David Yellin: ‘Ashkenazi’ and Middle Eastern Jew

Abstract

This article analyzes the dual identity of David Yellin as a member of the Ashkenazi community with a Middle Eastern Jewish identity (Benei Ha’aretz) exemplified through his educational and public activities from the late 19th century through the 1930s. The article begins by detailing the multiple sources that molded Yellin’s character, family life, education, social milieu, and Middle Eastern identity with its connections to the Arab population. This is followed by an exposition of Yellin’s views and activity with respect to the key issues of his time. The educational policies and decisions he implemented are illustrative of Old Yishuv influences, mainly those of the Ashkenazi community. This is particularly noticeable in the controversies between the intelligentsia of Jaffa and Jerusalem at the close of the Ottoman era, while his views of relations between the New Yishuv and the Arabs clearly reflect Middle Eastern Jewish norms. As the article goes on to show, Yellin’s views on public policy were not necessarily an attempt at compromise but rather an authentic synthesis of early influences on his character, Ashkenazi and Middle Eastern.