A Nação
Email
  • Home
  • Nação
  • Europe
  • Caribbean & Latin
  • North America
  • Custom & Ritual

The Jews of Gibraltar Under British Rule

Picture
  • Subtitle:  [None]
  • Author:  A. B. M. Serfaty
  • Publisher:  Beanland, Malin & Co., 1933; 36 pp.
  • LOC Permalink:  [not in the Library of Congress]
  • Availability:  out of print and hard to find at any price; recommend finding in a library

Review

This informative little booklet is one a small number of attempts at a synthetic history of the Jews in the British colony of Gibraltar.  Delivered as a lecture by the president of the Hebrew Community, it draws on the author’s extensive first-hand acquaintance with local societies, personalities, memories, and records, as well as the limited body of secondary literature available at the time it was published.
 
While it is not a strictly academic work, it is both a handy bibliographical reference and a valuable primary source in its own right.  In addition to its treatment of regional politics and changing attitudes to Jewish rights, it contains detailed biographical profiles of leading citizens including Aaron Cardozo, Judah Benoliel, and Moses Serfaty.  It also presents a basic sketch of the colony’s Jewish establishments, including the burial ground, all four synagogues including the Flamenca, and a handful of benevolent and communal institutions.  Those who succeed in tracking down a copy will find this brief read a fitting reward for their trouble.

Contents

Foreword by A. E. Beattie
1
The Jews of Gibraltar Under British Rule
3
Notes
29
Appendices
33