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Expanding and Solidifying Jewish Settlement in the Land of Israel

Arie Morgenstern

in Hastening Redemption: Messianism and the Resettlement of the Land of Israel

The Perushim believed that redemption of the Land would precede redemption of the nation, and saw themselves as fulfilling a divine mission in settling and developing it. They actively favored ... More

The Perushim believed that redemption of the Land would precede redemption of the nation, and saw themselves as fulfilling a divine mission in settling and developing it. They actively favored broad-based immigration and economic development of the Land in fulfillment of the commandment to settle it, and their community organization (kolel) undertook to provide housing and other services for the immigrants. Zevi Hirsch Lehren and the Clerks’ Organization disagreed with this radical idea, and there was a profound gap between his traditional view of redemption as a heavenly phenomenon, entailing radical changes in the ways of the world and the Perushim’s idea of redemption as an extended natural process. The increasing Jewish population of Jerusalem, especially during the reign of Muhammad Ali in the 1830s, led to overcrowding, and Jews began to live outside the old Jewish quarter, beginning with the short-lived Jewish settlement in the Bab al-Hota neighborhood. Efforts were made to develop and diversify the community’s economic base, reducing reliance on the haluqah (charitable allocations from outside the Land) but also extending haluqah funding to people other than full-time Torah students — a step opposed by Zevi Hirsch Lehren. Among the leading immigrants to come with plans for pursuing business opportunities in the Land were Eliezer Bregman and his family. Bregman and Lehren had an extended adversarial relationship, grounded in their fundamentally different ideas about how the redemption should be brought about. The Perushim also pursued ambitious plans for agricultural development. The project secured the support of Moses Montefiore, but ultimately failed because of the inability to secure needed legal changes before the overthrow of Muhammad Ali in 1840.Less

Extending Sovereignty

in Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society

Following Israel's capture of the Old City in June 1967, a series of expropriation and demolition orders prepared the ground for the excavations and the colonial urbanism to come, thus adding new ... More

Following Israel's capture of the Old City in June 1967, a series of expropriation and demolition orders prepared the ground for the excavations and the colonial urbanism to come, thus adding new destruction layers to those produced during the 1948 war. In designing and building the new Jewish Quarter, standing and partly destroyed buildings were partially restored and reconstructed as ruins in order to memorialize more recent histories of destruction, and older stones were integrated into modern architectural forms in order to embody temporal depth. Insofar as archaeology was an integral part of this project to build a new Jewish Quarter, archaeological remains themselves were made. Ancient ruins were subsequently integrated into the contemporary urban design. These new phenomena, produced through archaeological practice, came to restructure the real, extending the boundaries of Jewish national-territorial claims that emerged as taken for granted in the decades to come.Less

From the Founding of the Community Until the Union of Lublin (1506–1569)

in The Jews of Pinsk, 1506 to 1880

This chapter traces the history of the growth and development of the Jewish community in Pinsk from 1506–1569. Topics discussed include the basic privilege of Pinsk Jewry; the Jewish Quarter and the ... More

This chapter traces the history of the growth and development of the Jewish community in Pinsk from 1506–1569. Topics discussed include the basic privilege of Pinsk Jewry; the Jewish Quarter and the direction of its expansion; population-growth estimates; communal organization; the privilege granted to the Jews of Pinsk by Prince Feodor Yaroslavych; transition from private holding to royal domain; economic life during the era of Prince Feodor; leases of customs, liquor, and salt-monopoly rights; agricultural properties and other real estate; commerce; intensification of economic activity; and artisanry.Less

The Legal World of Moroccan Jews

Jessica M. Marglin

in Across Legal Lines: Jews and Muslims in Modern Morocco

This chapter offers a topography of courts, notaries, and judicial officials, including both how they functioned and how they fit together. It describes how Jews in particular—as subordinate subjects ... More

This chapter offers a topography of courts, notaries, and judicial officials, including both how they functioned and how they fit together. It describes how Jews in particular—as subordinate subjects with increasingly international clout—were received in these institutions. The chapter first focuses on the Jewish quarter where the Assarrafs lived, before exploring the notaries public and Jewish courts that together made up the main institutions applying Jewish law. It then turns to the heart of Fez, where the city's main Islamic legal institutions were situated, before expanding this map to include legal networks on a national and international scale. The map drawn in this chapter thus serves as a reminder of how the different legal orders functioning in Morocco stood in relation to one another.Less