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Italian School, Khoms, Libya
This is the approximate location of the Italian school in Khoms (Al-Khums,כומס, الخمس), Libya (לוב, ليبيا). It was founded during the Italian occupation of Libya, which started in 1911. Italian education was available to boys and girls in Khoms.
Description
During the Italian occupation of Libya from 1911-1943, Libyan Jews were italianized by organizations such as Italian schools.This cultural transformation included an increase in the education of women in Jewish communities, for the purpose of resocializing them to fit in with European society. Whereas Jewish boys would attend Italian schools to become proficient in economic operations with Europe, Jewish girls in Khoms attended Italian schools for sociocultural reasons.1
After attending classes here, Jewish students would go to the Ben Yehudah school to learn Hebrew. From 1928-1949, a Libyan Jewish rabbi and local school principal named Frigia Zuarez worked to revive the Hebrew language in Khoms. His educational reforms were so thorough that Hebrew became the daily language of Jewish boys in Khoms and even their Arab playmates picked up some Hebrew words.2
Khoms, Libya
Khoms is a city in the Murqub District on the coast of Libya. It is located on top of an old Roman town named Lebda. In this town was a Jewish settlement that was thought to be there in the 2nd century. Roman Emperor Septimus Severus helped Jews live in Khoms and allowed them to hold positions of importance in the city.3
After the city of Lebda disappeared in the 12th century, the city of Khoms took its place. Because of the Jewish population that had been in Lebda, Jews continued to travel to the new town of Khoms because they felt safe knowing that their ancestors had been there before. Jews traveled from places such as Tripoli to settle at Khoms, and flourished by selling the Halfa plant. After Italy took control of Libya in 1911, the Jewish population continued to thrive because of the launch of two family businesses that specialized in processing the Halfa plant.4
The Italian colonization of Libya sparked tensions that ultimately spawned the Battle of Marqub –a series of battles between the Syrian natives and Italy. During World War II, the Allied forces took control of Khoms, forcing Italy to rescind its claim of Libya in 1947. Nonetheless a strong Italian presence still remains in Khoms today.5
In 1945, anti-Semitic riots broke out throughout Tripoli and many Jews were fearful of the idea of these riots spreading to Khoms. Because of this, a majority of Jews migrated to Israel. Today there are no longer any Jews in Khoms, nor in any other part of Libya.6
Khoms, Libya
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Sources
Endnotes
1. Rachel Simon, “Language Change and Socio-Political Transformations: The Case of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Libyan Jews,” Jewish History 4, no. 1 (1989): 104.
2. Simon, 119.
3. “Jewish Community of Khoms, Libya,” ANU Museum of the Jewish People, accessed August 9, 2022, https://dbs.anumuseum.org.il/skn/en/c6/e258679/Place/Khoms_Libya.
4. “Jewish Community of Khoms, Libya.”
5. “Al-Khums,” in Wikipedia, July 7, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Al-Khums&oldid=1096840773.
6. “Jewish Community of Khoms, Libya.”
Works Cited
“Al-Khums.” In Wikipedia, July 7, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Al-Khums&oldid=1096840773.
ANU Museum of the Jewish People. “Jewish Community of Khoms, Libya.” Accessed August 9, 2022. https://dbs.anumuseum.org.il/skn/en/c6/e258679/Place/Khoms_Libya.
Simon, Rachel. “Language Change and Socio-Political Transformations: The Case of Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Libyan Jews.” Jewish History 4, no. 1 (1989): 101–21.