Communal Organization of the Jews of Tripolitania during the Late Ottoman Period

Abstract

The Jews of Tripoli trace the formation of their community in modern times to the sixteenth century. Systematic information on communal organization is available from the late eighteenth century onward. In this essay, Harvey Goldberg, Professor of Anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, outlines the traditional communal structure, and analyzes changes within the community resulting from the Ottoman reforms over the course of the nineteenth century. Communal organization reflected local traditions as well as influences from Jerba to the west and Eretz Israel to the east. Within the framework of time-honored norms and external changes, individuals and groups sought to shape communal life in accordance with their interests.