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Jewish Political Studies Review Abstracts
Volume 5, Numbers 3-4 (Fall 5754/1993)
"The Sephardic Political Experience"
The Zionism of the Sephardic world was based more on a
vision of restoring traditional Jewish life in the ancient
homeland than one of revolution which sought to replace tradition
with some modern ideology. Unlike their Ashkenazi brethren,
Sephardim always saw themselves as actors in the political arena,
not only within their communities but in the larger entities of
which their communities were a part. This essay represents a
first cut at what we know about the political history of
Sephardic Jewry and especially the exiles from the Iberian
peninsula in the years between 1492 and the demise of their
communities in the twentieth century. Special attention is given
to the Sephardic world's pre-Iberian antecedents, the involvement
of Jews in imperial Iberian politics, the styles of Jewish
community organization in Spain, and the various forms of
political participation and involvement after the Explusion.
Spanish Jewry's contribution to post-Talmudic halakhic
literature may be explored in part in The Digest of the Responsa
Literature of Spain and North Africa, a seven-volume compilation
containing references to more than 10,000 Responsa -- answers to
questions posed to the authorities of the day. Another source of
law stemming from Spanish Jewry may be found in the community
legislation (Takanot HaKahal) enacted in all areas of civil,
public-administrative, and criminal law. Among the major
questions considered here are whether a majority decision binds a
dissenting minority, the nature of a majority, and the
appropriate procedures for governance. These earlier principles
of Jewish public law have since found expression in decisions of
the Supreme Court of the State of Israel.
Aristotle's Politics was almost unknown in medieval Jewish
philosophy, which in its political thought was mainly based upon
Plato's Republic as transmitted by the Muslim commentators. This
is why Abravanel's apparent usage of the Politics in his
antimonarchist interpretation of I Samuel, 8 seems to be such a
breakthrough in medieval Jewish political philosophy. Such a
breakthrough seems conceivable when we take into consideration
the influence exerted on Abravanel by scholastic political
philosophy, which was heavily influenced by the Politics ever
since the text was translated into Latin in the thirteenth
century.
However, a close examination of Abravanel's text proves that
his knowledge of the text derived from secondary sources, namely,
from the interpretation of scholastic commentaries such as those
of Aquinas and Paulus Burgos. He himself, most probably, never
read the text itself. Consequently, there is no breakthrough in
his usage of Aristotle. Although, apparently, Abravanel was
influenced by scholastic philosophy more than any other medieval
Jewish philosopher, he, too, just like his many predecessors,
carried on the old Platonic-Muslim tradition in his political
thought.
The Jews of Tripoli, Libya, trace the formation of their
community in modern times to Rabbi Shimon Lavi in the sixteenth
century. Systematic information on communal organization is
available from the late eighteenth century onward. This essay
outlines the traditional communal structure, and analyzes changes
within the community resulting from the Ottoman reforms over the
course of the nineteenth century. Communal organization
reflected local traditions as well as influences from Jerba to
the west and the Land of Israel to the east. Within the
framework of time-honored norms and external changes, individuals
and groups sought to shape communal life in accordance with their
interests.
The influx of Sephardim into the ancient Jewish community of
Cochin, in south India, resulted in a pattern of social
organization unique in the Jewish world: the infamous white Jew /
black Jew / brown Jew system. The Jews of Cochin organized
themselves in patterns derived from their Hindu social context, a
system known in the West as the caste system.
The "white" or Paradesi ("foreign") Jews were Sephardi
immigrants together with a few Jews from Iraq, Europe and Yemen,
who joined with an indigenous elite. The "black" Jews, better
known as Malabari Jews, were an ancient community which may have
originated at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple.
Each of these groups were slave-holders, and manumitted slaves
(meshuchrarim) from the Paradesi community were called "brown"
Jews, while manumitted slaves from the Malabari community were
known by the Malayalam (local language) term, orumakers. Paradesi
Jews would not count any of the other groups for their minyan,
would not allow them synagogal honors, would not marry them, and
would not eat meat slaughtered by their ritual slaughterers.
Ever since the 1520 responsa by the eminent Sephardi
halakhist Rabbi ibn Zimra, foreign Jews have been unanimous in
condemning this discriminatory behavior, and Paradesi Jews in
Cochin have been uniform in ignoring these admonitions.
Yet while Indian culture may have been the source of the problem,
it was also the inspiration for its solution. A.B. Salem, known
as the "Jewish Gandhi," led sit-ins, hunger strikes, and other
forms of "civil disobedience" (satyagraha) against these Paradesi
practices, which came to an end only recently.
In 1987 the Union of Italian Jewish Communities signed an
agreement with the Italian government which established the
overall framework of activity for this institution and its
relationship to the Italian authorities. This agreement,
published as a state law, changed many aspects of the former
system of organization of the Italian Jewish communities. The
agreement also empowered the Union of Jewish Communities to draft
a constitution for Italian Jewry which will govern its internal
life and institutions.
This article examines the political dynamics of the
contemporary Spanish Jewish community. First, the community's
history, foundation, settlement and early development are
introduced. Then its organizational structure and function are
addressed in the countrywide, local (particularly Madrid and
Barcelona), and interational (relations with Israel) arenas. The
community's legal status is explored next. The community's
character emerges through an analysis of leadership dynamics;
Jewish identity, assimilation, and integration; antisemitism and
philosemitism. The study concludes with a look at current trends
and directions.
The development of the Jewish community in Venezuela and the
integration of Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews was made possible by
two factors. The first is the democratic environment that had
been present in the country since the arrival of the first Jewish
settlers, which enabled the creation of the institutions of the
community. The second was the effort of the Ashkenazi kehilla to
create a Jewish educational system that offered "a little bit of
everything" (Jewish history, tradition, Hebrew, Bible, and
Yiddish) to every Jewish child, Ashkenazi or Sephardi, regardless
of the economic or religious environment in the home.
The article begins by discussing aspects of Venezuelan life
which help to explain the integration of the Jewish community in
the country. The history of the community is reviewed as well as
the behavior of the community and the Venezuelan government
during the Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel. The
various immigrations, Jewish institutions, and decision-making
processes are discussed, showing how educational and political
issues and the structure of the Jewish community in the country
have been shaped by the Venezuelan environment, yet reflect the
continuity of Jewish history and culture. The Venezuelan Jewish
community is seen to be organized following the constitutional
principles of the Jewish political tradition. The article
reviewed published material about athe Jewish community,
discusses the theory and methodology used in the research, and
presents findings, conclusions, and a discussion of directions
for future research.
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