Synopsis
This collection studies Jewish involvement in seafaring from Biblical, through Greco-Roman, Medieval and Early Modern periods to the present. This broad historical perspective allows a closer look at various attitudes of Jews to maritime activities, especially as shipowners and traders in the Mediterranean regions.
Booknews
Seafaring is the theme uniting this group of eight essays, originally presented as papers at a 1997 symposium at the U. of Haifa in Israel (they also appeared in the June 2000 issue of , v.15). The contributors (all, including the editor, are scholars in Israel in history, Near Eastern studies, Mediterranean studies, or Hebraic studies) consider the maritime history of the Jews in Biblical times, the Middle Ages (using the Geniza documents), at various ports during the Early Modern period, in guilds in 19th-century Istanbul, and the influence of Jewish-German immigrants on shipping in Israel. Distributed by ISBS. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)