95 Aviad Moreno An Insight into the Course of European-oriented Modernization among Oriental Jewries – the Minute Book of the Junta of Tangier 1 Aviad Moreno Tel-Aviv University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev “Having had the affairs of this community, may God protect it, neglected and [since we are] desiring to adopt and imitate the good conditions of the communities of our brethren of Europe, the notables and majority of this community have been invited to attend a general Junta [assembly] ….” 2 This study is based on an interpretive reading of the “Minute Book of the Governing Junta of the Hebrew Community of Tangier”, which was written during a momentously historical time, between 1860 and 1875, in the city of Tangier. 3 The Minute Book provides a novel insight into what is commonly identiied as the process of European- oriented Modernization among Eastern societies through the viewpoint of a few of its local agents in one of its most central locations during the nineteenth century. 1 This article is based on my MA thesis conducted under the guidance of Prof. Tamar Alexander and Prof. Dror Ze’evi during 2008. A full and renewed, Hebrew version of the MA thesis was published earlier this year, as the irst volume of a new series by the Ben- Zvi Institute named “Pe’amim Supplement” (see: Aviad Moreno, Europe from Morocco: the Minutes of the Leadership of Tangier’s Jewish Community (the Junta), 1860-1864, Pe’amim Supplement, vol. 1, Ben-Zvi Institute, Jerusalem 2015 [Hebrew]). 2 Retrieved from the initial protocol in the Minute Book [hereinafter in the notes MB] depicting the Junta’s inauguration; MB 1.1 (22.10.1860). 3 I cite here the transcribed MB edition published in 2010: Libro de actas de la Junta selecta de la comunidad hebrea de Tanger 1860-1975 transcripcion por Gladys Pimienta y Sidney Salomon Pimienta, JEM, Paris-Jerusalem 2010. I kindly thank the siblings Gladys and Sidney Pimienta for allowing me access to this valuable material previous to its publication.