Founded in the eighth Century CE by Anan ben David, the basic tenet of this breakaway Jewish sect was that the Bible was the only divine script. Over the ensuing years, a long line of sages consolidated this dictum, establishing a set of rules which at times was even more rigid than the Rabbanite teachings they had rejected. From the tenth to the twentieth centuries the Karaites were dispersed and persecuted as were their Rabbanite brethren. By the middle of the 20th century, their largest settlement, a flourishing community in Egypt, came to an end with the eruption of hostilities between Israel and her Arab neighbours. Most of this community settled in Israel where they met with opposition or indifference from the Rabbanite establishment. This work describes the history of the Karaites, their present situation and the barriers they have overcome in the fulfillment of their special brand of Judaism. / Religious Studies & Arabic / M.A. (Semitics)

The dissertation is dedicated to the history of the East European Karaite Jews (Karaites), a highly interesting ethno-religious Jewish group. It focuses on the Karaites of Galicia (Ukraine) from 1772 to 1945. The first four chapters of the dissertation are devoted to the Austrian period in the history of the Galician Karaites (1772-1918). Chapter One demonstrates that the Karaites represent an unparalleled example of preferential treatment of a Jewish community by the Austrian administration. Chapter Two provides readers with an overview of the "internal" history of the Karaite communities of Halicz and Kukizow. Chapter Three outlines the religious and ethnographic customs and traditions of the Galician Karaites. Chapter Four focuses on relations between the Karaites and their ethnic neighbours - the Slavs and the Ashkenazic Jews. Chapter Five is dedicated to the history of the Karaites in Polish Galicia between the two world wars. It is in this period that the Karaites started to become more and more separated from the Ashkenazic Jews. Chapter Six reconstructs the process of dejudaization and Turkicization of the Karaite community, highlighting the role of Seraja Szapszal, the Karaite ideological leader. It ends with an analysis of the history of the community during the period of the Nazi occupation. Chapter Seven outlines the ultimate decline of the Galician community after the Second World War. It also describes the current state of the Galician Karaite community and its historical legacy. The conclusion provides some essential remarks regarding the position of the Karaite case within the wider framework of Jewish and European history.

Founded in the eighth Century CE by Anan ben David, the basic tenet of this breakaway Jewish sect was that the Bible was the only divine script. Over the ensuing years, a long line of sages consolidated this dictum, establishing a set of rules which at times was even more rigid than the Rabbanite teachings they had rejected. From the tenth to the twentieth centuries the Karaites were dispersed and persecuted as were their Rabbanite brethren. By the middle of the 20th century, their largest settlement, a flourishing community in Egypt, came to an end with the eruption of hostilities between Israel and her Arab neighbours. Most of this community settled in Israel where they met with opposition or indifference from the Rabbanite establishment. This work describes the history of the Karaites, their present situation and the barriers they have overcome in the fulfillment of their special brand of Judaism. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Semitics)