174 · Rachel Simon
in the Muslim world and the Middle East, including the Arab-Jewish con-
flict in Palestine. Moreover, the British army stationed in Libya included
Jewish volunteers from Palestine as well as Arabs and British servicemen
who had previously served in Palestine. This and the discussions over
the political future of Libya increased Zionism and Arab nationalism,
harming Jewish-Muslim relations in Libya and resulting in mass Jewish
emigration to Israel (1949–51). The Sanusi monarchic period was strongly
influenced by the Arab-Israeli conflict, shaping Jewish-Muslim relations
until the emigration of the rest of the community in 1967 (following the
Arab-Israeli War) and 1969 (following Qaḍafi’s revolution).
Legal Status
The legal status of the Jews of Libya underwent significant changes dur-
ing the period under review. During the Ottoman period, most Jews were
Ottomans, and the authorities based their position toward them on the
Omar Covenant. These regulations came to be considered in Libya as
mandatory social customs, and most of the population was ignorant of
their religious origin. Some of these regulations were officially abolished
in the Ottoman Empire following the nineteenth-century reforms (tanzi-
mat). Nonetheless, the application of the reforms in this sphere in Libya
was not complete because the Muslim majority continued to regard these
regulations as socially binding. In addition, the abolished poll tax (jizyah)
had been replaced by a military exemption tax (bedel askeri), even though
general military conscription did not take place in Libya until 1911.^2
Jews holding European nationalities benefited from privileges ac-
corded to them through the Capitulations Agreements between the Ot-
toman Empire and several European powers. These Jews continued to
enjoy their privileged position despite attempts by the authorities to limit
them.^3
When Libya was under Italian rule, the population did not automati-
cally receive Italian citizenship. Those who already were European citi-
zens kept their status, and the rest received Libyan citizenship, which did
not enable them to participate in Italian political life. The legal position
of the Jews worsened from 1938 onward with the gradual application of
the Italian anti-Semitic racial legislation in Libya.^4 The BMA abolished
the Italian racial legislation in 1945, only following its official abrogation
in Italy.^5