A Man of Three Worlds: Samuel Pallache, a Moroccan Jew in Catholic and Protestant Europe by Mercedes García-Arenal & Gerard Wiegers (review)

152 Finally an English Index of each individual citation listed in the glossary is matched with its root radicals; a most useful innovation for comparative Semitists.Intheverybeginningthereader isaccordedaninformativeforewardwhere the author explains the purpose of his research, citing as his principal aims, both historical reasons and a broader knowledgeofArabicstudiesingeneralaswell as the obvious broader scope of comparative Arabic studies. Reviewing a work by this author is always an exciting and invigorating challenge to one’s grasp of the material under scrutiny. Borg’sCypriotArabicshedsvalueable light upon a deviation from mainstream Arabic with resultant minimal interference by the varieties of Greek spoken in Cyprus. Comparative Glossary of Cypriot Maronite Arabic is a significant contribution to the more generalised knowledge of Arabiclanguagestudieswithinthegreater diaspora and lays the groundwork for further comparative and referential advanced studies in Arabic Studies overall . It is and will remain for a long time, an important work of reference to Arabists and scholars of Maltese in particular and to scholars of Semitic studies generally. Personally I would have preferred an accompanying English version of his oft quoted German language citations, the latter being a far lesser known language internationally. This final comment is certainlynotintendedasanegativeobservation ;justbearinginmindthewiderscope, interestandcomprehensioninhisarticle’s readership. Ultimately, Borg’s customary use of the original source language is a sound practice indeed. After all it has benefitted me greatly by compelling me to add yet another language to my collection by repeated referrals to a German grammar and dictionary. Roderick Bovingdon Sydney, Australia García-Arenal, Mercedes & Wiegers, Gerard,translatedbyMartinBeagles2003. AManofThreeWorlds:SamuelPallache, a Moroccan Jew in Catholic and Protestant Europe. The John Hopkins University Press, 173 pp. ISBN 0-8018-7225-1 Mercedes Garcia-Arenal and Gerard Wiegars’ book on the history of Samuel Pallache, a late sixteenth-century Jewish diplomat of some eminence, is a successful attempt at reconstructing the biography of an individual who never thought to leave much trace of his life and work to the extent that, in historical accounts his identity has often been confused with that of his relatives. The period in which Pallache lived makes it additionally difficult for the authors to trace his history. The fact that he was a late sixteenthcentury Jew inhabiting three different worlds—Spain, Holland, and Morocco— made researching his biography more difficult due to the fact that public archives for early Modern times are practically non-existent in Morocco. The available archives are in Europe, and may be found in various State Archives in Belgium and Spain. The documents unearthed from these archives yield only piecemeal information since Samuel Pallache’s ethnicity ensured the record would remain incomplete. Jews were looked down upon, and though the levels of intolerance varied, it is generally true that Christian scribes tended to be selective and to even 153 unique. It recalls that of Moriscos, as the converted Jews of Spain were known at the time and indeed by many European diplomats—English and French in particular—as well as North African agents. Diplomats at the time did not always show undivided loyalty to their employers. Thus, the chapters of this book alternate between a chronological account of Samuel Pallache’s life and a general discussion of his times. The authors aptly discuss issues of ‘collective amnesia’ in relationtosuccumbingsomeJewstoState pressure and consequently converting to Christianity. Like other foreigners, Jews were not referred to by their proper name, but by their ethnicity. At the same time, the authors show that the situation in Spain, in relation to the Jews, was improving by the end of the sixteenth century. That much might be suggested by the decision of Philip III of Spain to seekoutthediplomaticservicesofSamuel Pallache, as well as that of his brother, Joseph. Further family connections are slowly revealed in the book, such as the existence of Samuel’s nephew, Moses, about whom there is little, if any, information , and who worked as Samuel Pallache’s agent to the Dutch. The involvement of other members of the Pallache family, besides that of Samuel, in this affair, is perhaps the key to their success. It could be read in the context of Jewish custom. Jews derived significant advantage from their closelyknit community, which helped them both in business—a situation that has been comprehensively studied...