Makhlouf Nadjar

Born in Moknine in eastern Tunisia, Nadjar (alt. Makhlūf Najjār) moved to Sousse at the age of thirteen and began his career as a theatrical director and actor, performing in Hebrew, Arabic, and French. In 1917, Nadjar purchased the press and printing equipment of Tsemaḥ ha-Levi, a pioneer of Tunisian Judeo-Arabic literature, and began printing and distributing Judeo-Arabic books. In addition to publishing works of his own composition or translation and the works of his contemporaries, Nadjar republished many works of North African Judeo-Arabic literature from the late nineteenth century. Starting in 1920 he served as the editor for the Judeo-Arabic and French weekly al-Nijma (L’Étoile, or “The Star”), which he published until 1961.