The Jews of Libya: Coexistence, Persecution, ResettlementThis book now in paperback investigates the transformative period in the history of the Jews of Libya (1938-52), a period crucial to understanding Libyan Jewry's evolution into a community, playing significant roles in Israel, Italy, and in relation with Qaddhafi's Libya. Against the background of a reform-conscious Ottoman administration (1835-1911) and subsequent stirrings of modernization under Italian colonial influence (1911-43), the Jews of Libya began to experience rapid change following the application of fascist racial laws of 1938, the onset of war-related calamities, and violent expressions of Libyan pan-Arabism, culminating in mass migration to Israel in the period of 1949-1952. By focusing on key socio-economic and political dimensions of this process, the author reveals the capacity of Libyan Jewry to adapt to and integrate into new environments without losing its unique and historical traditions. |
