Minorities in Retreat: The Jews of the Maghreb (1979)

Abstract

After a brief review of the history of Jews in North Africa, including Jews in Algeria, the chapter picks up the concern for minority group type discussed in the introductory chapter. Jews in both Tunisia and Morocco are religious minorities in non-secular states, and in the early and mid-1970s, they were similar in other ways as well. But they were also different in important respects, including size, complexity, organizational strength, and the ideology and priorities of the host country government. Even though both minority groups were small and vulnerable at the time of the research reported in this chapter, these differences reflected substantially greater weakness and vulnerability on the part of the Jewish community in Tunisia. Compared to the community of Jews in Morocco, the one in Tunisia was in a much greater state of demographic dislocation and institutional decay. Against this background, the chapter then investigates the explanatory significance of attributes with respect to which the two religious minorities differ, in effect holding minority group type constant while considering whether or not variation in demographic dislocation and institutional decay accounts for variance in areas of communal importance. Presenting findings from public opinion surveys, particular attention is given to the views about Arab-Islamic culture and about the host society held by Jews in Tunisia and Jews in Morocco and, within each community, by Jews in different demographic categories. The survey data show notable attitudinal differences both between the two Jewish communities and within each as a function of age and education. The chapter concludes with reflections on the future of the two North African Jewish communities.