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many men, women and children were
),
trapped in the net of the slave trade,
"I wrote this book because I want-
says Faber. "There has never been any
• Stage Seafood Salad
ed to establish once and for all that
question that some Jews were
Jews had minimal — nearly nonexis-
• Chicken Rollup
involved.
tent — involvement in the slave
"But some people believe that Jews
• Cobb Salad
trade," says Eli Faber, author of the
dominated the slave trade, that Jews
were responsible for the slave trade in
recently released Jews, Slaves, and the
And ag Always.... A perfect
Slave Trade: Setting the Record Straight
the New World, and thus Jews bear
(New York University Press; $27.95).
the brunt of responsibility for slavery.
Corned Beef Sandwicht
Faber, a professor of history at John
This is simply untrue."
For example, in
Jay College of Criminal
1994 a Nation of
Justice, City University
Deli • Dining* Catering
Islam leader told the
of New York, also is the
New York Times that
author of A Time for
Serving the Finest
Jews
owned 75 per-
Planting: The First
Jewish Delicatessen
cent of all slaves in
Migration, 1654-1820,
the American South
since 1962
the first volume in the
prior to the Civil War.
five-volume The Jewish
Open until 10 pm
Faber's painstaking
People in America.
research shows that in
rti Nat until 11 pm
In his new book, the
actuality Southern
248.855.6622
author revisits an
Jews owned few
important chapter in
slaves, and that the
both Jewish and
total slaving activity
African diasporic histo-
of all Southern Jews
ry. Focusing on the
was less than that of a
British Empire over the
single, large non-
course of more than
Jewish firm engaged
200 years, he assesses
in the slave trade.
Jewish participation in
The book has
slave trading compa-
TRAYS
made an impact in scholarly quarters,
nies, slave ship owner-
DINING ROOM • CARRY-OUT
ship, and the sale and ownership of
including laudatory reviews in Kirkus
slaves.
Reviews, which called the book
Using thousands of original docu-
"meticulously researched," and
ments — including personal diaries,
Publishers Weekly, which called the
wills, shipping and tax records, stock-
scholarship "stunning." But it has not
Q)
B-N
ormNeroCheckeo Bar-E
transfer ledgers, censuses, slaver logs
of yet entered the mainstream dia-
and synagogue rolls, Faber establishes
logue
r
that Jews had miniscule involvement
Faber says he continues to
(248) 968-7427
in the slave trade — especially when
encounter claims that Jews financed
the slave trade, and is not surprised
compared to non-Jews.
Lincoln Shopping Center
Faber undertook the challenge to
that his research has not had a far-
10-1/2 Mile Road & Greenfield
determine Jewish involvement in the
reaching impact.
(248)
968-0022
Oak Park ■
slave trade following a spate of allega-
"This is an academic work that is
tions
in
the
early
1990s
that
Jews
Dinner
loaded
with statistics. It takes time to
■
Breakfast ■ Lunch
were
instrumental
in
its
practice.
work
its
way into the cultural dia-
Kiddie
Menu
After-Theater ■
The claims include the famed 1991
logue," he said, noting that the book's
lecture by Leonard Jeffries, then-chair-
written text is 146 pages, followed by
man of the black studies department at
200 pages of appendices, notes and
the City College of New York, which
bibliographies.
identified Jews as principal planners,
Appendices include lists of names
financiers and organizers of the
of Jewish investors, vessel owners,
Atlantic slave trade. The same theme
importers and residents of Jewish
DETROIT IMRE MEWS
communities in slave trading coun-
was revisited in The Secret Relationship
Between Blacks and Jews, issued by the
tries like Jamaica and Barbados.
Nation of Islam the same year, and
"I thought the publishers would
picked up by Harvard University
balk at, printing more than 100
No w available @ these
Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., who
pages of names, but they didn't,"
ANN ARBOR
LOCATIONS:
called it one of the most influential"
Faber says with a laugh. "I was glad
• Borders Books
because the facts are all there for
black
books
of
the
year.
• Barnes & Noble
"We
shall
probably
never
know,
in
anyone to examine."
• Hillel House
all its grim and cruel enormity, how
• Mainstreet Books

Between The Pages

Stage & Co.

as:020

Bfisq,T)

Faber includes interesting sections,
including one that is titled
"Determining Who Was Jewish," in
which he describes his methods to
establish Jewish identity. But one pri-
mary question remains unanswered:
Why did Jews avoid the slave trade?
Faber offers no formula.
"I read thousands of journals, and
no where did I find any editorial
comment on the slave trade, so I can't
as a historian ascribe any reason for
Jewish noninvolvement in the slave
trade," he says. "I can't say whether it
was moral, ethical, sociological or
economic."
Faber's next project will center on
the history of Jewish intermarriage in
America. "It's a pressing topic, and it
comes up in all our continuity discus-
sions. But I'd like to see what was
going on 200 years ago," he said.

--Amy Mindell

in RECORD MAIN

ELI FABER

BB BAR-B-QUE
HOUSE

is

.

There are

Many ways

to Pick U p the

• Michigan Union
Bookstore
• Nicola's Books,

(A Little Professor Books Co.)

2/5
1999

ozingerMall 'S

Rabbi Jerry Schwarzbard: Getting ready
for the JTS manuscript exhibit at the
DIA.

Jewish Treasures

Rabbi Jerry Schwarzbard will speak
on the coming exhibit "Treasures of
Jewish Culture and Heritage from the
Library of the Jewish Theological
Seminary" 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8,
in the Butzel Conference Suites at the<
Max M. Fisher Building in
Bloomfield Hills.
The exhibit of more than 100 rare
and beautifully illustrated manu-
scripts, some dating to the 14th cen-
tury, will be seen for the first time
outside the Jewish Theological
Seminary (JTS) Wednesday, March