewish communities, their relations with their Muslim neighbors as well as the local government, their attitude towards European colonial influence, the impact of Zionism on them, and the increasing clash between Zionist and Alliance discourses. . . . Should be read by anyone with a keen interest in the history of the Middle East, Jews in the Middle East, and Orientalism."

MESA Bulletin

A delightful book, full of erudition and charm.... It captures the spirit of the time.... A marvelous work of tapestry.

Francois Furet

The unique contribution of Aron Rodrigue’s book is that it provides contemporary images of Jewish life in the Middle Eastern and North African countries during 1860–1939. These descriptions were made by Jews who stayed with these communities for long periods of time or at least were well acquainted with them. Throughout the book Rodrigue places the changing conditions of these communities within the global framework that was instrumental in shaping this transition.

Contemporary Jewry

Rodrigue’s book gives us a picture of the complex worlds of Sephardic Jewry.... [It] is unsurpassed in breadth, vividness, candor, and historical insight.

History of European Ideas - Michael Berkowitz

A delightful book, full of erudition and charm.... It captures the spirit of the time.... A marvelous work of tapestry.

Le Nouvel Observateur - François Furet

A rich and varied collection of texts with enlightening commentary.

International Journal of Middle East Studies

"A delightful book, full of erudition and charm. . . . It captures the spirit of the time. . . . A marvelous work of tapestry."

Le Nouvel Observateur - François Furet

A delightful book, full of erudition and charm. . . . It captures the spirit of the time. . . . A marvelous work of tapestry.

--François Furet "Le Nouvel Observateur"

A rich and varied collection of texts with enlightening commentary.

-- "International Journal of Middle East Studies"

Rodrigue provides insight into the life of Jewish communities in Iraq, Iran, Morocco, Tunisia, Syria, Palestine, Algeria, Turkey, Egypt, and Greece. The letters touch upon the internal structure of these Jewish communities, their relations with their Muslim neighbors as well as the local government, their attitude towards European colonial influence, the impact of Zionism on them, and the increasing clash between Zionist and Alliance discourses. . . . Should be read by anyone with a keen interest in the history of the Middle East, Jews in the Middle East, and Orientalism.

-- "MESA Bulletin"

Rodrigue's book gives us a picture of the complex worlds of Sephardic Jewry. . . . [It] is unsurpassed in breadth, vividness, candor, and historical insight.

--Michael Berkowitz "History of European Ideas"

The unique contribution of Aron Rodrigue's book is that it provides contemporary images of Jewish life in the Middle Eastern and North African countries during 1860-1939. These descriptions were made by Jews who stayed with these communities for long periods of time or at least were well acquainted with them. Throughout the book Rodrigue places the changing conditions of these communities within the global framework that was instrumental in shaping this transition.

-- "Contemporary Jewry"

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