Background
Before 1948 an estimated 900,000 Jews lived in what we now know as the Arab states. Since then, the vast majority have left, forcibly in many cases, bringing the total down to fewer than 8,000. The conflict with Israel has undoubtedly been a major factor in this.
The history of Jewish communities in the Arab world is not widely known and tends to be denied or played down by Arabs, often for political reasons.
The aim of this page is to cast a little more light on the subject through links to relevant websites (but please note that we are not responsible for their content). Recognising that this is a sensitive topic, we have tried to include a balanced range of sources. Readers are invited to contact us with suggestions for additional links or other improvements.
Although Jewish-Arab and Jewish-Muslim relations are often viewed in terms of conflict, the historical reality is a lot more complex, as some of the links on this page show. Some writers argue that conflict is by no means inevitable and that, in broad historical terms, Jews have been less ill-treated in the Arab world than elsewhere.
Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (Jimena)
An organisation concerned with "the forgotten Middle East refugees".
Statement on Jewish Refugees from Arab States
Submitted by the World Union for Progressive Judaism to the UN's Commission on Human Rights, 29 July, 2002
The treatment of Jews in Arab/Islamic countries
Mitchell G Bard, Myths & Facts Online
The other refugees: Jews of the Arab world
George E Gruen, Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, 1988
Reflections of an Arab Jew
Ella Shohat, Professor of Cultural Studies and Women's Studies at City University of New York
The "Arab Problem": Jews of the East in the West
David Shasha reviews Sunlight and Shadow by Lucien Gubbay
Communities
World Jewish Congress
Information about Jewish communities in: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria Tunisia, Yemen
Jewish communities of Algeria (Am Yisrael)
Jewish communities of Tunisia (Am Yisrael)
The Last Jews of Libya
Historical website
Jews of Bahrain
Washington Times, 21 March 2000
The Jews of Morocco
by Jay Sand
The Jews of Tunisia
by Jay Sand
Jewish Cemetery Project
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen
The Sephardic World on the Internet
A large collection of links
Sephardic House
Institute for researching and promoting Sephardic history and culture
Sephardic Jewry
A collection of useful links (B'Nei Shaare Zion)
Sephardim.com
A research tool for Sephardic genealogy
Sefard Forum
Discussion Group for Sephardic Genealogy Research
History
Jewish Virtual Library
Historical perspective on Jewish communities in: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen
Ingathering of the Exiles
Immigration to Israel by Jews from the Arab world in the 1940s and 1950s. Source: Library of Congress Country Studies
The contribution of Yemenite Jewish writings to Yemenite history
Yosef Tobi, Yemen Update 1993
Historical Society of the Jews of Egypt
Babylonian Jewry Heritage Centre
The last Jews of Libya
Vivienne Roumani-Denn
Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center
2,700 years of history
Iraqi Jews
Site sponsored by the Iraqi American Jewish Community in New York "to perpetuate the history, heritage, culture and traditions of the Babylonian Jewry".
Iraqi Jews
A website about those who left Baghdad in the 1960s and 1970s
The Iraqi Jew
Persecution in 20th century Iraq
Foundation for Moroccan Jewish Heritage
Culture
Judeo-Arabic
A form of language developed by Jews living among Arabs.
Ivri-NASAWI
International organisation promoting Sephardi/Mizrahi music, literature, art and history, while encouraging cross-cultural cooperation between all peoples of Middle Eastern descent. See sections on art, dance and poetry
Popular Arabic literature of the Jews
Introduction, plus sample texts compiled and translated from Arabic by Alan Corre, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Language of the Heart
Encounters between Jewish and Muslim musicians in Morocco and Spain. By Amnon Shiloah (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel)
Ladino melodies
A selection of songs
Moroccan Jewish cookery
With some recipes
Moroccan Jews
The Sherwin Miller museum of Jewish art
Yemeni Jews
The Sherwin Miller museum of Jewish art
Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
Including biographies and bibliographies of Sephardic/Mizrahi authors
Travel
Visiting Jewish Morocco
Travel website compiled by Rick Gold, highlighting places of interest to Jewish visitors
Heritage tours
New York based company offering travel in Morocco
Conflict and peace
Islam and the Jews: The Pact of Umar
Document from the 9th century CE setting a basis for relations between Muslims and non-Muslims. (Jewish History Sourcebook)
Dhimma
Rights and restrictions on Jews and Christians in Muslim countries. A critical view by yahoodi.com
The Golden Age of Arab-Jewish Coexistence
Did it really exist? (Peace Encyclopedia - yahoodi.com)
Ibn Rushd Foundation
Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East
Alternate Information Center
A Palestinian-Israeli information bridge for peace and solidarity
Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information
Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group
Middle East Virtual Community
Academics for communication and cooperation
Israel occupied the West Bank during the 1967 war and many new Jewish settlements have been established there since. However, it is often forgotten that some Jewish communities, with ancient roots, existed among the mainly Arab population of the West Bank before the war.
History of the Jews in Hebron
by Rabbi Joseph Schwarz
Hebron
History and places of interest (travelnet.co.il)
The hostility of Hebron
An account of Palestinian-Jewish conflicts in the city. BBC, 3 December 2001
Hebron
A guide (Virtual Israel Experience)
Jerusalem
Places of Jewish interest in the old city (Virtual Israel Experience)
Publications
The Scribe
Journal of Babylonian Jewry
Halapid
Newsletter of the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies
