Jewish-Muslim Relations in Libya · 177law to rule—Jewish, Muslim, or Italian—even the sole case regarding
inheritance that was brought before him was not decided.^13 In 1954 the
last Jewish officers of the Libyan police were dismissed, and in 1958 the
Jewish communal council of Tripoli was dissolved and replaced by a
Muslim representative.^14 This ended Jewish participation in the admin-
istration and judiciary in Libya, ending even Jewish internal administra-
tive autonomy. By then, some 6,000 Jews remained in Libya, including
some 1,200 holding Italian citizenship. Since even those who lacked a
foreign citizenship or who were ready to renounce it could not become
Libyan citizens, Jews could not integrate in the state and public adminis-
tration of independent Libya. One should remember, though, that many
Jews owned medium and large businesses, and most of them usually
preferred to remain in the private sector and act as middlemen between
the state and public sector vis-à-vis local and foreign private businesses,
rather than join the administration.
Security
In Libya, the protection that the state accorded the Jews was mainly in
the hands of the same elements that often conspired against them. Con-
sequently, the Jews suffered at times from inappropriate protection in-
volving cases of murder, robbery, and attacks on private property and
places of worship. During most of the period under review, the reasons
for attacking Jews were mainly economic, social, and religious, against
small-scale targets; in the mid-1940s a growing nationalist fervor was
added to private motivation and the dimension of the targets increased.
The Ottoman regime in Libya tried to protect the Jews. The central au-
thority installed guards in places destined for trouble and even returned
some Jewish babies who had been kidnapped.^15 This was not always the
case regarding middle and junior administrators, soldiers, and policemen
who were mostly local inhabitants whose interests often rested with the
population among whom the Jews lived. As a result, one can often notice
that following acts of robbery, murder, and synagogue arson, the local
authorities did not hasten to find the culprits and punish them, despite
forceful and repeated demands from the central authority. Local police-
men at times did not protect the Jews and even joined the aggressors.^16
Consequently, Jews often preferred to reach an agreement with the local
authorities and maintain a modus vivendi with the population amid whom