Description
Join acclaimed Israeli-British historian Avi Shlaim in conversation about his unique memoir from the lost world of Arab-Jews.
In 1950, Avi Shlaim was just five years old when antisemitic violence following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War forced his family to flee their beloved Iraq to live in a newly-created Israel. Now the rump of a once flourishing community of over 150,000 Iraqi Jews, dating back 2,600 years, has dwindled to single figures.
In his new book, Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew, Avi Shlaim describes how his parents had many Muslim friends in Baghdad, but no Zionist ones, and recalls how the Iraqi Jewish community, once celebrated for its ancient heritage and rich culture, was sprayed with DDT upon its arrival in Israel.
Avi Shlaim talks to fellow historian and author Marc David Baer about the disappearing heritage of Arab-Jews caught in the crossfire of secular ideologies.
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About the Author
Avi Shlaim
Avi Shlaim was born in Baghdad and grew up in Israel. He is now a Professor of International Relations at St Antony’s College, Oxford. His previous books include the critically acclaimed The Iron Wall and he writes regularly for the Guardian, Middle East Eye and other outlets.
About the Chair
Marc David Baer
Marc David Baer is Head of Department and Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. An American and British historian, he is an expert on Muslim-Jewish relations and the Ottoman Empire. His latest book is The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars and Caliphs (Basic 2021), which was short-listed for the Wolfson Prize in History and has been translated into a dozen languages.
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