About

Menashe Anzi (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)

anzi@bgu.ac.il

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Dr. Menashe Anzi is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Jewish History at Ben-Gurion University, Israel. His research focuses on the history of Yemenite Jewry and Jewish–Muslim relations.

His book, The Ṣanʿāʾnis: Jews in Muslim Yemen, 1872–1950, received the Ben-Zvi Institute Prize in 2022. He leads a National Science Foundation-funded research project on the Ḥibshūsh Family-Firm and their commercial networks.

Lecture Abstract:
The “oceanic turn” has received growing attention in recent decades, yet the voices and histories of Jewish communities remain largely absent from this conversation. This lecture proposes an oceanic framework for modern Jewish history, focusing on long-term processes and intercommunal connections across the Indian Ocean. Emphasis will be placed on spatial aspects, such as port Jews, maritime climate, and sea-bound mobility, as well as shared cultural elements like conceptions of time, liturgical customs, and music.
By foregrounding these dimensions, the talk calls for a broader, more connected understanding of Jewish modernity beyond Eurocentric narratives. This approach seeks to contribute both to a reframing of Jewish historiography and to a deeper understanding of the Indian Ocean as a unified historical arena.

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