Questions to consider when reading Mark Cohen, “The Origins of Sephardic Jewry in the Medieval Arab World.” Take notes on these questions, bring them to class on September 3, and post the answers to your blog as well.
Who are the Sephardim and where do they come from?
-Jews of Spain or Spanish descent
-Jews of Christiandomà the descend from the Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492
-Recently used to describe Israeli Jews who emigrated from Muslim-Arab Lands
-Medieval Spanish Jews believed Sephardad meant Spain
-Place in the Ancient Jewish Diaspora
In this article, Cohen is making a rather subtle argument about the relative situation of Jews under Muslim and Christian rule in the Middle Ages, and is arguing against two views that he considers incorrect. On the one hand, he is arguing against the “lachrymose conception” of Jewish history found among 19th century Jewish historians, who saw Jewish history as merely a trail of tears. On the other hand, he is arguing against a romanticized vision of Jewish history in Muslim Spain fostered by those same historians. How does Cohen argue that Jewish history under Muslim rule should be seen in a more balanced, realistic light?
-“Myth of the interfaith utopia” overlooks periodic hardship and persecution
-He explains that life for the Jews under Muslim rule was not utopia but it was more tolerant that life under Christian rule
According to Cohen, why was Jewish life under Muslim rule generally easier than under Christian rule?
-more security
-less tension
-open adoption of Arab culture
-Muslims spent virtually no time trying to convert the Jews
-less confrontational
-no propheticide
-cultural and political integration of Jews
-Muslims viewed non-Muslims as “protected people”
What was the legal status of Jews living under Muslim rule?
-not unique
-all not-Muslims (dhimmis) paid an annual tax in exchange for protection by the state of Islam
What were the differences in the economic roles of Jews in Muslim and Christian lands in the Middle Ages?
MUSLIM:
-No occupational discrimination
-Jews participated in society
-Jews active in commerce
-Jews worked skilled and unskilled occupations
CHRISTIAN:
-Jews=economic outsiders
-given jobs like merchant/moneyholder
What led to the downfall of Jews in Christian Spain?
-anti-Jewish pogroms
-anti-Jewish legislation
Where did the Spanish Jews go after the expulsion? Why did the Ottomans welcome them in?
- Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Muslim Ottoman Empire (Turkey, Anatolia, the Balkans)
-Ottomans welcomed the Jews in because they shared an enemy (the Habsburg Empireàincluded Catholic Spain)
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