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Examines life in the Jewish communities (except the district of Lebanon) during a period of confrontation with a hostile Christian minority under a Muslim government. Pp. 131-282 deal with changes in the traditional attitude of the Ottoman Empire toward its non-Muslim minorities, which had a beneficial influence on the status of the Jewish communities and the Jews as individuals, but the fanaticism of the Muslim masses prevented any significant change in the status of non-Muslims. The Catholics tried to turn the Muslims against the Jews by accusing Jews of using Christian and Muslim blood in the Passover ritual. Pp. 319-379 discuss the conflict between Christians and Jews, which led the French consulates in Syria to identify with their Catholic proteges and adopt an anti-Jewish stance. Western Jewry's support for their brethren in the East had a negative effect on non-Jews in Syria by giving the impression of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy. This impression was strengthened as the Alliance Israelite Universelle's involvement in Syria increased. -- From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism.