State, Nationalism, and the Jewish Communities of Modern Greece by Evdoxios Doxiadis (review)

The 1990s saw the emergence of interest in the history of the Jews of Greece. Before Evdoxios Doxiadis's new book two other authors have attempted a concise synthesis on the subject: Bernard Pierron opened the way in 1996 and Katherine Fleming followed in 2008. Doxiadis defines his own ambitions (ix–xiv): First, he aims to consider the interaction of the Modern Greek State with its minorities by focusing on the relations between the state and the Jewish communities. Second, by bridging the Ottoman with the Greek era, he observes the evolution of nationalism and national politics and attempts to integrate Jewish history into the history of the Greek state.

The book is chronologically organized. It opens with a first chapter on the presence of Jews in Greek lands from antiquity to the Ottoman Empire that serves as an introduction for the reader who is unfamiliar with the old Romaniote communities, the arrival of Sephardic Jews, the Ottoman millet system, and the dominant role of religion in Ottoman times. The second chapter shows why Jews would be placed outside the emerging national identity. In the popular current of Greek proto-nationalism, Jews were supposed to support Ottoman authority and were considered an obstacle to a Greek revival. On their part, both intellectuals associated with western ideas and the Orthodox Church promoted a so-called Hellenic identity that excluded non-Christians. During the War of Independence, Christian rebels pursued the Jews as intensely as the Muslims; anti-Jewish atrocities were common. Though the strong association of the nation with religion was never abandoned, an evolution in the terms in which citizenship was envisioned allowed non-Christians to be considered Greek citizens (37). The constitution of 1832 recognized the Eastern Orthodox Church as the dominant religion but gave to individuals the right to practice their religion freely; professions and offices were open to the few hundreds of Jews who could vote and—in theory at least—be elected in municipal offices along with the rest of the population.

Chapter 3 examines the formation of national identity during the first decades of the Greek Kingdom. Those years saw a religious revival and the creation of a national church. In contemporaries' eyes, language and history linking ancient and modern Greeks became significant markers of Greekness, while religion, which had served as the common basis in the fight against the Ottomans, became a fundamental aspect of the national identity, recognized by the constitutions. Although full civic rights and obligations were given to the few Jews and Muslims of the Kingdom, on the level of everyday life, forced conversions continued to be supported by municipal or local authorities. After 1844 Greek politics were dominated by the Megali Idea. During this period, Greek consuls identified Salonika's Jews as inherently hostile to Christians and by extension to the Greek state.

The consequences of the territorial expansion in the Ionian Islands, Thessaly, and Macedonia are examined in chapter 4. Between 1862 and 1923, the Greek state confronted Jewish and Muslim populations. Doxiadis refuses to link the anti-Jewish attacks, which followed blood libel accusations to nationalism and irredentism; he stresses that the official state interventions aimed at the protection of the Jews and opts for local explanations of violence. However, one should note that these interventions did not prevent the fusion of different anti-Semitic currents (economic, political, and religious). In the context of the Balkan wars, competing nationalisms, widespread violence, and the interests of the Great Powers (Great Britain, France, and Russia), the state faced new challenges. Doxiadis argues that the different historical trajectory of Romaniote and Sephardic Jews had an impact on Greek perceptions of the two communities. The incorporation of the Romaniote Jewish communities in 1881 was successful: Hellenized Jews who had shared history and language with Christian fellows were considered to be useful citizens. In 1912, this was not the case for Salonika's Jewish latecomers; they spoke a foreign language, supported the...