An “Interior Occident” and the Case for an Oriental Modernity: The Livornese Printing Press and the Mediterranean Publishing Networks of Elia Benamozegh (1823–1900)

Elia Benamozegh (1823–1900)—Italian rabbi, kabbalist, publisher, and thinker of Moroccan descent who lived in the Tuscan port city of Livorno—is known for his copious writings in Hebrew, Italian, and French encompassing exegetical, historical, and philosophical studies and especially for his posthumous magnum opus, Israel and Humanity. Eager to foster religious unity across faiths, demonstrate Jewish universalism, and fight against secularism, he inspired Christian-Jewish encounters in twentieth-century France. This article is the first study of Benamozegh's work as a publisher, revealing the deep significance of his ties with the Mashriq and Maghrib. The scope of Benamozegh's publications and the contentious reception of his work provide an opportunity to reexamine important yet less studied aspects of modern Jewish thought, including the dynamics of modern Sephardi thought and self-representation and the intellectual, transnational networks that spanned the Mediterranean and the Middle East in an age of nationalism and colonialism.