| This dissertation examines processes of growth and change in the Jewish community of Beirut in the late Ottoman and French periods. During this time, the community developed in a three-phase process. The early phase (until 1908) was characterized by lively migration, loose community structures, and social integration of the Jews in the city through commerce and education. The second phase (1908-1920) saw the formal organization of the community through the creation of major institutions. The third phase (1920-1939) saw the transition from Ottoman to French-Lebanese rule. The Jewish community continued to enjoy a large measure of autonomy and embarked on community revival and progress -- a development that was influenced by outside Jewish reformist currents. Influenced by Ottoman, European, Lebanese, Arab, and Jewish forces, this study maintains that the formation of the Jewish community was a complex process, involving myriad economic, social, and ideological factors. It also argues that as a development rooted in a nineteenth-century eastern Mediterranean port city, the formation of the Jewish community was a Levantine phenomenon.;The dissertation's chapters are arranged in both thematic and chronological order. The first chapter situates Beirut within a broader context of eastern Mediterranean port cities and views the emergence of the community through the historical lens of port city revival. The second chapter narrows this broad scope considerably, concentrating primarily on the impact of Beirut as a rising Ottoman (and, after 1920, Lebanese) port city on Jewish institutions and the process of organization. Extending this focus on local economic, social, and cultural forces, the third chapter discusses the role of ideology, Jewish reformist currents in particular, in community development. Greatly influenced by these reformist currents, the fourth chapter examines the role of a major socioeconomic force---philanthropy---in the shaping of the Jewish community. Taken together, the chapters investigate the nature and complexity of the array of forces underlying the formation and development of the Jewish community. |
