The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture Politics and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora (Volume 11) (Contraversions: Critical Studies in Jewish Literature Culture and Society)

About this book

In this provocative and wide-ranging history Joel Beinin examines fundamental questions of ethnic identity by focusing on the Egyptian Jewish community since 1948. A complex and heterogeneous people Egyptian Jews have become even more diverse as their diaspora continues to the present day. Central to Beinins study is the question of how people handle multiple identities and loyalties that are dislocated and reformed by turbulent political and cultural processes. It is a question he grapples with himself and his reflections on his experiences as an American Jew in Israel and Egypt offer a candid personal perspective on the hazards of marginal identities.