As an integral component of the cultures of the Near and Middle East, Jewish communities have made significant contributions to the region's cultural heritage. Prominent examples include buildings, archives and manuscript collections. The communities have largely vanished, mainly as a result of migration, leaving these cultural goods without dedicated custodians. Attitudes to, and treatment of this Jewish heritage in the region's nation states vary widely. In some of them, it is protected and made accessible in museums. In others, prospects for its preservation and study are overshadowed by the prevailing political climate.
What then is happening to Jewish buildings in the Near East (and North Africa), what has become of the rich manuscript collections assembled by Jewish communities? Based on the consideration of ten selected example, this lecture will attempt to shed light on these questions.
Lecture given by Prof. Dr. Ronny Vollandt (Institute of Near and Middle Eastern Studies at LMU)
The lecture series on the Cultures of Islam 2021: Cultural Heritage“ is organized by the Munich Center for the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Central Asia at LMU in collaboration with the Society of Friends of Islamic Art and Culture (Gesellschaft der Freunde der Islamischen Kunst und Kultur e.V.) and the German-Turkish Association of Bavaria (Deutsch-Türkische Gesellschaft Bayern e.V.).