The historiography of Ottoman Jewry

The author provides both a historical assessment and a critical audit of the historiography of Ottoman Jewry. The account commences with pioneering works of a still fragmentary nature from the late nineteenth century. It then dwells on more comprehensive works that date to the formative and second phase of this historiography. The author then compares historical scholarship on Ottoman Jewry produced in the Israeli academy with parallel efforts in the field undertaken by contemporaries in the USA. In both countries two generations of scholars are labouring simultaneously on enriching the field. Throughout the article the author indicates obsolete paradigms of scholarship, while also identifying serious lacunae in the field that still need to be dealt with.