Review by Choice Review
For anyone who would like to understand the experience of living as a member of the minority Arab population in a "mixed" city in Israel, then Jaffa is both the place and the study to read. Sharing the advantages and problems inherent in writing "objectively" about one's own community, Monterescu (sociology and social anthropology, Central European Univ., Hungary) provides deep insight into the impact of historical events on economic and social life, the movement of populations in and out of Jaffa, gentrification, and conflicting nationalisms. The author attempts to balance Arab and Jewish perceptions using Israeli Jewish informants, but his principal focus is the Arab population. Monterescu examines some local institutions and describes and discusses interactions between Arabs and Jews, but Jaffa, the city, never quite comes fully alive. Contemporary ethnography often avoids detailed social and cultural description in favor of social attitudes and such, and this volume is in step with that trend. Nevertheless, this is a well-researched, very worthwhile excursus into a complicated societal problem. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries. --Laurence D. Loeb, University of Utah
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
