Forced conversions of Jews are often associated with the Middle Ages, yet the case of the “Anusim” (forced converts) of Mashhad in northern Iran occured in the 19th century. Some of them even made their way later to the Land of Israel. This is a story of secret identities put to the test and a community that defied the odds to survive.
Remembering Clinton Bailey, Friend of Ben-Gurion and the Bedouin
The prolific researcher, who passed away on January 5, dedicated his life to building bridges between Jews and the Bedouin community
Yavnieli and the Yemenite Aliyah
With the birth of the State of Israel, over 850,000 Jews were forced to leave the Arab and Islamic world. In Yemen, however, this was not the first time a mass immigration to Israel had taken place. More than three decades earlier, with the help of a young man named Shmuel Yavnieli, over 1,500 Yemenite Jews started their own journey to the Land of Israel, and embarked on a voyage largely untold…
The Female Scholar Behind Iraq’s Independence
Gertrude Bell refused to heed the dictates of conservative British society. Instead, she toured Africa and Asia, becoming an important scholar and an adviser on the Middle East for the British Empire
The Mysterious Collector Who Founded Our Islamic Manuscript Collection
The collector Yohanan Ben David left his art collection to the Israel Museum and his manuscript collection to the National Library of Israel. The latter bequest formed the core of the Library’s Islamic manuscript collection. Despite his considerable stature in the art world, he is largely unfamiliar to the general public. Here we take a look at the life of this enigmatic collector.
Animals, Monsters and Far-Off Lands
What do mythological beasts and imaginary creatures have to do with the Mongol conquest?
The Family Trading Company That Became a Relief Network for the Jews of Yemen
In late 19th-century Yemen, Suleiman Habshush built a prosperous trading empire and harnessed its success to help needy members of the local Jewish community. Later, when his grandson inherited the firm, the family helped to bring the community to Israel
Lawrence of Arabia or Lawrence of Zion?
The story of the archaeologist turned British intelligence officer: Is it possible that this iconic pro-Arab figure eventually became a Zionist? And what organization was likely responsible for his change of heart?
“Israel is a graveyard for Jewish languages”: An Interview With Dr. Tamar Eilam Gindin
The culture of Iranian Jews in Israel is bound up with a language that is nearly lost: Judeo-Persian. According to Dr. Tamar Eilam Gindin, a linguist and scholar of Iran, Judeo-Persian is not just one language. It is rather like a tapestry woven over thousands of years of Jewish history in Persia, so that sometimes different dialects were even found in the same city. In this interview, Dr. Eilam Gindin discusses the fate of Judeo-Persian in Israel as well as the secret language of Persian Jewry…
“Nor shall you follow their laws”? The Influence of Islamic Mysticism on Judaism
A look at the subtle influence of Islamic mysticism on Jewish worship and thought from the Middle Ages to the present
