oped a special relationship with Ottoman Jewish
communities. Former dhimmis became agents
who worked for the European colonial govern-
ments, which exacerbated interreligious tensions
among Muslims and non-Muslims.
Strong nationalist currents in Europe coupled
with growing anti-Semitic propaganda gave rise
to the Zionist movement among European Jews
in the late 19th century. The chief objective of the
Zionists was to establish a homeland for Jews in
Palestine, which had been part of the Ottoman
Empire, but became a British mandate territory
after World War I. The Zionist cause won limited
British support and finally succeeded in creat-
ing a modern Jewish nation-state in 1948 in the
aftermath of the first Arab-Israeli war. Israel was
founded primarily by European Jews, many of
whom had survived the horrors of the Holocaust,
but, once created, it encouraged immigration of
Jews from North Africa, the Arab Middle East,
and i
ran
. At the same time, nationalist currents in
these regions victimized the Jews, or made them
feel unsafe in the countries where they had lived
for centuries. Muslims appropriated many of the
anti-Semitic stereotypes that had circulated in
Europe and used them to legitimate their harsh
treatment of Jews. As a result, the Jewish popula-
tions of countries such as m
orocco
, Egypt, s
yria
,
Iraq, Yemen, and Iran seriously dwindled. Small
Jewish populations continue to exist in parts of
North Africa, l
ebanon
, Syria, and Iran, but most
Middle Eastern Jews have emigrated to Israel,
Europe, or the Americas.
Today, Israel has achieved peace agreements
with Egypt and Jordan, and it has friendly rela-
tions with t
Urkey
. Conflict continues, however,
between Israelis and Palestinians, with radical
Islamic groups becoming more influential in the
last 20 years. Israel is also at war with Shii militias
in Lebanon, especially h
izbUllah
. Despite these
conflicts and the heated polemics exchanged
between Israel’s supporters and enemies, far-
sighted Jews and Muslims are exploring new
opportunities for
dialogUe
in North America and
in Israel-Palestine. Such dialogue involves redis-
covering the Judeo-Muslim symbiosis of former
times as but one element in the articulation of a
more peaceful convivencia in the 21st century.
See also a
rab
-i
sraeli
conFlicts
; c
hristianity
and
i
slam
;
conversion
; o
ttoman
dynasty
;
proph
-
ets
and
prophecy
; s
ephardic
J
eWs
.
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