The Jews of the Middle East and North Africa in Modern Times

by Reeva Spector Simon (Editor), Michael Menachem Laskier (Editor), Sara Reguer (Editor)

Overview

Despite considerable research on the Jewish diaspora in the Middle East and North Africa since 1800, there has until now been no comprehensive synthesis that illuminates both the differences and commonalities in Jewish experience across a range of countries and cultures. This lacuna in both Jewish and Middle Eastern studies is due partly to the fact that in general histories of the region, Jews have been omitted from the standard narrative. As part of the religious and ethnic mosaic that was traditional Islamic society, Jews were but one among numerous minorities and so have lacked a systematic treatment.

Addressing this important oversight, this volume documents the variety and diversity of Jewish life in the region over the last two hundred years. It explains the changes that affected the communities under Islamic rule during its "golden age" and describes the processes of modernization that enabled the Jews to play a pivotal role in their respective countries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The first half of the book is thematic, covering topics ranging from languages to economic life and from religion and music to the world of women. The second half is a country-by-country survey that covers Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, the Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231507592
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	04/30/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
File size:	26 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Reeva Spector Simon is associate director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University and author of Iraq Between the Two World Wars. Michael Menachem Laskier teaches at the newly created Department of Middle East History at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and is the author of eight books, including Israel and the Arab World: Israeli-Maghrebi Common Interests,Encounters, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict (forthcoming). Sara Reguer is chair of Judaic studies at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.

Table of Contents

Part I: Thematic Section
Middle Eastern and Sephardic Jewry: The Historical Background 700–1700, by Jane Gerber
Europe in the Middle East, by Reeva S. Simon
Economic Life, by Michael M. Laskier and Reeva S. Simon
Community Leadership and Structure, by Michael M. Laskier, Sara Reguer and Haim Saadoun
Religion: Rabbinic Tradition and the Response to Modernity, by Zvi Zohar
Intellectual Life, by Ammiel Alcalay
Languages
Judezmo and Hakitia (Judeo-Spanish), by David M. Bunis
Judeo-Arabic, by Joseph Chetrit
Languages of Iran and Afghanistan, by Haideh Sahim
Education, by Rachel Simon
Zionism, by Rachel Simon
Beliefs and Customs, by Issachar Ben-Ami
Aspects of Material Culture, by Esther Juhasz
Music, by Mark Kligman
The World of Women, by Sara Reguer
Part II: Country by Country Survey
Ottoman Turkey, by Jacob M. Landau
Ottoman Balkans, by Aron Rodrigue
The Turkish Republic, by George E. Gruen
Syria and Lebanon, by Michael M. Laskier
Eretz Yisrael / Palestine 1800–1948, by Ruth Kark and Joseph B. Glass
Iraq, by Reeva S. Simon
Iran and Afghanistan, by Haideh Sahim
Yemen, by Bat-Zion Eraqi-Klorman
Egypt and the Sudan, by Jean-Marc Ran Oppenheim
Libya, by Harvey E. Goldberg
Tunisia, by Haim Saadoun
Algeria, by David Cohen
Morocco, by Michael M. Laskier and Eliezer Bashan

What People are Saying About This

Norman A. Stillman

This is a very well-conceived and valuable reference volume for the social and cultural history of Sephardi/Mizrahi Jewry over the past two centuries. The rich and detailed variety of regional and topical presentations will make it a welcome addition to the growing body of literature on this important, but hitherto neglected area of the Jewishexperience.

— Norman A. Stillman, Schusterman/Josey Professor, University of Oklahoma

Daniel Schroeter

This volume fills an important gap in our knowledge of Jewish diasporas with its comprehensive picture of the historical experience of Jews in the Muslim world and their encounter with modernity. This book will likely become indispensable for students and suggestive of new research agendas for years to come.

— Daniel Schroeter, University of California, Irvine

William M. Brinner

This is a very essential and long-awaited work about an important ancient part of the Jewish world little-known by many. A superbly organized book.

Editorial Reviews

Well researched and clearly written, the book is a major contribution to the field, and appropriate for academic, public and center libraries as well as for individuals.

Jewish Book World

Perhaps no single volume encompasses the history of Jews in the Muslim world with quite the comprehensive sweep and topical richness as The Jews of the Middle East and North Africa in Modern Times.

The Jewish Press - Michael Skakun

This timely volume addresses an important topic that has recently risen to the fore amidst general ignorance: the lives of the Jews of Muslim lands during the last 200 years... This is a book that should be a part of everyone's personal library.

Sephardim Today

This is a very essential and long-awaited work about an important ancient part of the Jewish world little-known by many. A superbly organized book.

William M. Brinner

Perhaps no single volume encompasses the history of Jews in the Muslim world with quite the comprehensive sweep and topical richness as The Jews of the Middle East and North Africa in Modern Times.

— Michael Skakun

The Jewish Press