ABSTRACT
At the beginning of 1942, even with the Levant under Allied control, the British were concerned about Axis spies operating in Syria and Turkey, Arabs preparing for guerrilla warfare, and Muslims training to fight with the Nazis. The entry of the United States into the war shifted the Allies’ military focus from the Middle East to North Africa. Cities were bombed, and armies fought across Libya and Tunisia. Food shortages and rationing affected everyone, as anything useful to the war effort from the French-ruled territories in North Africa was shipped to Europe to supply the Axis armies. Some Jews were deported or interned in forced labor camps, and all suffered from the Vichy laws that deprived Jews of livelihood and education. As the British moved west into Libya from Egypt and American troops landed in Algeria and Morocco (Operation Torch), Tunisia became the last bastion of German occupation. By 1943, the war had moved on to Italy and away from the Middle East and North Africa.
