Oct 7th

1.What was the effects of French and English colonialism on the Middle Eastern and North African Jewish communities?


French and English colonialism spread throughout a great deal of Europe and Africa. The ramifications of their imperialistic ways took various shapes among Jewish communities. In Africa, places like Algeria were occupied by the French. In this case the French government declared only Jews could become citizens of the state. But in places like Iran, Jews were persecuted and violently forced to leave their Jewish faith. Depending on the location, Jews experienced positive and negative results from imperial nations, but their ability to adapt are survive continued to remain strong. 


Specifically in Algeria, how did French policies distinguish between Jewish and Muslim Algerians?
In Algeria, the French created legislation to individualize specific native Jewish groups. This made it easier for them to assimilate into French society. It was very important to the french state that the Jews acknowledged the French law as the top law code. Rabbinical law was to always be second. For the Muslims they were not seen as French citizens.