Research

My current research project is entitled “Jewish Transnationalism in the Age of Nationalism: Global Jewish Philanthropy 1918-1948,” this project is funded by the Rothschild Foundation from October 2018 - September 2020. This project is a study of the relationship between European and Middle Eastern and North African Jewry in the period between 1918-1948. Situated at the intersection of History, Jewish Studies, and Diaspora Studies, its main objective is to understand how, disparate Jewish communities interacted with each other in the post-WWI period until the creation of the state of Israel through philanthropic networks. Between 1918-1948 systemic transnational Jewish solidarity projects expanded in the areas of education, political and financial assistance – as a result interaction between sub-ethnic Jewish groups (i.e. Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi, Maghrebi) increased exponentially often via nationalist channels (British, French, Iraqi, Moroccan, etc.). These interactions transformed notions of Jewish identity, religiosity, solidarity and belonging. I will look at Jewish religious reform, political participation, and acculturation through the lens of transnational solidarity. It is my contention that this project will demonstrate the diversity of intellectual projects within the Jewish world during this period.

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 defended her doctoral dissertation at in Leiden University in January 2019. He doctoral dissertation is entitled Baghdadi Jewish Networks in Hashemite Iraq: Jewish Transnational in the Age of Nationalism. Sasha is currently a Rothschild post-doctoral fellow and lecturer at the Leiden University Center for the Study of Religion and a member of the Universiteitsraad (Leiden University). 

Sasha obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies from McGill University in 2001 and her Master’s degree in Israel and Diaspora Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies in November 2002, she is originally from New York. Upon completion of her Master’s degree, she worked in academic publishing for eight years managing numerous book series, journals, and major reference works. Her most notable project as acquisitions editor is The Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World (Brill, 2010).

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”

Publications