Ilana Wolf

Hey my name is Ilana! I am a sophomore physical therapy major with a minor in nutrition. I came to Ithaca as a Health Science major, but I reconsidered what I wanted to do in the future and after many hours of observing physical therapists, I confirmed that I wanted to go into physical therapy. I became interested in nutrition and exercise in high school so I am very excited to be minoring it nutrition. I also like to dance and play the cello. I am currently trying to start a club called Challah for Hunger. We will bake challah and sell it and then the proceeds will go to charity. The club is just getting started, but if anyone is interested in joining let me know. I have learned about Jewish history in religious school, in high school and on Birthright, but I wanted to study Jewish history more in depth this semester.

The Millet system was an important aspect of Ottoman rule that helped maintain peace between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities.  The system recognized Christians and Jews as a separate nation. Although the Ottoman Empire was a Muslim state, Christians and Jews enjoyed certain freedoms.   The respective communities controlled their own religious and legal matters. For example, they had their own churches, synagogues, and schools. The communities also had their own businesses, allowing them to prosper on their own. Each millet operated their own courts, schools and welfare system, and even had shared spots, such water fountains and roads (156).  While the Muslim rulers were tolerant of people who practiced other religions, rules were established to separate the groups and to control non-Muslims.  Muslims had to remain Muslims and non-Muslims could not become Muslim.  Non-Muslims were restricted in what clothes they could wear and where they could live.  They were also prohibited from having tall houses or owning slaves (156). Although non-Muslims were controlled, the Millet system was successful.