Sexuality and Eroticism Among Males in Moslem Societies (1992), dedication

Dedicated to Jehoeda Sofer
1944-1990

This book is dedicated to my co-editor and friend whose life was as rich in diversity and texture as the world in which we live.

Jehoeda Sofer, born into a Jewish family in the Moslem city of Baghdad, Iraq, grew up in a neighborhood of Oriental Jews in an Israel that perceived itself as a part of the West. Jehoeda viewed himself as an Arab Jew. He loved the land of Palestine/lsrael and felt the awesome beauty of Jerusalem/AI Ouds with never diminishing intensity.

Jehoeda dedicated his life to a deeper understanding of the culture, literature, and heritage of the peoples of the Middle East and to the dissemination of knowledge. He fought for the oppressed regardless of race, religion, sex, economie class, nationality, political beliefs, or sexual orientation.

After moving to Amsterdam, Jehoeda played a vital roIe in both the Dutch and international movements for gay and Iesbian rights. He was an integral member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, where he was especially involved with Third World concerns. Both in the Netherlands and in the Jewish communities of Europe and Israel, he was an active proponent for peace in the Middle East, striving for the reconciliation of Jews and Arabs.

As an author of numerous articles, Jehoeda greatly contributed to the better understanding of the underlying conflicts and possible solutions to the probIems in the Middle East as weIl as for the oppressed. His many PaIestinian friends Iearned through him that a Jew, a gay Jew at that, could fight for the freedom of PaIestinians and Israelis and for peace between the states of Israel and Palestine.

He kept his dignity even into death. He chose to be buried as a Jew. Both the publishers and I regret that he was unable to see this book in print.

To my friend and colleague,

Arno Schmitt
Berlin, November 7, 1990