The Jews in Islamic Countries in the Modern Era

Unit Director: Prof. Yaron Tsur
Email: ytsur@post.tau.ac.il
Tel: 03-6475951
This unit organizes various research projects which focus on re-examining the heritage, history and culture of Jews in Islamic countries. The unit operates in cooperation with the research team for “The Jews of Islamic Countries Archiving Project” and the website “Historical Jewish Press”.
http://mayaeh.tau.ac.il/?lang=en_US
http://web.nli.org.il/sites/JPress/English/Pages/default.aspx
Research on the History and Heritage of Tunisian Jews
During the 2015-2016 academic year, work has continued on the following assignments:
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Scanning of documents from the collection of the French Diplomatic Archive of Nantes (Archives Diplomatiques de Nantes). The scanning and cataloguing of documents from after 1881 is in progress.
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Collecting historical and cultural material from the Responsa of Tunisian Jewry.
The Jews of Islamic Countries Archiving Project
The Jews of Islamic Countries Archiving Project continues to prepare “A Survey of Jewish Press in Islamic Countries”. This survey is meant to include all Islamic countries and the various languages spoken therein, as well as all the Jewish newspapers that were published there in all the various languages. An initial estimate has indicated that there are over 500 such newspapers and journals, and this survey will enable, for the first time, a comprehensive look at the developing intellectual elite among the Jews of Islamic countries over a range of historical periods. The initial results of this survey have already served as the subject of a lecture delivered by the unit’s director at an academic conference held at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.