Black Jews in Africa and the Americas tells the fascinating story of how the Ashanti, Tutsi, Igbo, Zulu, Beta Israel, Maasai, and many other African peoples came to think of themselves as descendants of the ancient tribes of Israel. Pursuing medieval and modern European race narratives over a millennium in which not only were Jews cast as black but black Africans were cast as Jews, Tudor Parfitt reveals a complex history of the interaction between religious and racial labels and their political uses. For centuries, colonialists, travelers, and missionaries, in an attempt to explain and understand the strange people they encountered on the colonial frontier, labeled an astonishing array of African tribes, languages, and cultures as Hebrew, Jewish, or Israelite. Africans themselves came to adopt these identities as their own, invoking their shared histories of oppression, imagined blood-lines, and common traditional practices as proof of a racial relationship to Jews. Beginning in the post-slavery era, contacts between black Jews in America and their counterparts in Africa created powerful and ever-growing networks of black Jews who struggled against racism and colonialism. A community whose claims are denied by many, black Jews have developed a strong sense of who they are as a unique people. In Parfitt’s telling, forces of prejudice and the desire for new racial, redemptive identities converge, illuminating Jewish and black history alike in novel and unexplored ways.

When did the Arab-Israeli conflict begin? Some discussions focus on the 1967 war, some go back to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, and others look to the beginning of the British Mandate in 1922. Alan Dowty, however, traces the earliest roots of the conflict to the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, arguing that this historical approach highlights constant clashes between religious and ethnic groups in Palestine. He demonstrates that existing Arab residents viewed new Jewish settlers as European and shares evidence of overwhelming hostility to foreigners from European lands. He shows that Jewish settlers had tremendous incentive to minimize all obstacles to settlement, including the inconvenient hostility of the existing population. Dowty's thorough research reveals how events that occurred over 125 years ago shaped the implacable conflict that dominates the Middle East today.

A food book - a feast of the Jewish experience.

Born Gerhard Fabian in Stuttgart, Germany on 11th January 1934, Garry's early years of life were spent travelling between countries to avoid persecution by the Nazis. In 1935 his family moved to Bodenback, Czechoslovakia, to avoid the ramifications of the Nuremberg Laws. With news of Germany's annexation of Czechoslovakia, Garry and his mother travelled to Trenchin in Slovakia, then to Brno in Moravia to meet his father, then finally travelled to Prague by the end of 1938. Life in Prague was difficult for his family and they were forced to live under false documents. A steady income was generated by Garry's father's 'illegal' employment as a chauffeur, and the sale of his mother's hand-made items. During this time, Garry did not attend school but received private tuition. Life was difficult, however worse was to come. In November 1942, Garry and his family were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, established a year earlier in order to house those considered 'undesirables' by the Nazi regime. There the Fabian family were confronted with filthy living quarters, disease infested conditions and a diet that resulted in malnutrition. Garry endured, in succession, the measles, chicken pox and whooping cough. Initially Garry wandered the camp aimlessly, but was later put to work in the tailoring shop. In time, he came to understand the culture that had developed in the camp and even gained an invaluable education provided by an elderly teacher. In May 1945, the ghetto was liberated by the Russian Army. Out of 15,000 children that entered the ghetto only 150 survived, including Garry. His parents also survived. Although luck played a large part in their survival, Garry's father was in charge of the medical supply store and was classified as 'essential'. After liberation, Garry and his family emigrated to Australia in 1947. Garry attended school and later obtained a junior technical certificate that provided him with an electrical apprenticeship for five years until 1955. In 1956, Garry enlisted in the Australian Navy for a compulsory six months. In 1958 he became engaged to Evelyn Schlesinger and took over his father's business, as his father had died that year. Over the years Garry has held many jobs whilst supporting his wife and two daughters. Fabian's autobiography details life in the Theresienstadt ghetto and his 'new life' in Australia post-war. Garry's description of a child's life in the ghetto opens an unknown world to the reader. Fabian's responsibilities and actions as an 8-11 year old in the ghetto are poignant and revealing, demonstrating how a child's life was shaped by the Nazi regime. Written in a clear and direct style, and in chronological order, this narrative presents an important account of a life deeply affected by the Holocaust, but not defeated by it.

The lively essays collected here explore colonial history, culture, and thought as it intersects with Jewish studies. Connecting the Jewish experience with colonialism to mobility and exchange, diaspora, internationalism, racial discrimination, and Zionism, the volume presents the work of Jewish historians who recognize the challenge that colonialism brings to their work and sheds light on the diverse topics that reflect the myriad ways that Jews engaged with empire in modern times. Taken together, these essays reveal the interpretive power of the "Imperial Turn" and present a rethinking of the history of Jews in colonial societies in light of postcolonial critiques and destabilized categories of analysis. A provocative discussion forum about Zionism as colonialism is also included.