ABSTRACT
Ethnic affiliation dominated the urban ecology of both the old walled cities of Ottoman Palestine and the country’s newer and smaller cities with mixed populations (Muslims, Jews and Christians). It was expressed in spatial as well as social organization: through particularistic institutions and distinctive neighbourhoods. This chapter examines the internal structure of the Jewish quarters in three traditional cities in 19th-century Palestine, focusing on the variations in spatial differentiation in the different locales. Trends unique to each city have been revealed, not only between the two major groupings of Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, but also between the various subgroups of Middle Eastern Jewry. The mapping of these phenomena has uncovered patterns supported by current theory in the fields of urban structure, immigrant and ethnic settlement and the early-modern city; and range from almost total integration to clear ethnic differentiation, reflected in distinct residential enclaves.
