ABSTRACT

The paper explores how a ‘sense of Italianness’ formed among Jews in Libya during the Italian colonial period and in the decades following its formal end. Based on interviews with Jews born in Libya to different generations and currently living in Israel and Europe, the essay considers the concrete declensions of this socio-cultural phenomenon and the different meanings that the respondents ascribe to it. Meanings span from the macro level of historical events and societal changes, to the micro level of individual social relations and material culture. Viewed across generations and framed in the peculiarities of Italian colonial history, the ‘sense of Italianness’ expressed by Jews in Libya appears as both a colonial and post-colonial legacy.

摘要

本文探讨了在意大利殖民时期及其正式结束后的几十年里，利比亚的犹太人如何形成“意大利意识”。基于对出生在利比亚的不同世代、目前居住在以色列和欧洲的犹太人的采访，本文考虑了这种社会文化现象的具体变化以及受访者赋予它的不同含义。含义涵盖从宏观层面的历史事件和社会变迁，到微观层面的个体社会关系和物质文化。从几代人的角度来看，并以意大利殖民历史的特殊性为框架，利比亚犹太人所表达的“意大利意识”似乎既是殖民时期的遗产，也是后殖民时期的遗产。