The Last Two Jews of Mogadishu
Nancy Harevelt Kobrin
Were there really Jews living in Somalia? This book answers that question in the affirmative. THE LAST TWO JEWS OF MOGADISHU is the first book ever to sketch out the history of these forgotten Jews, mainly focused on the crypto-Jewish community in Mogadishu. It is based on a set of email correspondence (including over 300 exchanges) between the author and a young man with his mother, of Adenite and Yemenite Jewish heritage, both born and raised in Somalia. Their respective families had lived in Somalia over 100 years. THE LAST TWO JEWS OF MOGADISHU tells their story against the background of horrendous violence, primarily perpetrated by the terrorist group Al Shabaab. THE LAST TWO JEWS OF MOGADISHU is a must read for anyone interested in Somalia. It is an aspiration to recuperate a more pluralistic society for Somalia concerning minorities. The author became interested in Somalia, while living 30 years in Minnesota, having been recruited there on a special Bush Fellowship to undertake her doctorate in Islamic Literature. Upon completion of her degree, Hartevelt Kobrin went on to undertake psychoanalytic training, and from there shifted her area of inquiry and expertise from trauma studies into counterterrorism. Her specialty is early childhood development, specializing in the mind and body language of the jihadi. THE LAST TWO JEWS OF MOGADISHU is her fifth book.
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