Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• A Note of Acknowledgment(p. ix)
• Introduction The Old Establishment and Its New Myth(p. 3)
• Chapter 1 Sephardim and Ashkenazim: Myth and Reality(p. 13)
• Chapter 2 Israel's New Sephardic Majority(p. 41)
• Chapter 3 Decline and Revival in Europe(p. 70)
• Chapter 4 Sephardim in Africa: North, Central, and South(p. 94)
• Chapter 5 Tenuous Survival in Asia and New Frontiers in the Pacific(p. 115)
• Chapter 6 Sephardim in the Caribbean and Latin America(p. 140)
• Chapter 7 Sephardim in North America(p. 162)
• Chapter 8 The Cultural Issue(p. 184)
• Appendix Smaller U.S. Sephardic Communities(p. 205)
• Notes(p. 214)
• Index(p. 227)

Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Elazar, who is president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and professor of political science at both Bar Ilan University in Israel and Temple University in Philadelphia, is also of Sephardic descent. Thus he brings to the study of the Sephardim today both his skills as a social scientist and his insights as an alert participant-observer within his many communities. His is a much needed study of a subject that is usually misunderstood or ignored. It is, in fact, the first comprehensive study of the Sephardim worldwide, and it deals with the subject in a straightforward, skillful manner using all available sources. Like many of his previous books, (e.g., Israel: Building a New Society), this too is a pioneering study. Jehuda Reinharz, Brandeis Univ., Waltham, Mass. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

A growing majority of Israel's Jews are Sephardimof Mediterranean, Western Asian or African descentbut according to Elazar, the Ashkenazim (Jews whose roots are Northern and Eastern European) continue to spread myths that Sephardic Jews are somehow ``backward,'' ``superstitious'' or ``medieval.'' A Sephardi and a professor at universities in Israel and the U.S., the author of this brilliant, debunking study overturns stereotypes and challenges widely held assumptions. He charges that the designation of Israel's Sephardim as ``ultranationalistic'' or ``antipeace'' is unwarranted. Elazar explains the Sephardic shift among members of Israel's Likud Party in terms of their perception that the Labor Party excluded them from the political process and stifled economic opportunity. He takes us on an invaluable country-by-country tour of Sephardic communities around the world, from Greece to the United States, where Sephardim have lately experienced an upsurge of self-awareness and organized activity. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

CHOICE Review

The Jews have been historically divided into Ashkenazim (Jews of northern and eastern European origin), and Sephardim (Mediterranean, Asian, and African Jews). The two groups have differing religious rites and cultures. Only about 20 of the world Jewry is Sephardic, but the majority of Israeli Jews are Sephardim. Elazar, a political scientist living in Israeal and himself a Sephardic activist, has written the only comprehensive and up-to-date popular book on the Sephardim. It consists of a history and present-day survey of the major Sephardic communities in Israel, the US, and France, as well as of tiny communities in such exotic places as Zaire, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Elazar is extraordinarily well informed, and his guide to Sephardic communities is encyclopedic. The community-by-community account does sometimes get tedious. The reader should also be warned that there is a distinctly polemical edge and some exaggeration in Elazar's defense of the Sephardim against the prejudices with which they are viewed, especially by the "Israeli establishment." However, this is an authoritative and helpful introduction to Sephardic Jewry, made more graphic by the use of demographic tables and maps. The "notes" are, in fact, bibliographic essays for each chapter that serve as useful guidance to further information on the subject. Upper-division undergraduates and general readers. -M. A. Meyer, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (OH)

Booklist Review

Elazar explores the legendary history of the Sephardic Jews and the reality of their political power in modern Israel. The author investigates the origins of the Sephardim as one of the branches of the Diaspora and then traces their current role in Israel, where they now constitute the majority of the population. Historically, Sephardic Jews have been considered to play a subservient role in Zionism and in the founding of the religious state. Stereotyped as right-wing militants, they now have demanded equality with the Ashkenazi Jews who have traditionally controlled the country's institutions. Elazar examines differences and similarities between the Sephardim and the Ashkenazim, correcting some misconceptions along the way and studying the lives of Sephardim among both Islamic and Christian cultures. The book also considers the future role and identity of Sephardic Jews in Israel and around the world and discusses the cultural issues that confront the group today. Notes; index. JB.