Acknowledgments

i

am indebted to many for their assistance and support as i wrote this

book, and it is a pleasure to have this opportunity to express my

appreciation.

i began this project as a doctoral candidate at Columbia University,

where i came to study Jewish history with yosef Hayim yerushalmi,

of blessed memory, and Michael stanislawski. in seminars with

yerushalmi and stanislawski, i observed how great historians read and

analyze texts; i hope that their influences are recognizable here. As my

graduate studies progressed, my research interest in Zionism led me to

Middle Eastern history. Rashid Khalidi, through his research, mentor-

ship, and generosity, sent me on a journey into the fascinating world

of Late ottoman Palestine from which i have yet to emerge. Khalidi

also kindly shared with me Muhammad Ruhi al- Khalidi’s unpublished

manuscript, a text that sparked many of the questions that drive this

book. My committee also included two scholars from other universi-

ties, derek Penslar and Ronald Zweig, who treated me— and have con-

tinued to treat me— as their own.

As i was completing my dissertation, i had the privilege of spending

a year at the Center for Advanced Judaic studies at the University of

Pennsylvania, where i was welcomed by the center’s director david

Ruderman. My conversations there with other scholars interested in

secularism and modern Jewish history— including Annette Aronowicz,

Ari Joskowicz, david Myers, Amnon Raz- Krakotzkin, daniel schwartz,

scott Ury, and yael Zerubavel— were most helpful as i considered some

of the implications of my work. At the CAJs i also gained a dear col-

league and friend, Ethan Katz, who has read and critiqued many parts

of this book multiple times.

After i finished my doctorate, the indefatigable Hindy najman gra-

ciously invited me to the University of toronto. i had the opportunity

there to work more closely with my mentor derek Penslar, who took

me under his wings and has wisely and selflessly guided me intellectu-

ally and professionally ever since. in toronto, i also benefited greatly

from the intellectual friendships of doris Bergen, sol Goldberg, Jens

Hanssen, Jeffrey Kopstein, Alejandro Paz, Robin Penslar, natalie Roth-

man, and Harold troper.