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Jewish quarter (diaspora)

Area of a city traditionally inhabited by Jews From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jewish quarter (diaspora)

In the Jewish diaspora, a Jewish quarter (also known as jewry, juiverie, Judengasse, Jewynstreet, Jewtown, Judería or proto-ghetto)[1] is the area of a city traditionally inhabited by Jews. Jewish quarters, like the Jewish ghettos in Europe, were often the outgrowths of segregated ghettos instituted by the surrounding Christian or Muslim authorities. A Yiddish term for a Jewish quarter or neighborhood is "Di yiddishe gas" (Yiddish: די ייִדישע גאַס ), or "The Jewish quarter."[2] While in Ladino, they are known as maalé yahudí, meaning "The Jewish quarter".

An 1880 watercolour of the Roman Ghetto by Ettore Roesler Franz.

Many European and Near Eastern cities once had a historical Jewish quarter and some still have it. The history of the Jews in Iraq is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities.

Arabic world

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The Jewish Cemetery of the Mellah of Fez

From the late medieval and early modern period onwards Jews, the only remaining dhimmi, were increasingly confined to ghettolike quarters, such as the mellah in Morocco, the hara in Algeria and Tunisia and the qa'a in Yemen.[3][4] The mellah of Fez, founded in the fifteenth century, became the prototype of the Moroccan ghetto. Though it was probably founded in order to protect and not to punish the Jews, they resented the transfer and viewed it as bitter exile and manifestation of a painful segregation.[4]

Later foundation were founded with the explicit intent of ostracism rather than protection.[5] As such, Jews often had to wear distinguishing clothes and were not allowed to wear shoes outside the mellah.[6] In cities, a mellah was surrounded by a wall with a fortified gateway, often close to kasbah of the king or governor, whereas rural mellahs were separate villages inhabited solely by the Jews.[4]

Europe

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Perspective
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Prague-Josefov, which was demolished between 1893 and 1913
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The Warsaw Ghetto in May 1941
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Jewish Quarter of Třebíč, Czech Republic
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The entrance, called the "Port de la Calandre", to the Jewish Quarter in Avignon, France.
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Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of Troyes, France
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Jewish cemetery of Legnica, Poland
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Jewish Quarter of Caltagirone, Italy
Main articles: Jewish ghettos in Europe and Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe

Jewish quarters in Europe existed for a number of reasons. In some cases, Christian authorities wished to segregate Jews from the Christian population so that Christians would not be "contaminated" by them [citation needed] or so as to put psychological pressure on Jews to convert to Christianity. From the Jewish point of view, concentration of Jews within a limited area offered a level of protection from outside influences or mob violence. In many cases, residents had their own justice system.

When political authorities designated an area where Jews were required by law to live, such areas were commonly referred to as ghettos, and were usually coupled with many other disabilities and indignities. The areas chosen usually consisted of the most undesirable areas of a city.

In the English city of Norwich, the Jewish quarter was close to the castle, as a source of protection in times of local pogroms. This pattern was seen in other English towns, where Jews were under the protection of the Normans.[7]

In the 19th century, Jewish ghettos were progressively abolished, and their walls taken down, though some areas of Jewish concentration continued and continue to exist. In some cities, Jewish quarters refer to areas which historically had concentrations of Jews. For example, many maps of Spanish towns mark a "Jewish Quarter", though Spain hasn't had a significant Jewish population for over 500 years.

Over the course of World War II, Nazi Germany reestablished Jewish ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe (which they called Jewish quarters) for the purpose of segregation, persecution, terror, and exploitation of Jews, mostly in Eastern Europe. According to USHMM archives, "The Germans established at least 1,000 ghettos in German-occupied and annexed Poland and the Soviet Union alone."[8]

Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Czech Republic
France
Germany
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The Judengasse, Frankfurt in 1868
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Spain
Turkey
United Kingdom

Africa

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El Ghriba, Djerba island, Tunisia.
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Artifacts from the Jewish Quarter, Casablanca, Morocco.
Egypt
  • Cairo — Harat Al-Yahud Al-Qara’In and Harat Al-Yahud
Morocco
Tunisia

Asia

China
India
Lebanon
Turkey
Iraq
Syria
  • Damascus – Ḥārat al-Yahūd, a recently restored tourist destination popular among Europeans before the outbreak of the Syrian civil war where vacationers can stay in the neighborhood and beautified former homes of the completely vanished ancient Jewish community.[13]

Americas

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Colonial Calle de los Judíos (Jewish Street) in Lima, Peru, painting of 1866 by Manuel A. Fuentes and Firmin Didot, Brothers, Sons & Co. University of Chicago Library.[14]
Argentina
Brazil
Venezuela
  • Caracas — San Bernardino, Los Chorros, Altamira, Los Caobos and Sebucán
Mexico
United States
Uruguay
Canada

Other regions

In the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa there are a number of neighborhoods or small towns, generally in large cities or outlying communities of such, which are home to large concentrations of Jewish residents, much in the manner of old-world Jewish quarters or other ethnic enclaves, though without exclusive Jewish population.

References

External links

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