Musta'arabi Jews - in Palestine

In Palestine

The Musta'arabi Jews in Palestine constituted one of the three main components of the Old Yishuv (Jewish community of Palestine), together with the Sephardi Jews, and Ashkenazi Jews. The latter were a minority whose numbers shrank further due to intermarriage with Sephardim. The Musta'arabi Jews in Palestine were descendants of the ancient Hebrews, who never left the Land of Israel, instead remaining there from the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE to the First Aliyah in 1881, prior to the onset of Zionist immigration.

Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in the mid-16th century, there were no more than 10,000 Jews divided between numerous congregations in all of Palestine. Within the Jewish community at this time, there was some conflict between the Musta'arabim and Jews who had immigrated to Palestine from Spain and Sicily. Later on, there was also conflict between Jewish citizens of the Ottoman Empire and those who held foreign passports. From 1839 onward, Jewish subjects of the Ottoman Empire, including the Mustarabim, were represented by a locally nominated rabbi, whose appointment to serve as a hakham bashi or "chief rabbi" required approval from the Ottoman authorities. This hierarchical system paralleled one previously established for Christian bishops in the empire.