Authors

Discussion

Solomon Czortkower (1903-1943) was considered to be one of the most prominent young anthropologist in Poland at the time. He was one of a followers of Jan Czekanowski’s methods which had numerous supporters but also many critiques due to its new (by the standards of the day) approach to determining racial affiliation. In 1938 he published his studies on Yemenite Jews. His work as well as his students' will show a glimpse of a role the race played in contemporary debates and intra-Jewish relations. The issue is part of a greater project in which I analyze various aspects of Polish-Jewish attitudes towards the Jews from the Middle East in interwar period and at the same time locate that analysis in trans-Jewish political and social context.
In the presentation I will critically examine how the Jews from the Middle East were regarded by Polish Jews within the context of anthropology of the time. By highlighting Czortkower's perspectives, I want to illuminate how in the early twentieth century, Polish Jews established discursive constructions of Middle Eastern Jewry. I will also explore the contexts in which the topic of Jews from Middle Eastern countries were present in interwar Poland. This will help me to determine how Polish Jews’ engagement in debates on modernity, development, race, and identity shaped their representations of Middle Eastern Jewry.