ISBN-13: 9781527559813
For Jews across the Middle East and North Africa, the 1948 establishment of the State of Israel was a transformational period-in both the build-up to it and its aftermath. Using this momentous event as its focal point, this book takes the reader on a journey to remote destinations in the 20th century Jewish experience, examining aspects of Jewish history that have hardly ever been discussed in one place and in such an intriguing combination. Jews have played an integral role in the Arab world, Turkey, Iran, and North Africa for millennia. Their lives were intertwined with those of the majority non-Jewish communities among whom they dwelt: their mass expulsion and emigration after World War II ended the existence of a vital part of nearly all the societies in the region.