Role Model and Countermodel : The Golden Age of Iberian Jewry and German Jewish Culture during the Era of Emancipation

This book uses the parameters of role model and countermodel to analyze the perception of Iberian-Jewish history and culture in German-Jewish remembrance culture during the era of emancipation. It speaks to the significance of intercultural mediation as key to the German-Jewish experience through the lens of this “Golden Age” in Jewish history.

This book explores the “Golden Age” of Sephardic Jewry on the Iberian Peninsula and its perception in German Jewish culture during the era of emancipation. For Jews living in Germany, the history of Sephardic Jewry developed into a historical example with its distinctive valence and signature against the pressure to assimilate and the emergence of anti-Semitism in Germany. It provided, moreover, a forum to engage in internal dialogue amongst Jews and external dialogue with German majority society about challenging questions of religious, political, and national identity. In this respect, the perception of prominent Sephardic Jews as intercultural mediators was key to emphasizing the skills and values Jews had to offer to civilizations in the past. German Jews invoked this past significance in their case for a Jewish role in present and future societies, especially in Germany.