Thursday 22 May 2008

How the Arab world lost its Jews, a book by Nathan Weinstock

Reading Nathan Weinstock's remarkable book on Jews in Arab countries Une si longue présence, comment le monde arabe a perdu ses Juifs, 1947-1967 (Such a long presence: how the Arab world lost its Jews, 1947-1967) is to embark on a journey through centuries of unspeakable cruelty, insecurity and indignities Jews had to endure in Arab lands.
The book cover photo was taken in 1912 and depicts the menagerie of the Sultan of Morocco, where around 2 000 Jews found refuge after a pogrom in the city of Fez left between 60 and 100 men, women and children dead.

The Sultan "protected" his Jewish subjects by putting them in his menagerie, next to the lions cage. Such undignified protection was meant to underline their dhimmi status and his power over them.

In 1948, 900 000 Jews lived in the Arab world. Today there are barely 4 500 left.
Read the transcript in English of an interview the author gave to Information juive in Point of no return.

Related to the subject:

Jihad and Jew-Hatred, Islamism, Nazism and the Roots of 9/11, by Matthias Küntzel, Telos Press Publishing (2007) - won the 2007 London Book Festival grand prize

The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History, by Andrew Bostom, Prometheus Books (2008)

Elimination of the Jewish National Home in Palestine: The Einsatzkommando of the Panzer Army Africa, 1942, by Klaus-Michael Mallmann and Martin Cüppers, Yad Vashem

Middle East Anti-Semitism, in A Liberal Defence of Israel blog

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Appalling, despicable behaviour...