Between Jaffa and Tel Aviv, 1870–1930: A Memoir(The Tauber Institute Series for the Study of European Jewry)

The literary memoir of a founder of Tel Aviv, now available for the first time in an annotated English translation. Born in Jaffa in 1870, Yosef Eliyahu Chelouche grew up within a notable Sephardi family in the local Jewish community. He went on to become a prominent entrepreneur; a founder of Tel Aviv; and a fierce critic of the Ashkenazi Zionist leadership, Arab nationalism, and British colonial sectarianism; before emerging, in the last decade of his life, as an anguished public figure struggling to repair Arab-Jewish relations. His memoir paints an intimate portrait of life in Palestine at the turn of the twentieth century, told from the perspective of a Middle Eastern Jew deeply embedded in local society. By centering on the world and experiences of a native Jew who was an eyewitness to and participant in the unfolding conflict in Palestine, this book shows how the course of Zionist politics and Jewish-Arab relations in pre-state Palestine might have taken alternative pathways. A comprehensive introduction sets the scene in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Jaffa and thoughtful annotations contextualize Chelouche's story within the modern history of Palestine and Israel. Between Jaffa and Tel Aviv, 1870–1930 tells the fascinating story of a civic leader—and offers a complex view of the various cultural, social, and political forces that forged multilayered Jewish identities in the Middle East. The book includes a family tree and is illustrated with photographs of the family and scenes of Jaffa and early Tel Aviv.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Editors’ Acknowledgements Notes on Transliteration List of Figures Editors’ Introduction Parashat Hayay: The Translated Memoir Forward Part I Chapter 1: Days of My Infancy, Childhood, and Youth Chapter 2: The Kidnapping of Yosef Chapter 3: My Earliest Life Experiences; The First Pioneers Chapter 4: My School Days in Beirut Chapter 5: My engagement, and my father-in-law Rabbi Avraham Moyal Chapter 6: My wedding, and my entry into the world of commerce Chapter 7: In the days of the Turkish regime Chapter 8: Visits to our home by famous people Chapter 9: Between building and destruction Chapter 10: Founding of Tel Aviv and construction of the Gymnasium Chapter 11: New Company and The Shield association Chapter 12: The silicate initiative, my dream - and those for whom it came true Part II Chapter 13: Beginning of the World War Chapter 14: The days of Ottomanization and the cruel expulsion of the foreign subjects Chapter 15: The final days in power of Baha al-Din and the audience with Djemal Pasha Chapter 16: Days of hunger in the land Chapter 17: The Expulsion of Jaffa and Tel Aviv Chapter 18: A terrifying night in deserted Jaffa and more… Chapter 19: The entry of the English into Petah Tikva, and their departure Chapter 20: And they journeyed and encamped in the village of Qalqilya Chapter 21: From Qalqilya to Kafr Jammal Chapter 22: Informers, the Turkish government and kindly Arabs Chapter 23: Imprisoned in Tulkarm, and once again in Kafr Jammal Chapter 24: The arrival of the redeemers and conquerors of our country Chapter 25: Following the Balfour Declaration, days of light and shadow Chapter 26: Bloody clashes in Jaffa, May 1921 Chapter 27: The neighborly relations that broke down Chapter 28: My work on behalf of building and expanding Tel Aviv Chapter 29: The bloody riots of August 1929, and their aftermath Epilogue Chelouche Family Tree Bibliography

About the Author :
Yosef Eliyahu Chelouche (1870–1934) was a prominent builder, entrepreneur, public figure, and founder of Tel Aviv. Michelle U. Campos is associate professor of history and Jewish studies at Pennsylvania State University. A historian of late Ottoman Palestine, she is the author of Ottoman Brothers: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Early Twentieth-Century Palestine. Or Aleksandrowicz is assistant professor in the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. He is an architectural and urban historian and serves as the chief editor of the Architectures book series at Babel Publishers. Aleksandrowicz is also a descendant of Yosef Eliyahu Chelouche.

Review :
“Between Jaffa and Tel Aviv is a first-hand account by a Jewish ‘native son’ of a dramatic period in the history of Palestine. A brilliant introduction contextualizes the memoir, while photographs, maps, and annotations make this book a superb resource for both research and teaching.”  “With this excellent translation, the Chelouche memoir joins the canon of texts students must consult to understand Palestine’s transformations in the nineteenth and early-twentieth century. Equally valuable is Campos and Aleksandrowicz’s lucid, erudite introduction contextualizing Chelouche’s fascinating life.”  “Beautifully translated and masterfully introduced, this memoir is a riveting historical document about Ottoman Palestine, Mandatory Palestine, early Zionism, and the intertwined histories of Jaffa and Tel Aviv. With its vivid narratives, nostalgia to bygone Arab-Jewish coexistence, as well as inner contradictions and blind spots, it offers a fascinating window into Sephardi perception and reception of Zionism. An invaluable resource for students and scholars.”