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CONTENTS - CHAPTER ONE: The Expulsion of the Jews from Spain; CHAPTER TWO: The Converses; CHAPTER THREE: The Era of Shabbetai Zevi; CHAPTER FOUR: Eretz Israel: Keeping the Dream; CHAPTER FIVE: The Sephardic Folk Spirit; CHAPTER SIX: Musar: Jewish Ethics and Moral Guidance; CHAPTER SEVEN: Prelude to Modernity; CHAPTER EIGHT: Sephardic Haskalah; CHAPTER NINE: Secular and Religious Responses to Modernity; CHAPTER TEN: Israel and the Nations ... Read more

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The accounts presented here are three of the basic sources for the post war memory of the Holocaust among the Salonikan Jews. They constitute the first official witness of those tragic years supplemented in succeeding years by a continuing current of personal memoirs in half a dozen languages. Yomtov Yacoel was the lawyer for the Community and liaison with the Nazi civilian representatives Dr. Max Merten and Dr. Muller. He maintained contact with Jewish and Christian political leaders in Athens. Dr. Matarasso was the post war physician for the survivors in Salonika. His report includes the earliest eyewitnesses stories of the fate of the Jews in Auschwitz including the medical experiments. An Appendix presents the constitution for the reorganization of the Community issued under German order in 1941. ... Read more

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With only a small remnant of Jews still living in the Maghrib at the beginning of the 21st century, the vast majority of today's inhabitants of North Africa have never met a Jew. Yet as this volume reveals, Jews were an integral part of the North African landscape from antiquity. Scholars from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Israel, and the United States shed new light on Jewish life and Muslim-Jewish relations in North Africa through the lenses of history, anthropology, language, and literature. The history and life stories told in this book illuminate the close cultural affinities and poignant relationships between Muslims and Jews, and the uneasy coexistence that both united and divided them throughout the history of the Maghrib.

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Genealogists are now using molecular genealogy—comparing and matching people by matrilineal DNA lineages—mtDNA or patrilineal Y-chromosome ancestry and/or racial percentages tests. People interested in ancestry now look at genetic markers to trace the migrations of the human species. Here’s how to trace your genealogy by DNA from your grandparents back 10,000 or more years.

Anyone can be interested in DNA for ancestry research, but of interest to Jews from Eastern Europe is to see how different populations from a mosaic of communities reached their current locations. From who are you descended? What markers will shed light on your deepest ancestry? You can study DNA for medical reasons or to discover the geographic travels and dwelling places of some of your ancestors.

How do Europeans in general fit into the great migrations of prehistory that took all to where they are today based on their genetic DNA markers and sequences? Where is the geographic center of their origin and the roots of all people? Specifically, how can you interpret your DNA test for family history as a beginner in researching ancestry and your own family history? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The most sloppy book I have ever seen
Other than copying and pasting from various Web sites, no attempt was made to structure the material or coordinate its flow in different chapters. No editing work can be traced in the whole text.A good alternative to buying this book is to type in Google a few words from the title. An average reader should be able to do a better job compiling the references than the author did. ... Read more

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The Sephardi religious leaders, who had been historically more open to general culture, reacted with neither the anti-traditionalism of Reform Judaism not the Ashkenazi ultra-Othodox's uncompromising rejection of everything new. Their response was rather one of active and creative halakhic engagement coupled with a tolerant attitude toward the growing secularized elements of their communities.
Much has been written on the social, economic, and political transformation of Sephardi and Oriental Jewry in the modern era. However, this is the first book devoted to the religious changes taking place in this important segment of Jewry which now constitutes the majority of Jews in the Jewish state.
Throughout the nineteenth century the entire structure of the Ashkenazi world crumbled. What remains of Askhenazi Jewry today is split into irreconcilable religious camps on the one hand, and a large body of secularized Jews of greater or lesser ethnicity on the other. The Sephardi and Oriental Jews, which ... Read more

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Needs to be read by every Jew
This book really does a lot and goes a long way in breaking down various issues that exist in Jewish communities worldwide.The topic of how Sephardim responded to modernity is a topic that is timely and needed in this current time where non-Ashkeanzi history is but a stub in many areas of Jewish education, especially in the religious world.

This book essentially talks about how historically Sephardic Jews from southern Europe, North Africa and Jews of the Middle East have handled changes in society.It deals with the issue from the correct angle for the Sepphardic and Mizrahi communities in a way that doesn't separate religion from the culture.For example even secular Sephardic Jews interact with the religious elements of their culture.It also discusses the differences between Sephardic leadership and Ashkenazi leadership in this area of dealing with change in culture and society.

The book is a short read (86 pages of text), but it is an important educational tool that is needed in both the Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities.I believe that this is the kind of book that NEEDS to be an essential part of Jewish education.As a Sephardi Jew I feel this books helps me understand the positives and the issues in my own culture and understanding these things helps in determining what I should do for children I will have in the future in order for them to be proud of their culture. ... Read more

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Following the rise of Islam, many Jewish communities lived in predominantly Muslim lands. Muslim-Jewish co-existence was not seriously challenged until the modern period when European colonialism and the emergence of Zionism and Arab nationalism led to growing friction and conflict, resulting in the mass departures of Jews from these lands in the middle of the twentieth century.

Jews and Muslims throws light on the history of these communities and on the developments that led to the snapping of ties between Jews and Muslims by focusing on the century before the end of Jewish life in these areas. It interweaves analysis with translations of primary documents drawn from the archives of a French-Jewish organization, the Alliance Israelite Universelle, that had an extensive Jewish school network around the Mediterranean basin and whose teachers reported extensively on local events and trends over the decades. It illuminates the political, socio-economic, and cultural changes that eroded the place of Jews in Middle Eastern societies and offers a unique perspective, from within, on the historical background of some of the most vexing problems of the modern Middle East.

National Jewish Book Awards Honor Book ... Read more

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Here is the fascinating story of one of Jerusalem's founding families. The Valeros established the first private bank in Israel. They owned considerable real estate in Jerusalem and its environs, as well as properties throughout the country, many of which they donated for the public's needs. Members of the elite Jerusalem Sephardic community, which peaked in the beginning of the twentieth century, the Valeros were extremely active in public life. The book also serves as a cultural study of the life of a family from the higher echelons of Jerusalem in the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Could not finish
I received this book through LibraryThings Early Reviewer program and I was really excited about receiving it. Upon the books arrival I noticed that it looked a lot like a text book and it was set up like one too. I tried picking this book up many times but found that I just couldn't get into it. I found the writing to be really dry and the subject matter above what I know about the early history of Jews in Jerusalem. I finally just gave up on this book and sent it off to another LTer. I can't say that this book is good or bad....all I can really say is that it wasn't for me.

In Short: This book wasn't for me but it might appeal to someone with a deep interest and knowledge of Jewish history.

**Like Walking Through History--One Family's Story**
Sephardi Entrepreneurs in Jerusalem:The Valero Family 1800-1948
By Dr. Joseph B. Glass and Prof. Ruth Kark

This book was received from LibraryThing in their Early Reviewers program.

Let me start this review with the information that I just returned from a two week trip to Israel over the holidays.

To read this book after visiting this fascinating country and having walked the streets described in Jerusalem, Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Bethlehem was very exciting.I couldn't put this book down and finished it within three days.

I found the story of the Valero Family easy to follow especially with the use of the chapter breakdowns that Glass and Kark had devised.By using the photographs, maps, sketches, and documents you really felt you were seeing history unfold.

For so many years all the citizens had learned to live peacefully with each other.It is very sad that neighbor, coworker, fellow business men ended up in such conflict.

I am very interested in reading these authors first book in the series; Sephardic Entrepreneurs in Eretz Israel: The Amzalak Family, 1816-1918.So far finding a copy has been difficult.

To understand the early story of Jerusalem, I highly recommend this book.

An Ottoman Success Story
This book offers a painstakingly detailed tracing of properties and economic activities--person by person, place by place--of the Valeros, a distinguished Sephardic Jewish family in Jerusalem. The study, however, lacks the emotional engagement with its actors that would allow readers to empathize with them. It is an excellent source of information on a small slice of Jerusalem society in the nineteenth century, but it reads like an extended encyclopedia article on the family members. "Safardi Entrepreneurs" also fails to map the rise and fall of the family against the shifting political landscape. For example, the Valeros arrived in Jerusalem and came to prominence as bankers and local government officials under the Ottoman Turks. The family begins its decline during the British Mandate and disappears from eminence with the establishment of the state of Israel. This trajectory begs analysis but receives none.

In depth study of four generations of prominent Jewish family
Starting from a point of almost total ignorance about the history of the time and place covered in this book, I felt a bit lost at first among the 19th century Valero family of pre-State-of-Israel Palestine.This book is clearly not intended for the casual reader, but is meant for the student of Jewish history.It needs to be studied. It is a well-documented scholarly examination of several generations of one of themost influential families in Jerusalem between 1800 and 1948, during the periods of Ottoman and British rule, and is Volume II of a series.(The authors previously published Sephardi Entrepreneurs in Eretz Israel: The Amzalak Family, 1816-1918.) Their introduction does provide an excellent overview of the historical setting in which the Valero family came to prominence in Palestine, as well as some of the political and cultural issues faced by Sephardic Jews under Muslim rule.It was essential to my understanding of the main text to read the Introduction first, and to refer to it regularly as I progressed through the individual chapters.The book is replete with photographs, maps, diagrams and reproductions of documents.The bibliography comprises hundreds of primary and secondary sources, (including nearly 30 works written or co-authored by Glass and Kark), a valuable reference in itself.By far the most interesting chapter for me was Chapter 5, on "Culture and Lifestyle". Here I could truly immerse myself in the daily activities of real people, and gain some sense of what their lives were like.The writing at times is a bit choppy, and there is no narrative style, but for the most part the authors have avoided the dry academic tone that makes many textbooks so deadly dull, whatever the subject matter. Having finished this book, I intend to read more basic history on the subject of the Ottoman Empire and the British mandate in Palestine; my interest has been stimulated and I will keep Sephardi Entrepreneurs in Jerusalem on my shelf for future reference.

How the Valero Family Influenced Nearly 150 Years of Palestine's History
This book is astonishing in its scope and depth, exploring four generations of the Valero family who were an important and influential dynastic Jewish family living in Palestine during some of its most turbulent and significant transitional periods: the end of the Ottoman Empire's rule, life under the British Mandate, and the birth of the State of Israel. The importance of the Sephardic Jewish families during the Ottoman Empire's rule of Palestine has sometimes been overlooked but this book sheds light on the magnitude and influence which this one family wielded during this historical era. The book is encyclopedic in scope yet it often reads more like a novel which provides an engaging absorbing reading experience. It is very well organized, covering broad areas, such as family history and origins, the life experiences of four generations each with different challenges, the economic activities of the family which is mainly banking and real estate in the early years, their involvement in local society such as philanthropic activites and politics both in the local Jewish community. The Valeros had connections to the Ottoman Empire and as well as Western Europe indicating they were able to balance their interests on a world wide scale in all areas of interest: socially, politically and in business matters, not an easy accomplishment by any stretch of the imagination during any moment in history.

The book is well balanced in that it covers areas such as their cultural life and everyday home management, along with marriages, education, and social class activities. There are excellent photographs of various landmarks, everyday life, family members, andthe landscape of Palestine and Jerusalem as it looked during the turn of the century. The photos provide a much better and more vivid visual impact that words sometimes can not convey. Also of significance are some of the photo copies of business transactions, letter heads, contracts, cheques one of which includes a signature of S. M. de Rothschild of Vienna, a certificate from the Ottoman Empire, bank ledgers, andcopies of one and five Piastre paper notes, the astonishing real estate holdings of the Valero family in different regions of Palestine, and even wedding invitations.

The founding father of this family dynasty was Ya'akov Valero born on June 11, 1813 according to his son's diary. While initially his occupation was a ritual slaughterer and as of 1839 did not own property, he eventually became a money changer and also studied to be recognized as a learned scholar of the Talmud. In 1848 he established a private bank in Jerusalem and named it, Jacob Valero & Company. He developed contacts with banking houses in Europe and while an Ottoman subject until 1860, after that he and his sons were registered as subjects of Austria. He wanted his sons to continue in the family business after his death. His son Moshe was established as manager of the Jaffa branch and his son Haim Aharon, who could converse in Ladino, Arabic, and Hebrew headed the Jerusalem branch. Much of the book chronicles the rise of the Valero family's influence and wealth when Haim Aharon headed the bank because he was involved during some of the most turbulent and changing times of history ...

Of particular interest to this reader was how Haim Aharon wielded power in the Sephardic Jewish community due to his philanthropic activities, such as caring for the poor and needy, and also being entrusted by the Sephardic Community Council to help distribute funds from donations received from Western Europe and America which his bank managed. There were some conflicts in how to control funds as more Ashkenazi immigrated to Palestine ...cooperation for creation of housing, economic matters, education and religious and charitable activies was developing with his leadership and guidance. He also participated in helping fund the building of neighborhoods outside the city of Jerusalem. He funded the rebuilding of a Sepharidic synagogue after it was damaged in an earthquake of 1927. They even put up a plaque memorialzing his generosity and made a promise to conduct a memorial service yearly on the anniversay of his death and on all holidays and festivals of Israel.

Another fascinating aspect of this book are the descriptions of how banking was conducted and the wide range of connections with European and regional bankers. The connection to the Rothschilds of Paris, London, and Vienna was particularly interesting. Also the financial relationship with the Ottoman Empire, which included loans and purchases of government bonds was highly significant. Unfortunately some of the connections with the Ottomans was coerced, if Haim Aharon Valero refused to cooperate, there could be ramifications on his banking business. The relationship of the Valeros to the Austrian Empire was pivotal to their success, as the emperor's business in Palestine was directed to their bank. The Valeros even had connections to the Russian government. In 1886, the Valero bank provided a loan to build the Grand Prince Sergei Russian Hostel which received Russian Orthodox pilgrims by 1890. Haim Aharon was even given the decoration, The Order of St. Anne" from Grand Duke Sergins, who was the Czar's brother. He received a medal from the Austrian Emperor, and was bestowed decorations bhy the Ottoman government as well, including mejidyé and the title mutemeyyiz (Turkish for "distinguished").

The authors do a superb job in describing the changing economic and political times which eventually resulted in the closing of the Valero Bank. By that time, the Valero family had accumulated massive real estate holdings many in prime sections of Jerusalem and the growing port city of Jaffa. The authors also provide insight into the changing social and educational environment which resulted in several of Haim Aharon's sons obtaining college educations, Yoseph Moshe Valero obtained his doctorate in law at Lausanne, Switzerland, Gavriel Valero obtained a doctorate in medicine also in Lausanne and Nissim Valero planned to study pharmacology but ended up obtaining a degree in economics and commerce, also from Lausanne. He worked for the Anglo-Palestine Bank for over twenty years and later built two buildings in Jerusalem. In conclusion, the authors do a superb job of describing the social lives of the third and fourth generation of Valeros when the political climate of Palestine changed under the British Mandate and as the seeds of the birth of Israel were taking root. Overall, this is a highly recommended book to read for those interested in how Palestine transitioned into the country of Israel and how this family played such an outstanding role in the economic and social development of the country of Palestine. Erika Borsos [pepper flower] ... Read more

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Chapters: Israelites, Arab People, Semitic, Moab, Sephardi Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, Ammon, Phoenicians, Hebrews, Hyksos, Genetic Studies on Jews, Assyrian People, Mizrahi Jews, Edom, Knanaya, Himyarite Kingdom, Aramaeans, Amorite, Qahtanite, Banu Hothail, Banu Kinanah, Sabaeans, Shasu, Adnan, Mudhar, Mutayr, Mhallami, Banu Jadhimah, Al Dhafeer. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 328. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Judaism The Jews (Hebrew: ) also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation. Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos is equal to those born into it, have been absorbed into the Jewish people throughout the millennia. In Jewish tradition, Jewish ancestry is traced to the Biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the second millennium BCE. The Jews have experienced three periods of political autonomy in their national homeland, the Land of Israel, twice during ancient history, and currently once again, since 1948, with the establishment of the modern State of Israel. The first of the two ancient eras spanned from 1350 to 586 BCE, and encompassed the periods of the Judges, the United Monarchy, and the Divided Monarchy of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, ending with the destruction of the First Temple. The second era was the period of the Hasmonean Kingdom spanning from 140 to 37 BCE. Since the destruction of the First Temple, the diaspora has been the home of most of the world's Jews. Except in the modern State of Israel, Jews are a minority in every country in which they live, and they have frequently experienced persecutio...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=25955086 ... Read more

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Chapters: Maimonides, Abraham Ibn Ezra, Aryeh Kaplan, Joseph Ben Ephraim Karo, Abraham Abulafia, Moses Ben Jacob Cordovero, Menahem Lonzano, Moses Gaster, Chaim Joseph David Azulai, Menasseh Ben Israel, Nehemiah Hayyun, Joseph Ben Abraham Gikatilla, Ben Ish Chai, Isaac Aboab I, Moses Hagiz, Abraham de Sola, David de Aaron de Sola, Yishayahu Yosef Pinto, Isaac Aboab Da Fonseca, Jacob Ben Aaron Sasportas, David Nieto, Yaakov Chaim Sofer, Yaakov Culi, Chaim Ibn Attar, Judah Alkalai, Shem Tob Gaguine, Solomon Almoli, Joseph Sitruk, Hayim Palaggi, Abdallah Somekh, Joseph Ibn Ezra, Israel Moses Hazan, Samuel Ben Jacob Ibn Jam, Isaac S.d. Sassoon, Chaim Pinto, Marc D. Angel, Yehuda Fatiyah, Elazar Ben Moshe Azikri, Hayim David Halevi, Isaac Uziel, Judah Ben Jacob Najar, Judah Rosanes, Baruch Gigi, Joseph Athias, Chalom Messas, David Messas, David Hassine, Solomon David Sassoon, Benjamin Artom, Mordecai Galante. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 187. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Maimonides was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher, one of the greatest Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. He is also known by the names Moses Maimonides, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon or the acronym the Rambam (Hebrew: ; Hebrew acronym: "; Arabic: Ms ibn Maymn, short for Ab Imrn Ms bin Ubaidallh Maimn al-Qurub). He was born in Córdoba, Spain, On Passover Eve, in 1135, and died in Egypt on 20th Tevet, December 12, 1204. He worked as a rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Morocco and Egypt. With the contemporary Muslim sage Averroes, he promoted and developed the philosophical tradition of Aristotle, which gave both men prominent and controversial influence in the West, where Aristotelian thought had been lost for centuries. Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas were notable Western readers of Maimonides. One of the c...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=19445 ... Read more

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Chapters: Sephardi Jews, Marrano, Kitniyot, Shulchan Aruch, Spanish and Portuguese Jews, Syrian Jews, History of the Jews in Latin America, Judaeo-Spanish, Sephardic Law and Customs, Sephardic Bikur Holim Congregation, History of the Jews Under Muslim Rule, Emancipation of the Jews in England, Jewish Community of Livorno, History of the Jews in Portugal, History of the Jews in Monastir, Solomon Ibn Gabirol, Golden Age of Jewish Culture in Spain, Baqashot, Alhambra Decree, List of Sephardic Jews, Sephardi Hebrew Pronunciation, Goa Inquisition, History of the Jews in Charleston, South Carolina, Edict of Expulsion, Moroccan Jews, Cuisine of the Mizrahi Jews, Cuisine of the Sephardic Jews, Zeved Habat, Portuguese Inquisition, Sephardic Jews in the Netherlands, Shas, Berber Jews, Touro Synagogue, Converso, Resettlement of the Jews in England, Four Sephardic Synagogues, History of the Jews in England, Bendigamos, American Sephardi Federation, Sáenz, Hakham, Jewish Naturalization Act 1753, Sephardic Music, Portugees-Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap, List of Iberian Jews, Judeo-Portuguese, Jewish Community of Calatayud, Portuguese Synagogue, Amsterdam, Me'am Lo'ez, Ferrara Bible, St. Thomas Synagogue, History of the Marranos in England, New Christian, Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies, Influences on the Standing of the Jews in England, Judith Wachs, Judeo-Berber Language, Jacob Rodrigues Pereira, Amazonian Jews, Jodensavanne, Maghrebim, Early English Jewish Literature, Belmonte Jews, Curaçao Synagogue, Autoridad Nasionala Del Ladino, Lalla Zoulikha, Péreire Brothers, Spanish Synagogue, La Vara, Türkischer Tempel, Haim Aharon Valero, La America, Ohel David Eastern Synagogue, Abraham Bentes, Nagid. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 487. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Spanish and Portuguese Jew...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=2233890 ... Read more

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This is the book of "Travels" composed by R. Benjamin, Jonah de Navarra's son. R. Benjamin left his home, in the town of Tudela and traveled over many distant places as he describes in his book. He brought this book with him to Castile in the year 4933. ... Read more