Refugees or Migrants

Robert Chazan is S. H. and Helen R. Scheuer Professor of Modern Jewish History and professor of history at New York University. He is the author of Anti-Judaism to Anti-Semitism: Ancient and Medieval Christian Constructions of Jewish History.

“Chazan makes a compelling case that will have a profound impact on longue-durée perspectives of human migration.”—David de Boer, Studia Rosenthaliana“In easily understandable language…Chazan discusses Jewish migrations over the sweep of Jewish history…They were not refugees but migrants, looking for economic opportunities and a better life. He makes the point convincingly.”—Martin Lockshin, Jerusalem Post“Impressive and compelling. . . . Chazan has undertaken a major re‐evaluation of one of the key themes in traditional Jewish history. It will most certainly be widely and thoroughly discussed and become a seminal work.”—Benjamin Ravid, Brandeis University  “Robert Chazan is today the leading scholar of Medieval Jewish History. This book is an exemplary introduction to the study of Jewish History and will be of much interest and much use to Jewish and general readers.”—Joseph Shatzmiller, Duke University  “This deeply learned exploration of millennia of Jewish history demonstrates that Jewish population movement often resulted from voluntary responses to complex and fascinating forces.”—David Berger, Yeshiva University  “In this masterful, wide-ranging study, Robert Chazan confronts one of the central myths of Jewish self-understanding. Drawing on a lifetime of learning, Chazan shows that Jews, like most migrants, moved more often not out of compulsion but in the hope of bettering themselves.”—David Engel, New York University