How many of the “1001 Nights” were Jewish ones?
This month marks the bicentenary of the birth of Richard F. Burton, the Victorian translator of “The Arabian Nights,” or “1001 Nights,” the medieval compendium of tales in Arabic about the storyteller Scheherazade, Aladdin, Ali Baba and Sindbad.
The stories date back over centuries across a wide range of national cultures, with the first trace printed in 9th century Iraq, so it is unsurprising that part of the lasting impact of “Alf Laylah wa-Laylah,” which Burton translated in 16 volumes as “The Thousand Nights and a Night,” should be its Yiddishkeit.
Historians have suggested that Burton, an explorer and ethnologist, resented the Jews for thwarting his diplomatic career when he was stationed in Syria in the aftermath of The Damascus Blood Libel.
China
United-states
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Yemen