Jews as Producers and Consumers of History in the Medieval Islamicate World

The Jews of the medieval Islamicate world were avid consumers and producers of history. In this article, I discuss the major modes of historical writing among the Jews of the period and introduce the question of how that historical writing was used by those Jews. In considering the Sitz im Leben of historical writing, I explore the role of internal communal apologetic, anti-sectarian polemic, inter-religious attack, political support and challenge, entertainment, the contextualizing of philosophy, consolation after adversity, and preparation for eschatological redemption. I pay particular attention to the rewriting of Others’ histories – Christian, Islamic, and Jewish sectarian – and the role these often-popular rewritten histories played in medieval Jewish society. This panoply of historical writing challenges an important scholarly view that Jewish consumption of history was minimal and served a limited range of “religious” needs within the medieval Jewish community.

Jüdische Haarhändler – Die Geschichte eines in Vergessenheit geratenen Gewerbes

Studies in cultural, religious and social history reveal that hair has diverse socio-religious and symbolic value in Jewish society and tradition. The focus of previous studies has, however, lied on issues such as specific hairstyle or the halakhic justifications for religious wig-wearing The present paper sets out to illuminate a related yet uncharted topic: the social and economic history of the wig trade in which Jews played an important role. The focus is on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a period marked by great tensions within the Jewish community. It was these tensions that turned the question of wig-wearing and the dynamics of supply into an issue that reflected the general transformation that Jewish society was undergoing in this period. Hair fashion is, of course, not necessarily a matter of only halakhic interest, and indeed the history of the trade with human hair also reveals new aspects of the economic history of Jews.

“A Land for a People, Not a People for a Land”

Territorialist ideology emerged together with Zionist ideology. From the moment Leon Pinsker wrote in his Auto-Emancipation that “the goal of our present endeavors must be not the Holy Land, but a land of our own,” there were those in Jewish society who clung to the idea of “a land of our own” and wanted to set up some independent autonomous entity outside of the Land of Israel. This chapter traces territorial ideology from its ideational beginnings in the 1880s, through its conversion into an organized ideology and a political force in the Jewish world of the early twentieth century to its decline in the 1950s.

Gymnasium and Polis

The article sketches the development of the gymnasium from its origins in the archaic period to the later Hellenistic period when, in addition to its military function, the gymnasium was a multi-use complex numbering among a city’s largest buildings. Epigraphical and archaeological evidence provide insights into the gymnasium’s infrastructure, user groups, and contests which were peculiar to it. Its administrator, the gymnasiarch, was a prominent official, whose position provided opportunities for displays of competitive generosity. The gymnasium also received benefactions from the local elite, kings, and dynasts, who thereby burnished their reputations as supporters of Hellenic culture. Gymnasia were also equipped with instructors in athletic and military subjects, with lectures or courses in the liberal arts mostly provided by travelling teachers. The homogeneity of its programme throughout the Greek world made the gymnasium an effective vehicle for transmitting Hellenic culture to non-Greeks, although Jewish society was ambivalent about its benefits.

Factors associated with seasonal influenza and HPV vaccination uptake among different ethnic groups in Arab and Jewish society in Israel

Background Parents in the Arab population of Israel are known to be “pro-vaccination” and vaccinate their children at higher rates than the Jewish population, specifically against human papilloma virus (HPV) and seasonal influenza. Objectives This study seeks to identify and compare variables associated with mothers’ uptake of two vaccinations, influenza and HPV, among different subgroups in Arab and Jewish society in Israel. Methods A cross-sectional study of the entire spectrum of the Israeli population was conducted using a stratified sample of Jewish mothers (n = 159) and Arab mothers (n = 534) from different subgroups: Muslim, Christian, Druse and Northern Bedouins. From March 30, 2019 through October 20, 2019, questionnaires were distributed manually to eighth grade pupils (13–14 years old) who had younger siblings in second (7–8 years old) or third (8–9 years old) grades. Results Arab mothers exhibited a higher rate of uptake for both vaccinations (p < .0001, HPV – 90%; influenza – 62%) than Jewish mothers (p = 0.0014, HPV – 46%; influenza – 34%). Furthermore, results showed that HPV vaccination uptake is significantly higher than seasonal influenza vaccination uptake in both populations. Examination of the different ethnic subgroups revealed differences in vaccination uptake. For both vaccinations, the Northern Bedouins exhibited the highest uptake rate of all the Arab subgroups (74%), followed by the Druse (74%) and Muslim groups (60%). The Christian Arab group exhibited the lowest uptake rate (46%). Moreover, the uptake rate among secular Jewish mothers was lower than in any of the Arab groups (38%), though higher than among religious/traditional Jewish mothers, who exhibited the lowest uptake rate (26%). A comparison of the variables associated with mothers’ vaccination uptake revealed differences between the ethnic subgroups. Moreover, the findings of the multiple logistic regression revealed the following to be the most significant factors in Arab mothers’ intake of both vaccinations: school-located vaccination and mothers’ perceived risk and perceived trust in the system and in the family physician. These variables are manifested differently in the different ethnic groups. Conclusions This research shows that all Arabs cannot be lumped together as one monolithic group in that they exhibit major differences according to religion, education and access to information. Ranking of variables associated with uptake of the two vaccines can provide decision-makers an empirical basis for tailoring appropriate and specific interventions to each subgroup to achieve the highest vaccine uptake rate possible. Media campaigns targeting the Arab population should be segmented to appeal to the various sub-groups according to their viewpoints, needs and health literacy.

Representing the Nation

With the collapse of the old imperial order in 1918, Zionists anticipated that nationhood would be the defining paradigm for the political reorganization of the region. Chapter 5 shows how Zionists fought to establish the Jewish nation as an equal participant in this process, and to attain recognition of its nationhood and national rights by both their non-Jewish neighbours and the Great Powers. It analyses one of the most important forms of Zionist organization and political practice after the end of the First World War: the Jewish national councils. The chapter focuses on three sites where those institutions evolved out of different forms of wartime activism and gained significant influence in Jewish society for a time—East Galicia, Vienna, and Prague—as well as on similar efforts in Poland, Lithuania, and at an international level. It examines the day-to-day work of the Jewish national councils, their political aims, how they corresponded and related to other nationalist movements, and how they attempted to turn their claim to represent the Jewish nation into a reality. In this process, Zionists built on their wartime experiences, their standing in society, and their relations with the new rulers, demonstrating how previous engagements determined the viability of national claims and projects in the postwar era. The chapter connects the ‘big’ story of the Paris Peace Conference to local events and activists by analysing the role nationalist representatives played in the context of the peace negotiations and the struggle for national and minority rights.