Religious Minorities in Non-Secular Middle Eastern and North African States

Minorities in West Asia and North Africa Series Editors Kamran Matin University of Sussex Department of International Relations Brighton, UK Paolo Maggiolini Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Milan, Italy This series seeks to provide a unique and dedicated outlet for the publication of theoretically informed, historically grounded and empirically governed research on minorities and ‘minoritization’ processes in the regions of West Asia and North Africa (WANA). In WANA, from Morocco to Afghanistan and from Turkey to the Sudan almost every country has substantial religious, ethnic or linguistic minorities. Their changing character and dynamic evolution notwithstanding, minorities have played key roles in social, economic, political and cultural life of WANA societies from the antiquity and been at the center of the modern history of the region. WANA’s experience of modernity, processes of state formation and economic development, the problems of domestic and interstate conflict and security, and instances of state failure, civil war, and secession are all closely intertwined with the history and politics of minorities, and with how different socio-political categories related to the idea of minority have informed or underpinned historical processes unfolding in the region. WANA minorities have also played a decisive role in the rapid and crisis-ridden transformation of the geopolitics of WANA in the aftermath of the Cold War and the commencement of globalization. Past and contemporary histories, and the future shape and trajectory of WANA countries are therefore intrinsically tied to the dynamics of minorities. Intellectual, political, and practical significance of minorities in WANA therefore cannot be overstated. The overarching rationale for this series is the absence of specialized series devoted to minorities in WANA. Books on this topic are often included in area, country or theme-specific series that are not amenable to theoretically more rigorous and empirically wider and multi-dimensional approaches and therefore impose certain intellectual constraints on the books especially in terms of geographical scope, theoretical depth, and disciplinary orientation. This series addresses this problem by providing a dedicated space for books on minorities in WANA. It encourages inter- and multi-disciplinary approaches to minorities in WANA with a view to promote the combination of analytical rigor with empirical richness. As such the series is intended to bridge a significant gap on the subject in the academic books market, increase the visibility of research on minorities in WANA, and meets the demand of academics, students, and policy makers working on, or interested in, the region alike. The editorial team of the series will adopt a proactive and supportive approach through soliciting original and innovative works, closer engagement with the authors, providing feedback on draft monographs prior to publication, and ensuring the high quality of the output. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15127 Mark Tessler Religious Minorities in Non-Secular Middle Eastern and North African States Mark Tessler Department of Political Science University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA Minorities in West Asia and North Africa ISBN 978-3-030-19842-8 ISBN 978-3-030-19843-5 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19843-5 (eBook) © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: © Itani / Alamy Stock Photo This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland To Pat My Love and Companion in Adventures, Now as Then PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS With a focus on the 1970s and to a limited extent the early 1980s, the chapters in this volume examine the circumstances, and the response to these circumstances, of the Jewish minorities in Tunisia and Morocco and the Arab minority in Israel. The chapters look back at these communities during an important period in their modern history, a period during which each of the groups was in the midst of a transformation driven by both internal and external forces. During this period, and specifically in 1972, 1973, and 1974, the three communities were the focus of more than 16 months of in-depth fieldwork. Rereading these chapters now, more than 40 years later, is like discovering a time capsule filled with stories, and now memories, of the friendships I made, of the help and guidance these friends and others provided, and of the adventures my wife and I had during our months in Tunisia, Morocco, and Israel. My research was made possible by grants from the American Philosophical Society and the Social Science Research Council. I was also awarded a Fulbright fellowship to support the North African part of my research. Interestingly, however, and at the time unfortunately, the Cultural Affairs Officer at the US embassy in Tunisia intervened and had the Fulbright award rescinded on the grounds that the subject of my proposed study was too politically sensitive. My project nonetheless went forward, and I later met this individual during the course of my fieldwork in Tunisia. He apologized for having had the grant rescinded and asked if I would share with him any insights that resulted from my research. In addition to the APS and SSRC grants, for which I am extremely grateful and without which my research would not have been possible, I received a vii viii PREFACE AND ACKNOWlEDGMENTS small grant from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), where I was an assistant professor of political science at the time. I am very grateful for UWM’s support as well. The US Cultural Affairs officer was correct about the sensitivity of my project, at least in Tunisia. It was not too sensitive, but it was sensitive. Indeed, the research in Tunisia might not have been possible, or at best might have been superficial, had I not previously established a network of friendships and professional connections. A few years earlier, I had spent a year studying Islamic and North African sociology at the University of Tunis, and this was followed, after a year back in the United States, by 13 months of dissertation research in Tunisia. My dissertation investigated the nature and determinants of Tunisian social and political attitudes.1 These experiences gave me both a familiarity with Tunisia and a number of professional and personal relationships that were important, as well as satisfying, given the apprehensions of many in Tunisia’s Jewish community. Among the members of that community who were particularly encouraging and helpful are Raymond Calvo, Susanne Boutboul, and Elie Debbache and his family. I also want to record my special thanks for the help and guidance I received from Paul Sebag, another member of the Tunisian Jewish community. Sebag was a professor of sociology at the University of Tunis, as well as a respected Tunisian nationalist, and he taught one of the five yearlong courses I took at the university. Professor Sebag had previously done ethnographic research on the Tunisian Jewish community,2 as well as empirical research on many other subjects. He was an esteemed colleague, as well as a valuable informant, during my time in Tunisia. A number of Tunisians who were not part of the country’s Jewish population were also extremely helpful. I am particularly grateful for the support I received from Professor Abdelwahab Bouhdiba. Bouhdiba, a philosopher specializing in Islamic law and its interpretation and application, was also one of my professors at the University of Tunis. In addition, he was director of the Centre d’études et de recherches économiques et sociales (CERES), where I was given an office and welcomed as a visiting scholar during my research on Tunisia’s Jewish minority. My prior experience in Morocco was much more limited and so, too, accordingly, were my professional connections. Fortunately, the apprehensions of the country’s Jewish population were much less pronounced and its communal institutions were much more open and visible. There were, therefore, few questions about the nature and purposes of my research, PREFACE AND ACKNOWlEDGMENTS ix and meeting people and scheduling interviews did not pose any particular problems. But in addition to expressing a kind of collective thanks to the many Moroccan Jews who told me their stories and arranged for me to visit their community’s schools and other institutions, including those not only in Casablanca but also in Rabat, Marrakesh, Fes, and elsewhere, I want to give special thanks to Gabriel-Axel Soussan. Soussan, a young Moroccan Jewish businessman and entrepreneur, welcomed me on my initial reconnaissance trip from Tunis, and then, when I later took up residence in Casablanca, he both helped me to meet people and provided logistical support through an enterprise of which he was one of the directors. Turning finally to Israel, I knew my way around to some degree, having spent my junior year of undergraduate study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Most of my courses were regular Hebrew University offerings in which Israeli professors taught Israeli students in Hebrew. I had also returned to Israel to spend the summer that followed my year at the University of Tunis. Nevertheless, my contacts with Israel’s Arab citizens did not extend much beyond pickup soccer games with Arab as well as Jewish students. Thus, in advance of beginning the Israeli portion of my project, I wrote to and arranged meetings with a number of individuals and institutions. I began my research in Israel in Haifa, where I secured an informal affiliation with Haifa University, the Israeli university with the highest proportion, now as then, of Arab-Israeli students. At the university I came to know and formed a friendship with Professor Sammy Smooha, a prominent Israeli sociologist who had done pathbreaking research, including public opinion research, on Israel’s ethnic and sectarian communities, and particularly on the country’s Arab minority.3 I also received valuable assistance from two Arab undergraduate students at Haifa University: Hoda Barghouti and Nadim Rouhana. I employed both as research assistants, and both were extremely helpful, including in helping me to design and carry out an original public opinion survey of Arab Israelis. Nadim, who received support from Professor Smooha as well as me, eventually came to the United States to do doctoral studies in social psychology. He has gone on to a distinguished academic career, focusing, in part, on the circumstances of Israel’s Arab minority.4 My research included public opinion surveys not only among Israel’s Arab citizens but also among the Jewish populations of Tunisia and Morocco. The two North African minorities had not previously been the x PREFACE AND ACKNOWlEDGMENTS focus of systematic and data-based social science research; and so these surveys provided a rare opportunity to undertake individual-level analyses in order to gauge, map, and to some extent account for variance in the attitudes, values, and behavior of the members of these communities, including, of course, the Arabs in Israel. These surveys made it possible, in other words, to carry out analyses in which the individual, not just the community, is the unit of analysis. I should note that the data from the surveys in all three countries remain available for secondary analysis should others wish to obtain and further exploit them—should they wish, as it were, to go back in time and converse with Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel about their understandings of and attitudes toward the circumstances in which they found themselves in the early and mid-1970s. As valuable as these surveys are, most of my time in the field employed other methodologies and collected other kinds of data. These methodologies included participant observation, especially in the case of Jewish Tunisians, visits to key institutions, unstructured interviews with various officials and community leaders, and the collection of relevant documents. Deep involvement with the three communities, particularly the Jews of Tunisia but also to a considerable extent the Jews of Morocco and the Arab citizens of Israel, was especially satisfying. These connections enabled me to obtain not only useful information but also valuable insights. I was able to keep in touch for a number of years with the friends I made in Tunisia, even after many of them, including Paul Sebag, had left Tunisia and were living in Paris. And I am in touch until today with several of the people I first met during my research in Israel. I took copious notes during my fieldwork in Tunisia and Morocco. I filled several notebooks both with the information I received and also, following almost every meeting, event or institutional visit, with my observations and assessments. Just as analyzing my public opinion data today gives the feeling of going back in time and engaging people in a contemporaneous conversation about their attitudes, preferences, and concerns, so rereading my field notes today returns me to the time of my study and brings back the feelings as well as the facts associated with my research experience. The field notes themselves are somewhat difficult to read, but should they be of interest, copies of these notebooks can be shared with scholars doing research on Jews in Tunisia and Morocco. The results of my research on the Jews of Tunisia and Morocco and the Arabs in Israel are presented in the chapters in this volume, which are reprints of papers I published earlier. The chapters in the first part compare PREFACE AND ACKNOWlEDGMENTS xi the groups and explore the possibility of deriving analytical and potentially generalizable insights from these comparisons—insights that will shed light on a particular type, or conceptual category, of minority group and the circumstances by which its character is shaped. An interest in comparison and the pursuit of broader analytical insights does not mean that the three communities are of interest only in that context. Each one of the three minority groups deserves attention on its own terms, not only with reference to the other two or to the political science literature on ethnicity and minority groups. Accordingly, chapters in the last two parts of this volume, Part III and Part IV, focus, respectively, on Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and on Arabs in Israel. These chapters look in depth at selected aspects of the political, economic, and social life of each community at the time the research was carried out. Readers with an interest in one or more of the three minorities at a specific and important historical moment will find these chapters instructive. In between the concern for theory that informs the chapters in Part I and the deeper and more descriptive accounts in Part III and Part IV, the chapters in Part II consider domestic and regional aspects of the context in which the groups resided during the time of my research. Themes to which these chapters devote attention include the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Islamic resurgence in North Africa, the prospects for secularism in the Middle East and North Africa, and foreign policy and regional interstate relations. Although these chapters do not focus specifically on Jews in Tunisia and Morocco or Arabs in Israel, they consider factors that structure the broader environment in which these groups reside and that play a role in shaping the attitudes and behavior of the communities and their members. In concluding, I want to record my sincere appreciation for the editorial assistance I received from Kallan larsen and Shireen Smalley. Kallan is a graduate student at the University of Michigan. She is specializing in survey methodology. Shireen has recently taken a position as Organizational Development Manager at the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services in Dearborn, Michigan. Both Kallan and Shireen were immensely helpful in preparing this volume for publication, and I am extremely grateful to each for the valuable assistance they very cheerfully provided. Ann Arbor, MI Mark Tessler xii PREFACE AND ACKNOWlEDGMENTS NOTES 1. Findings from my dissertation research were published in my coauthored book, Tradition and Identity in Changing Africa. New York: Harper & Row, 1973. My coauthors are William O’Barr and David Spain. 2. Paul Sebag. 1959. L’Evolution d’un Ghetto Nord-Africain: La Hara de Tunis. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. 3. Sammy Smooha. 1978. Israel: Pluralism and Conflict. Berkeley: University of California Press; and Sammy Smooha. 1989. Arabs and Jews in Israel: Conflicting and Shared Attitudes in a Divided Society. Boulder Colorado: Westview Press. 4. Nadim Rouhana. 1997. Palestinian Citizens in an Ethnic Jewish State: Identities in Conflict. New Haven: Yale University Press; and Nadim Rouhana. 2017. Israel and its Palestinian Citizens: Ethnic Privileges in the Jewish State. New York: Cambridge University Press. BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATIONS AND REPRINT INFORMATION Full bibliographic citations and reprint information for all of the chapters in this volume are given below. Copyright information is included when requested by the publisher. Coauthors have also given permission to reprint. Part I. Typologies and Theory: Some Comparisons Among Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel Tessler, Mark, “Ethnic Change and Non-assimilating Minority Status: The Case of Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel.” In Charles Keyes (ed.), Ethnic Change. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1981. Tessler, Mark, “The Identity of Religious Minorities in Non-Secular States: Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel,” Comparative Studies in Society and History 20: 3 (July 1978): 359–373. Copyright © [1978] (Cambridge University Press). Reprinted with permission. Tessler, Mark, “The Protection of Minorities in the Middle East.” In Robert Wirsing (ed.), The Protection of Minorities. New York: Pergamon, 1981. Part II. The Context: Religion, Politics, and Conflict in the Middle East in the 1970s Tessler, Mark, “A Cultural Basis for Arab-Israeli Accommodation,” World Affairs 133: 3 (December 1970): 183–200. Copyright © [1970] (SAGE Publications, Inc.). Reprinted with permission of SAGE Publications. xiii xiv BIBlIOGRAPHIC CITATIONS AND REPRINT INFORMATION Tessler, Mark, “Secularism in the Middle East: Reflections on Recent Palestinian Proposals,” Ethnicity (July 1975): 178–203. Copyright © Elsevier (1975). Tessler, Mark, “Political Change and the Religious Revival in Tunisia,” The Maghreb Review 5: 1 (1980): pp. 8–19. Copyright © The Maghreb Review (1980). Reprinted with permission. Tessler, Mark, “Morocco and Israel: The Political Calculus of a ‘Moderate’ Arab State.” In Gregory Mahler (ed.), Israel in the Post-Begin Era. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990. Part III. Jews in Tunisia and Morocco: Two Small Mobilized Minorities Tessler, Mark, “The Jews of North Africa.” In Georgina Ashworth (ed.), World Minorities: Volume III. london: Minority Rights Group, 1980. Tessler, Mark, and linda Hawkins, “The Political of Culture of Jews in Tunisia and Morocco,” International Journal of Middle East Studies 11: 1 (January 1980): 59–86. Copyright © [1980] (Cambridge University Press). Reprinted with permission. Tessler, Mark, and linda Hawkins, “Minorities in Retreat: The Jews of the Maghreb.” In R. D. Mclaurin (ed.), The Political Role of Minority Groups in the Middle East. New York: Praeger, 1979. Copyright © [1979] (ABC-ClIO Inc.). Permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. Part IV. Israel’s Arab Citizens: A large Proletarian Minority Tessler, Mark, “Israel’s Arabs and the Palestinian Problem,” Middle East Journal 31 (Summer 1977): 313–329. Copyright © [1977] (Middle East Institute). Reprinted with permission. Tessler, Mark, “Arabs in Israel,” Report for the Universities Field Staff International, January 1980. Tessler, Mark, “Arab Women’s Emancipation in Israel,” Report for the Universities Field Staff International, May 1982. Tessler, Mark, and Audra Grant, “Israel’s Arab Citizens: The Continuing Struggle,” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 155 (January 1998): 97–113. Copyright © [1998] (SAGE Publications, Inc.). Reprinted with permission of SAGE Publications. CONTENTS 1 Introduction. Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel: Defining Attributes and Foundations for Comparative Analysis Part I 2 3 4 31 Ethnic Change and Non-assimilating Minority Status: Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel (1981) 33 The Identity of Religious Minorities in Non-Secular States: Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel (1978) 79 The Protection of Minorities in the Middle East: The Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and the Arabs in Israel (1981) 97 Part II 5 Typologies and Theory: Some Comparisons Among Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel 1 The Context: Religion, Politics, and Conflict in the Middle East in the 1970s A Cultural Basis for Arab-Israeli Accommodation (1970) 131 133 xv xvi 6 7 8 CONTENTS Secularism in the Middle East? Reflections on Recent Palestinian Proposals (1975) 155 Political Change and the Islamic Revival in Tunisia (1980) 185 Israel and Morocco: The Political Calculus of a “Moderate” Arab State (1990) 213 Part III 9 10 11 Jews in Tunisia and Morocco: Two Small Mobilized Minorities 247 The Jews of North Africa (1980) 249 The Political Culture of Jews in Tunisia and Morocco (1980) 253 Minorities in Retreat: The Jews of the Maghreb (1979) 289 Part IV Israel’s Arab Citizens: A Large Proletarian Minority 323 12 Israel’s Arabs and the Palestinian Problem (1977) 325 13 Arabs in Israel (1980) 345 14 Arab Women’s Emancipation in Israel (1982) 391 15 Israel’s Arab Citizens: The Continuing Struggle (1998) 419 16 Conclusion. Reflections, 2019 439 Bibliography 451 Index 465 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Table 2.2 Table 2.3 Table 2.4 Table 2.5 Table 3.1 Table 7.1 Table 8.1 Table 10.1 Table 10.2 Table 10.3 Table 10.4 Table 11.1 Responses to selected items of Jews and matched Muslims from Tunis categorized by age and education Responses to selected items of Jews and matched Muslims from Djerba categorized by age and education Responses to selected items of Moroccan Jews classified by age and education Responses to selected items of Arab Israelis residing in cities classified by age and education Responses to selected items of Arab Israelis residing in villages classified by age and education Degree to which Arabs in Israel consider their identity described by various terms Individual religious orientations: 1967–1973 US foreign assistance to Morocco, 1980–1986 (millions of US dollars) Responses of Tunisian Jews and matched Muslims to five questions about politics (in percent) Responses to five questions about politics of Jews and matched Muslims from Tunis categorized on the basis of age and education (in percent) Responses to five questions about politics of Jews and matched Muslims from Djerba categorized on the basis of age and education (in percent) Responses to five questions about politics of Jews from Morocco categorized on the basis of age and education Responses to selected items of respondents classified by residence, age, education, and religion 50 53 56 58 61 90 201 225 272 273 276 281 308 xvii xviii lIST OF TABlES Table 12.1 Table 12.2 Table 12.3 Table 12.4 Table 12.5 Table 13.1 Table 13.2 Self-identification as Israeli and Palestinian Relations with Jews and attitudes about Israel’s right to exist Self-identification as Israeli or Palestinian cross-tabulated with relations with Jews and Israel’s right to exist Demographic characteristics of respondents classified on the basis of self-identification as Israeli or Palestinian, on the basis of relations with Jews, and on acceptance of Israel’s right to exist Self-identification as Israeli or Palestinian and selected attitudes toward Arab-Israeli society, relations with Jews, and the Palestinian problem Selected measures of status and well-being How well Arab respondents consider themselves described by the terms “Israeli” and “Palestinian” 328 330 330 333 338 356 381