Jews, Arabic-Speaking



ETHNONYMS: Names among Jewish groups of the Fertile Crescent are based on locale. Examples are Halabiye (Aleppians) and Shawam (Damascenes). Among Arabic speakers, Arabic-speaking Jews are referred to as "Yahud awlad al-ʿarab" (lit., "Jews who are children of the Arabs," or Arabophone Jews).


Settlements

Throughout their history, the vast majority of Jews have lived in large cities and market towns. They lived in neighborhoods that were largely Jewish, but in most cities they had neighbors who adhered to other religions. Preference was given to living in courtyards with coreligionists, but non-Jews might live on the same street.


Bibliography

Ben-Jacob, Abraham (1965). A History of the Jews in Iraq: From the End of the Gaonic Period (1038 C.E.) to the Present Time (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Ben Zvi Institute.


Cohen, Hayyim J. (1973). The Jews of the Middle East, 1960-1972. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing Co.


Goitein, Shlomo D. (1969-1989). A Mediterranean Society. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.


Shamir, Shlomo, ed. (1987). The Jews of Egypt: A Mediterranean Society in Modern Times. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press.


Zenner, Walter P. (1982). "Jews in Late Ottoman Syria." In Jewish Societies in the Middle East, edited by Shlomo Deshen and Walter P. Zenner, 155-210. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America.

WALTER P. ZENNER

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