The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora (Contraversions: Critical Studies in Jewish Literature, Culture, and Society) [Hardcover]

Joel Beinin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520211758 | ISBN-13: 978-0520211759 | Publication Date: July 13, 1998 | Edition: 1

In this provocative and wide-ranging history, Joel Beinin examines fundamental questions of ethnic identity by focusing on the Egyptian Jewish community since 1948. A complex and heterogeneous people, Egyptian Jews have become even more diverse as their diaspora continues to the present day. Central to Beinin's study is the question of how people handle multiple identities and loyalties that are dislocated and reformed by turbulent political and cultural processes. It is a question he grapples with himself, and his reflections on his experiences as an American Jew in Israel and Egypt offer a candid, personal perspective on the hazards of marginal identities.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Here for the first time is a work of scholarship which illuminates the life of Egypt's Jews, their struggle to be--or remai--Egyptian after hundreds, sometiems thousands of years in the region, and their trials in the diaspora as they redefine a complex identity. . . . Not only does "The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewrydispel many of the Orientalist myths about life in Egypt, with a particular focus on the post-war period, it builds, as its subtitle suggests, a model for valorization of the Levantine identity which Egyptian Jews typify."--"NASAWI News

From the Inside Flap

"The best sort of historical revisionism--sophisticated but unobtrusive in its use of theory, consistently contextual in its assessment of sources and texts, open-ended and suggestive of broader implications in its conclusions."--James Jankowski, coauthor of Redefining the Egyptian Nation, 1930-1945

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 318 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (July 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520211758
• ISBN-13: 978-0520211759
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,968,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dishonest scholarship indeed, July 2, 2003

By 

"zz2122" (Ashdod, Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora (Contraversions: Critical Studies in Jewish Literature, Culture, and Society) (Hardcover)

As someone who was incarcerated in 1956 and later, from 1967 to 1970, I consider that Benin committed an intellectual crime when he refused to mention that we, Egyptian Jewish males above the ages of 19, were incarcerated in the detention camps of Abu Zaabal and Tura. One of the detainees from Alexandria was 82 years old! I, as well as others, were personally tortured. For instance, I was forced to walk barefoot on broken glass. Another inmate was told to face the wall, and insult himself. He had to say: " I am a coward Jew, I am a Jewish donkey".

Beinin must have known about Abu Zaabal and Tura. He wrote that he was in Egypt during that period. From the names he mentions in his book, it is clear that he talked to some of the former detainees.

Israel gave me a second chance at life, and helped me recover. I believe his hatred of the Jewish state led Beinin to hide the truth.

37 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Completely Skewed- Completely Inaccurate, January 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora (Contraversions: Critical Studies in Jewish Literature, Culture, and Society) (Hardcover)

Joel Beinin is well known for having a very slanted political bias on the Middle East against Jews and Israel. Despite being a "history" professor at Stanford, Mr. Beinin is very active in the anti-Israel activities in the Bay Area. Beinin's book, not surprisingly, reflects this bias. Despite his research and interviews, Mr.Beinin has managed to skew the facts- those who he interviewed cannot believe how he skewed their words and distorted the facts. He routinely slanders his critics, particularly the Karaite community, who cooperated with him as he conducted his research.

For a much better, more accurate description of the Egyptian Jewish community in the 20th century, read Mourad El-Kodsi's book, The Karaite Jews of Egypt. This book is widely regarded within the Egyptian Karaite community as an authoritative account of the unraveling of the community in the face of rising anti-Semitism. Beinin's book hides this reality, lessens it, or just blames it on Israel, but any historian without a political agenda concedes that the rise of modern anti-Semitism in the Arab world dates back at least a century BEFORE the rise of Zionism.

Dont buy this book.

46 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dishonest scholarship, June 16, 2003

By 

Lindsay Bierwirth (Boston, Ma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora (Contraversions: Critical Studies in Jewish Literature, Culture, and Society) (Hardcover)

The author is not honest when presenting the plight
of Egyptian Jews. He belittles their suffering.
In fact, he omits the most serious calamity that
befell Egyptian Jewry: Incarceration and torture
in the detention
camps of Abu Zaabal and Tura between 1967-70.

It is indeed dishonest scholarship, because the
author covers the period before and after 1967-70,
but not these three years. It seems that he is
interested in blaming Israel for the fate of
Egyptian Jewry, which is unfair. Israel welcomed
Egyptian Jews after Egypt denied them citizizenship in
in 1929 and employment in 1947 (The Company Law).