Unwitting Zionists : the Jewish community of Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan / Haya Gavish.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gavish, Haya.

Series:

Raphael Patai series in Jewish folklore and anthropology.

Raphael Patai series in Jewish folklore and anthropology

Standardized Title:

Hayinu Tsiyonim. English

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jews--Iraq--Zakhu--History--20th century.

Jews.

Zionism--Iraq--Zakhu--History.

Zionism.

Zākhū (Iraq)--Ethnic relations.

Zākhū (Iraq).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (454 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Detroit : Wayne State University Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A study of the Iraqi Jewish community of Zakho that investigates the community's attachment to the Land of Israel, the effects of Zionist activity, and immigration to Palestine and Israel. Unwitting Zionists examines the Jewish community in the northern Kurdistan town of Zakho from the end of the Ottoman period until the disappearance of the community through aliyah by 1951. Because of its remote location, Zakho was far removed from the influence of the Jewish religious leadership in Iraq and preserved many of its religious traditions independently, becoming the most important Jewish community in the region and known as "Jerusalem of Kurdistan." Author Haya Gavish argues, therefore, that when the community was exposed to Zionism, it began to open up to external influences and activity. Originally published in Hebrew, Unwitting Zionists uses personal memoirs, historical records, and interviews to investigate the duality between Jewish tradition and Zionism among Zakho's Jews. Gavish consults a variety of sources to examine the changes undergone by the Jewish community as a result of its religious affiliation with Eretz-Israel, its exposure to Zionist efforts, and its eventual immigration to Israel. Because relatively little written documentation about Zakho exists, Gavish relies heavily on folkloristic sources like personal recollections and traditional stories, including extensive material from her own fieldwork with an economically and demographically diverse group of men and women from Zakho. She analyzes this firsthand information within a historical framework to reconstruct a communal reality and lifestyle that was virtually unknown to anyone outside of the community. Appendixes contain biographical details of the interviewees for additional background. Gavish also addresses the relative merits of personal memoirs, optimal interviewer-interviewee relationships, and the problem of relying on the interviewees' memories in her study. Folklore, oral history, anthropology, and Israeli studies scholars, as well as anyone wanting to learn more about religion, commuity, and nationality in the Middle East will appreciate Unwitting Zionists.

Contents:

Between folklore and history

Zakho, an island in the river

Religious attachment to Eretz Israel

Rabbinical emissaries: a bridge to Eretz Israel

Aliyah in the prestate period: the historical context

The British mandate period: aliyah at all costs

Zionism in Zakho: Zionist cell or center for illegal immigration?

Social upheaval and national emancipation, 1950-51.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780814336892

0814336892

OCLC:

777565720