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In the early decades of the twentieth century, Jews and Muslims in Algeria’s south assumed ever more strident, and, increasingly, divergent public postures in the face of French military rule. For Mzabi Ibadites, the inter-war period was marked by staunch opposition to French conscription efforts, and by intense debates between conservatives and reformists (that is, proponents of the Islahi movement), especially over the question of how, and by whom, Ibadi youth should be educated. In the absence of an Islah-like movement, southern Algerian Jews of the inter-war period sought to patronize colonial institutions amidst a climate of tremendous constraint. This quotidian, social action took three highly visible forms. In numbers disproportionate to the size of their community, Mzabi Jewish children attended public school, while Mzabi Jewish women, men, and children exploited public health offerings. At the same time, ever-growing numbers of men sought to conscript themselves into the French army. In all of these regards, southern Algerian Jews were manoeuvring strategically in an extremely regulated environment and signalling that they were both eager to reap the benefits of French citizenship and prepared to assume the responsibilities that attended naturalization.

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