volume ii, division b: jewish history during the mishnah and talmud period, in the middle ages and...

World Union of Jewish Studies / האיגוד העולמי למדעי היהדות

/ יחסיהם של יהודי טריפולי עם שכניהם המוסלמים THE RELATIONS OF THE JEWS OF TRIPOLITANIA WITH THEIR MOSLEM NEIGHBOURSAuthor(s): Harvey Goldberg and גולדברג ה'Source: Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies / דברי הקונגרס העולמי למדעיVolume II, DIVISION B: JEWISH HISTORY DURING THE MISHNAH AND ,היהדות, כרך וTALMUD PERIOD, IN THE MIDDLE AGES AND MODERN TIMES; THE HISTORY OF THE JEWISHLABOUR MOVEMENT; JEWRY IN ISLAMIC COUNTRIES; CONTEMPORARY JEWISH HISTORY THE HOLOCAUST; ZIONISM AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL / ,כרך ב... חטיבה ב: תולדות עם ישראל בתקופתPublished by: World Union of Jewish Studies / האיגוד העולמי למדעי היהדותStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23529117 .

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THE RELATIONS OF THE JEWS OF TRIPOLITANIA

WITH THEIR MOSLEM NEIGHBOURS

Harvey Goldberg

Jerusalem

Introduction

The large scale immigration of Jews from countries of the Maghreb represents a significant social event whether viewed from the standpoint of their former home countries, or in terms of the impact of these groups on the new State of Israel. While the historian may rightly claim that

the perspective of time is necessary to interpret these events with a

balanced view, it is equally true that much valuable information and

insight will be lost if studies on the social life of the Jews of North

Africa ignore the importance of live informants who grew up in those

countries and whose testimonies complement and elaborate the under

standing gained from documentary research.

During the past 5 years, I have been collecting data on various aspects of the traditional socio-cultural life of the Jews of Tripolitania. While

the anthropologist's stock and trade is to study customs and institut

ions, the daily repetitive events which make up "social life", I have

recently turned my attention to a single historical episode, a series of Anti-Jewish riots which took place in Tripoli and other towns in that

province in November 1945. Beyond the fact that more than 130 indivi

duals were killed in the space of a few days, these events attracted my attention because breakdowns in social and communal relations often

provide ways of understanding how these relationships operate under

"normal" circumstances. In addition by taking a regional perspective and considering various Jewish communities in Tripolitania, it is possible to compare those communities where riots erupted with those where

they did not and systematically consider a number of different factors.

This investigation is currently in its exploratory stage, but I shall never

theless begin by briefly describing the situation of Tripolitania at the

time of the riots, and then tell the story of one small community where

the riots almost broke out, but didn't. Lastly I shall elaborate some of

the issues raised in this account, with data collected from other commu

nities affected by the riots.

123



124 HARVEY GOLDBERG

Background of the Riots

Tripolitania, in the years following the British conquest of the province, was faced with an uncertain political future in the hands of the inter

national community. No less eager for independence than their "com

patriots" in Libya, the inhabitants of Tripolitania had not received any

promise from Great Britain concerning their ultimate sovereignty. The

various suggestions bandied about in international circles included

renewed colonial status under Italy and trusteeship of the Soviet Union.

It is Khadduri's1 interpretation that this state of political anomie pro vided the background to many demonstrations in the province, including the riots which turned against the Jews.

There are a number of different explanations concerning the immedi

ate cause of the riots, explanations which refer to Moslem-Jewish

relations, in Palestine as well as in Tripoli. One version tells of a rumour

that the Jews attacked the Qadi of Tripoli, whose office was close to

the Jewish quarter. Another tells of rumours that the Jews of Palestine

had murdered Moslems praying at the Aksa Mosque, a rumour that

spread through some of the villages of the region. A more secular

explanation recalls that the radios had carried news of anti-Jewish riots

in Cairo, on November 2, the anniversary of the Balfour declaration.

All the "public" accounts of the riots, however, including those of

the Jewish community, indicated that the riots were completely unex

pected, and cited the exemplary relations that had maintained between Moslems and Jews during the past thirty years under the Italian regime.

An Overview of the Riots

The riots began on a Sunday evening, November 4 (1945) at various

places within the city of Tripoli. The then head of the Jewish community, Yitzhak Habib, went to the headquarters of the British Police, but was unable to find a single officer, and was told that they could not be located. Things quieted down that evening. The following morning rioting resumed, and many Moslems from the neighbouring villages had verged on the city of Tripoli. The leaders of the Jewish community went again to the British Police, and requested that the Military inter vene because the police force (which included many native Moslems)

1. M. Khadduri:, Modem Libya'. A Study in Political Development, (Baltimore, The

John Hopkins Press, 1963), p. 84. A similar expalnation is offered by F. Rennell, British Military Administration of Occupied Territories in Africa During the Years

1941-1947. (London, His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1948), p. 466.



JEW AND MOSLEM IN LIBYA 125

would be unable to handle the situation. They were received by a Colonel

Olton who promised to look into the matter urgently. No official action

was taken on that day and a curfew was announced only on the following

day — to take place in the evening. While a headline of the London

Times of November 8 reads "Firm British Action1' the report of the

Jewish community states that no effective measures were taken till the

morning of November 7. During this period 38 Jews of the city of

Tripoli were killed, 40 in the nearby village of Amrus, 34 in Zanzur,

(12 km. from Tripoli) 7 in Tajura, 13 in Zawia and 3 in Mesallata.

There were many injuries and widespread looting. Nine synagogues were burned and 35 Torah-scrolls ruined. Further details are found in

an official report of the Jewish community.2

Riots in the Villages : The case of the Gharian

A quick glance at a map of the region shows that the spread of the

riots reflects geography. The villages closest to the city suffered the

most, and except for the case of Mesallata, no one in the mountain

communities suffered a loss of life. In every community about which

I have information, however, news of the riots became quickly known

and a tense situation developed, in which Moslems began to gather in

crowds and a possibility of riots became imminent. I would like to pre sent the case of one community, the Jews of the Gharian, where the

possibility of riots developed, but did not materialize. Elsewhere, I

have discussed the social structure of this community in greater detail3,

and transmit the details of this case as reported to me by Halifah Hassan, who was then sheikh of this Jewish community of about 400 individuals.

Halifah Hassan had been appointed sheikh of the Jewish community of the village of Tighrinna, after the British takeover in the beginning of 1943. He rather quickly succeeded in establishing links with the new

rulers of the region, outside of his capacity of Sheikh, by selling supplies to the military and police outposts, and selling local handicraft items

to individual officers. Quite by coincidence, he was approached on

Sunday, November 4, by the driver of the local British commander

who invited Halifah to come with him to Tripoli the following morning.

2. Communita lsraelitica délia Tripolitania, I Tumulti Antiebraici in Tripolitania 4,

5, 7 e 8, Novembre 1945. Relazione aggiorniata al 31 Dicembre 1945 corredata di

elenchi nominativi, prospetti statistici, pubblicazioni di stampa, communicati uffi

ciali, awisi, proclaim, ecc. 55p. (dactylographie; Ben-Zvi Institute collection, 1724).

3. H. Goldberg, Cave Dwellers and Citrus Growers: A Jewish Community in Libya

and Israel, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1972).



126 HARVEY GOLDBERG

Halifah, who was in need of supplies for his shop, accepted, and was

told to meet the driver early the next morning. The next morning Halifah

set out, with the driver, and a Moslem official named Elghud, second in

command to the British provincial "governor". They arrived at the

Municipality of Tripoli several hours later, and immediately Elghud was warned to "watch your friend" because of the riots that had already started. Elghud went about his business, making sure that Halifah was

always kept at a safe place. By the time the afternoon arrived, Elghud had told Halifah he should stay in Tripoli, at the Mehary Hotel, but

Halifah insisted that he wanted to return to the Gharian. Elghud said

that might be dangerous because he did not know what was going on

there. He then ordered the driver to take Halifah back to the Gharian, and stay by him, wherever he wanted to go. They returned there, to

Halifah's village of Tighrinna, and found that Halifah's mother had

gone to Gharian town — the capital of the province — to phone Tripoli in order to find out what happenned to Halifah. She had gone with one

Mohammad Kebbar, who also lived in Tighrinna, but who was active in national politics (Kebbar's brother, I believe, had been hanged by the Italians for his resistance to their rule), to phone from the court house there. Upon his arrival in Tighrinna, Halifah was greeted by the leaders of the Jewish community, together with four sheikhs of the Moslem communities in the region who asked him what had happened in Tripoli. Halifah replied that nothing special had happened that he knew of, but it war clear that the news of the rioting had reached the Gharian. Another notable of the the Jewish community, Rabbi Shmu

el,said that they should go to the police and request reinforcement. The four Moslem sheikhs, and five members of the Jewish community (including Halifah) went to the police headquarters in Gharian town, four kilometers away. At the headquarters, the policeman on duty said that no one was there (note the similarity to the situation in Tripoli). Halifah then decided to go to the home of the police captain, a British official who visited Halifah on almost a weekly basis. Halifah went and rang at the Captain's gate, the Captain answered him but insisted that he did not have time to talk to Halifah that evening. Halifah claimed that the Captain obviously knew what was going on, but offered no ex

planation for his behaviour.

Halifah then returned to Tighrinna, and further conferred with the Moslem Sheikhs and Jewish leaders. At this point, one of the Moslems, Sheikh Ghit, who Halifah and others credit for his special concern for the Jews, said that "we don't needtheBiitish"—we have 4 sheikhs and




let each sheikh bring 5-7 men who can help guard the Jews. They went

away and did this. Sheikh Ghit told Halifah to get together with the

other members of the Jewish community and set up a sort of "open house". Halifah thus had members of the community contribute food, sug ar, tea and so forth and sat in his house from Monday night till Tuesday

night with members of the Moslem and Jewish community coming and

going, eating, drinking, chatting. Throughout this 24-hour celebration

of solidarity people stressed how "we are brothers", "we have lived

together for thousands of years", "your father is our father", "each

person has his own religion" and so forth. The Moslem Sheikhs said

that "we" do not have to pay attention to what happened in Tripoli. Another argument, which probably was not voiced publicly, was that

if one group of Moslems would attack the Jews and loot them, various

Moslem factions might then begin fighting one another over the booty. In any event, this ceremony "worked" and no rioting broke out in the

region. One member of the Jewish community was struck by a Moslem

"trouble-maker", but the latter was quickly grabbed and put in jail.

By Tuesday night, the commander of the province came announcing that he had provided for a reinforcement of the local police, and brought 4 truckloads of Sudanese soldiers to help guard the Jews. The reinforce

ment of soldiers remained for 3-4 months, and after 1-2 months, a

police station was set up near Tighrinna. The first local commander

of this station was named Frankenstein, and the Jews of Tighrinna

suspected that he was Jewish. During the time the extra reinforcements

stayed, they were frequently feted at the homes of the Jewish community leaders. On the occasion of the Moslem festival 'ed eddhayah\ the Jews

gave a gift of three or four sheep to the Sudanese troups.

Comparison with other Jewish communities■. The Logic of Protection.

I would like to take the case of the Gharian Jews and use it as a starting

point of comparison with other communities on which I have been

able to find or gather data. I am still in the process of gathering data on

the subject, but would like to use the present occasion to indicate some

directions of my inquiry. From the story of Sheikh Halifa, and from other cases that are avail

able, it is clear that the first reaction of the Jewish leaders when the

possibility of danger arose was to approach the ruling British authorities.

It thus seems that even though both the Jews and Arabs insist that there

had been admirable relations between them over the years, the danger



128 HARVEY GOLDBERG

inherent in the situation was immediately recognized, and it was assumed, that the power to prevent or squelch the riot lay with the British. Among the Jews of Yefren, in the Jebel Nefusa to the west of the Gharian, the

name of the local British captain, Beckes, was inserted in the prayer Ha-noten Tshiiah Limlachim, which was recited on Hagim and Yamim

Nora'im (holidays). The reliance on the British as the source of protection, makes sense

in terms of the traditional Middle Eastern political conception which

links political power with the obligation of protecting weak groups, such as the Jewish minority. This obligation may be exhibited not only

by the rulers of kingdoms, but also by tribal chiefs whose political influence extends over limited areas and limited numbers of followers.

We thus hear stories of tribal chiefs who administer severe punishments to members of their own families for harming Jews under their protection. In areas of Morocco, for example, the Jews "acknowledged" this pro

tection, and their need for protection, by sacrificing, once a year, at the

homes of a Berber notable who accepted the obligation of protecting this Jewish family4. A similar type of arrangement was also found in

Tripolitania, among the Jews of Gebel Nefusa, who were neighbours of the Berbers of the area. While the Nefusa Berbers were Ibadi's who

would not eat meat slaughtered by the Jews, the Jews, by custom, cleaned and skinned the animals slaughtered by the Moslems for their

W eddhayaK. While the symbiotic relationship between protector and protected

may have provided one source of stable Moslem-Jewish relationships, in the recent history of Tripolitania power rarely resided with the local

Moslem leaders. In 1835 the Ottoman Empire reconquered Tripoli from the Karamanli dynasty and later gained complete control of the interior. Italy took Libya from Turkey in 1911-1912, only to lose control of the country thirty years later to the British. It is therefore appropriate to ask what happens to the logic of the traditional protector/protected ideal in this sort of situation, and beyond that, what implication does this have for social reality?

It seems clear, from the available data, that the imposition of "foreign" rule, in recent times, implied a betterment of the position of the Jews, at least with regard to their "legal" status. The manuscript of Mordechai Hacohen describes how, after the Ottoman conquest, the Jews began

4. L. Rosen, "A Moroccan Jewish Community During the Middle Eastern Crisis", in L. Sweet, ed., Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East: Vol. II—Life in the Cities, Towns and Countryside. (Garden City, The Natural History Press, 1970), pp. 388-404.




"to wear hats, like the Moslems, and no one dared object"5. Similar

reports were given to me by informants from Yefren and the Gharian, with regard to the present century, under the Italians. Thus after the Italian rule Jews began to wear fashions of head dress, shoes, and fine

white cloaks which previously had been the prerogative of the Moslems.

Similarly, the usage whereby a Jew, riding on a donkey, had to dis

mount when passing a Moslem, began to be ignored. On the other

hand, other expressions of the Jews1 weak position were maintained, as when a Jew had to greet every Moslem and not wait for the Moslem

to initiate the greeting. Among the Jews of Yefren they would always address their Berber neighbours as Sidi Ibrahim, or Sidi Sa'id, while

the Moslem would address the Jew by his first name. In general though, the tendency was for greater equality and freedom to be accorded to

members of the Jewish community. In several communities of the coast, Jews served in the police force, under the British.

It is also possible to collect and interpret data indicating that relation

ships of "equality" were grounded in traditional relationships. Such a

point of view has been put forth by L. Rosen in his analysis of Moslem

Jewish relationships in a Moroccan6 town. In Rosen,s model, the Jews

should be viewed as part of the overall web of human interaction in

the city. In this view, the Jews may be somewhat "outside" the area of

social competition occupied by the Moslems, but not socially separate to the extent that they are viewed and interacted with first and foremost

on the basis of their special identity. While I have not had the oppor

tunity of observing Moslem-Jewish interaction in Tripolitania first hand, it seems that Rosens model of these relationships is plausible in regard to this region as well.7

The Problem Stated

The data collected thus far now may be placed in the perspective of

a problem. We are presented with two different pictures of Jewish

Moslem relationships in Tripolitania. The first might be called the "classi

cal" view in which there is a legally defined relationship between two

5. M. Hacohen, Higid Mordechai. Jerusalem, National and University Library,

MS 80 1292.

6. L. Rosen, "Muslim-Jewish Relations in a Moroccan City", International Journal

of Middle East Studies, Vol. 3, pp. 435-349, 1972.

7. For one aspect of Moslem-Jewish relations see H. Goldberg, "Ecologie and

Demographic aspects of Rural Tripolitanian Jewry: 1853-1949", International Jour

nal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 2, pp. 245-265, 1971.



130 HARVEY GOLDBERG

socially and conceptually distinct groups. The Moslems are the ruling

majority and Jews are the protected minority. When one-half of this

sociocultural equation is disturbed, i. e. when the Moslems are not in

power, the second part is disturbed as well, namely, there is no obliga tion to protect the Jews. While this perspective on the riots may be part of the picture, it is by no means the full picture. One must also take

into account the long periods of time when the classic picture is not

socially salient.

The second view of Moslem-Jewish relationships sees life in North

Africa as a web of interaction. Here the categories of Moslem and Jew

appear as one set of social symbols which take their place along side

other social categories such as rich/poor, influential/weak, relative/

stranger and so forth. Jews interact freely with Moslems except that

the particular constellation of categories that crystallize for each par ticular Jew differs from the constellations that crystallize for each par ticular Moslem. The Jews, in the North African setting, were not re

stricted by caste-like categories.

Anthropology, and the social sciences in general, have moved beyond the point where they assume that a complex social situation can be con

ceptualized in a single simple model. This is true not only of outsiders

attempting to understand a society, but of the views that members of

a society hold of their own modes of action. I therefore suggest Moslems and Jews in Tripolitania hold both of the views of Moslem-Jewish inter action that we have described. If this is correct, then Moslem-Jewish

interaction joins many other systems of social relationships which are

guided by multiple and contradictory views and norms.

It is in this direction, I believe, that further data on the riots should be collected and interpreted. Anthropologists, in the last decade or two, have paid greater attention to two interrelated topics (a) internal varia tion and contradiction in societies, and (b) social (including political) change. We therefore shall attempt to see the riots in the light of (a) con

dieting norms, and behaviour, with regard to the position of the Jews in Moslem Tripolitania, and (b) political changes that the riots may have expressed and furthered.8

8. In particular, I wish to apply the approach called "social drama" developed by V. Turner, Schism and Continuity in an African Society, (Manchester University Press

1957). The present ocassion does not permit me to develop this line of thinking further. Note: The research upon which this paper is based was supported in part by the Social Science Research Council (U.S.A.), the American Philosophical Society, and the Central Fund of the Hebrew University.



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