In this new history, French author Georges Bensoussan retells the story of what life was like for Jews in the Arab world since 1850. During the early years of this time, it was widely believed that Jewish life in Arab lands was peaceful. Jews were protected by law and suffered much less violence, persecution, and inequality. Bensoussan takes on this myth and looks back over the history of Jewish-Arab relations in Arab countries. He finds that there is little truth to the myth and forwards a nuanced history of interrelationship that is not only diverse, but deals with local differences in cultural, religious, and political practice. Bensoussan divides the work into sections that cover 1850 to the end of WWI, from 1919 to the eve of WWII and then from WWII to the establishment of Israel and the Arab Wars. A new afterword brings the history of Jewish and Arab relations into the present day. Bensoussan has determined that the history of Jews in Arab countries is a history of slowly disintegrating relationships, increasing tension, violence, and persecution.

Georges Bensoussan is a historian and for many years served as the Editorial Director of the Shoah Memorial in Paris, France. He is author of a number of notable works on modern Jewish history, includingUne histoire intellectuelle et politique du sionisme. 1860-1940[An intellectual and political history of Zionism, 1860-1940] andLes Juifs du monde arabe. La question interdite [The Jews of the Arab world: the forbidden question].

Andrew Halper is a London based translator and magistrate. Educated in Canada and France, he worked for many years as a lawyer, and served in the Canadian diplomatic corps.

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part One: The Gradual Erosion of Tradition, 1850 1914

1. "Barbaric Lands"

2. Colonized

3. From the Enlightenment to theAlliance

4. Jewish "Subjects"

Part Two: The Disintegration of a World, 1914 1975

Section One: The Echo of the Great War, 1914 1939

5. "A New Jewish Man"?

6. Between Europeans and Arabs: Finding a Space?

7. The 1930s: Years of Tension

8. A Turn for the Worse

Section Two: Shock and Collapse, 1939 1975

9. In the Wake of War, 1939 1945

10. The Turning Point, 1945 1949

11. Captive Communities: From 1948 to the 1960s

12. Flight

13. The Final Act

Appendix: Maps

Bibliography