Geç Osmanlı ve İngiliz Mandası Döneminde Kudüs Yahudileri: Osmanlıcılık, Siyonizm ve Emperyalizm Karşılaşmaları

Abstract

When considering the integration of Jewish identity with a settled existence, the city which comes to mind of is undoubtedly Jerusalem. After explaining the importance of Jerusalem in Judaism, this study examines the social structure of the Jewish community in Jerusalem at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century in the context of Ottomanism, Zionism and imperialism. In the late 19th century, the social characteristics of Jerusalem's Jews indicated a fragmented structure, as they were made up of congregations that differed from each other in terms of language, historical origins, occupational profiles, religious rituals and daily practices. The division between Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities, living in separate communal organizations, deepened with the arrival of immigrant groups from Europe after 1882. The Jewish community in Jerusalem was greatly affected by the rise of Zionism and the growth of the Jewish population in Jerusalem, as well as by trends such as imperialism and orientalism, which shaped European attitudes towards Eastern societies. This period transformed Judaism from a religious to a national identity, and led to new debates about Jewish identity. The rise of Zionism not only disrupted social harmony between Jews and the Arab majority in Jerusalem and Palestine, but also exacerbated existing divisions within the Jewish community, creating a new distinction between the "old" and "new" Yishuv. The influence of Western norms on the Jewish community in Jerusalem was another factor in this process. The study presents the transformation of the Jewish community's social structure and its interaction with the local population of Jerusalem not just through ethnic and religious identities, but also as a multi-layered process shaped by global and regional political influences. © 2025, Muhammed Mustafa KULU. All rights reserved.