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This book describes and compares the circumstances and lived experiences of religious minorities in Tunisia, Morocco, and Israel in the 1970s, countries where the identity and mission of the state are strongly and explicitly tied to the religion of the majority. The politics and identity of Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel are, therefore, shaped to a substantial degree by their status as religious minorities in non-secular states. This collection, based on in-depth fieldwork carried out during an important moment in the history of each community, and of the region, considers the nature and implications of each group's response to its circumstances. It focuses on both the community and individual levels of analysis and draws, in part, on original public opinion surveys. It also compares the three communities in order to offer generalizable insights about ways the identity, political culture, and institutional character of a minority group are shaped by the broader political environment in which it resides. The project will appeal to scholars and students in the fields of Middle Eastern and North African studies, Judaic studies, Islamic Studies, minority group politics, and international relations and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
List of contents
1. Chapter 1 Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel: Defining Attributes and Foundations for Comparative Analysis.- 2. Chapter 2 Ethnic Change and Non-assimilating Minority Status: The Case of Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel.- 3. Chapter 3 The Identity of Religious Minorities in Non-secular States: Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel.- 4. Chapter 4 The Protection of Minorities in the Middle East: The Case of Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel in the 1970s.- 5. Chapter 5 A Cultural Basis for Arab-Israeli Accommodation.- 6. Chapter 6 Secularism in the Middle East: Reflections on Recent Palestinian Proposals.- 7. Chapter 7 Political Change and the Religious Revival in Tunisia.- 8. Chapter 8 Israel and Morocco: The Political Calculus of a 'Moderate' Arab State.- 9. Chapter 9 The Jews of North Africa.- 10. Chapter 10 The Political Culture of Jews in Tunisia and Morocco.- 11. Chapter 11 Minorities in Retreat: The Jews of the Maghreb.- 12. Chapter 12 Israel's Arabs and the Palestinian Problem.- 13. Chapter 13 Arabs in Israel.- 14. Chapter 14 Arab Women's Emancipation in Israel.- 15. Chapter 15 Israel's Arab Citizens: The Continuing Struggle.- 16. Chapter 16 Reflections, 2019
About the author
Mark Tessler is Samuel J. Eldersveld Collegiate Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, USA.
