Research

The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the subsequent founding of the modern Iraqi State represent a moment in history where Iraqi Jews were not only considered full citizens of the state but also actively encouraged to participate in almost all aspects of the nascent Iraqi society. In the early years of the Iraqi state many members of the Jewish community, not only espoused this new Iraqi identity but also helped to create it through participation in intellectual and political circles. My research aims to explore the various and at times conflictual identities which existed within the Jewish community at this time by studying of the Baghdadi Jewish Community's relationship Arab Nationalism, European culture, and Jewish Transnationalism.

Supervisor: prof.dr. H.L. Murre-van den Berg (Leiden Institute for Religious Studies)

Sasha Goldstein-Sabbah started in September 2012 a PhD programme within the NWO project “Arabic and Its Alternatives” led by Professor Heleen Murre-van den Berg. The topic of her research is on the Jewish community of Baghdad during the British Mandate and the early years of the Iraqi state.

Curriculum vitae

Sasha Goldstein-Sabbah graduated in 2003 from SOAS earning a MA in Israeli and Diaspora Studies her thesis topic was on saint veneration among Moroccan Jews, she also holds a BA in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies from McGill University.

Prior to coming to Leiden University Sasha Goldstein-Sabbah worked as a Senior Publishing Editor at Brill and Springer STM.

Publications

“Local preservation, national demolition, international publication: The Ta'rikh Mandinka from Bijini, ca. 1800-2007.” History in Africa, 36, pp. 438-443.

Co-written with J. Jansen. The Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, ed. Norman Stillman (Brill, 2010).

Authored Articles: “Bismuth, Joseph Roger”; “Damanhur”; “Daoud, Reinette Sultana” “Macias, Enrico”; “Ghrenassia, Sylvain”; “Mariage – North Africa”; “Melilla” “Mimouna”