1839.
ARRIVAL AT MALTA--HOME AGAIN--BOGHOZ BEY RETURNS NO ANSWER--TOUCHING
APPEAL FROM THE PERSECUTED JEWS OF DAMASCUS AND RHODES--REVIVAL OF THE
OLD CALUMNY ABOUT KILLING CHRISTIANS TO PUT THEIR BLOOD IN PASSOVER
CAKES.
_July 18th._--About ten o'clock at night we entered the quarantine
harbour at Malta, where we were ordered to remain till August 7th. To
be confined for twenty days, during the hot summer months, with three
hundred pilgrims, at Fort Manoel, was already a cause of great
discomfort to Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore, but the circumstances
were here made especially painful to them by the loss of a faithful
servant, whose death occurred during their stay in the Lazaretto. In
addition to this they received news that the Turkish fleet had been
delivered up to Mohhammad Ali, in Alexandria, by Kapoudan Pasha; that
the Sultan was dead, and 150,000 Russian troops had arrived at
Constantinople. This change in the political horizon frustrated almost
all Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore's hopes of seeing their schemes for
the amelioration of the condition of Syria realised. There was no
chance now of receiving letters from Mohhammad Ali.
_August 6th._--The captain of the Lazaretto was there before five
o'clock in the morning to give us _pratique_. Sir Moses and Lady
Montefiore went to the Synagogue, presented some ornaments for the
Ark, and various gifts to the officers. They also called on the
Governor, and after paying visits to Sir Hector Grey and their many
other friends, went on board our steamer the _Lycurgus_.
_August 7th._--About twelve o'clock the steamer moved out of the
harbour, and we all bade farewell to the island. On Saturday we cast
anchor in the roads of Leghorn. When leaving that place, Sir Moses
remained looking at the city as long as it continued in sight. "Heaven
only knows," he said, "whether I have seen the place of my birth for
the last time; the state of my health and my age would lead me to
believe that I can scarcely hope to visit it again. May peace,
happiness, and prosperity attend my relatives and all its other
inhabitants!"
_August 11th._--At Marseilles, Sir Moses visited the gas-works, and
expressed great pleasure at seeing the new gas holder and coal shed
nearly finished. In the evening he invited all the gentlemen connected
with the Imperial Continental Gas Association to take tea with him.
_August 13th._--We left Marseilles and proceeded _via_ Aix, Avignon,
Valence, and Lyons to Chalons. Here we had an instance of the great
attention which Sir Moses invariably paid to everything he saw. Having
noticed a man lighting the street lamps without the aid of a ladder,
he sent for the man to come to our hotel, desiring him to bring with
him the long stick he had used in lighting the lamps. The man came and
showed it to him; it had a small lantern near the top, and was
furnished with a hook. In explaining its use the man pointed out that
the burners had no taps but valves, which were raised or lowered by
the hook. "It appears to me," said Sir Moses, "a very simple and neat
contrivance, a saving of time, and consequently expense, both in
lighting and extinguishing the flame." He requested me to make an
exact drawing of the stick, with the lantern and hook attached to it,
and before leaving the hotel, made the man promise to bring him one of
the burners to look at.
_Thursday, August 22nd._--We reached Paris. Baron Anselm de
Rothschild, who had been with the King at Eu, told Sir Moses that the
Pasha had refused to give up the Turkish fleet, and the King would not
compel him. Sir Moses called on Mr Bulwer, who informed him that the
King would probably be in Paris in five or six days, and wished Sir
Moses to remain there, so as to be presented to him. Mr Bulwer also
promised to take him to an evening party, to be given on September 3rd
by Marshal Soult. But Sir Moses was longing to return to England, and
would not prolong his stay.
_August 30th._--We left the French capital for Beauvais, where we
remained over Sabbath. On Sunday we proceeded to Boulogne, and on
Thursday, September 5th, we arrived safely at Dover. Sir Moses and
Lady Montefiore continued their journey on the same day to Ramsgate,
where they arrived in time to be present at the evening service in
their Synagogue, and to offer up fervent thanks to the Most High for
their safe return after so long an absence and so dangerous an
excursion. The next day they left Ramsgate for Richmond, where they
were received with most tender affection by their mother, sisters, and
brothers, and every member of their family.
On their return their correspondence with the East increased rapidly,
and engaged much of their attention. Messengers frequently arrived
from Jerusalem to entreat them to do what they possibly could to
improve the condition of the Jews there. Both Sir Moses and Lady
Montefiore took great pleasure in relieving, as far as in their power,
every deserving case.
At the end of December Sir Moses thought he might, without
impropriety, remind His Excellency Boghoz Bey, Minister of Finance in
Egypt, of the promise the Viceroy had made him, when he was at
Alexandria, respecting the purchase of land in Syria, and the
establishment of banks there and in Egypt. He addressed a letter to
Boghoz Bey, recapitulating all the particulars which he had verbally
explained to him and the Pasha.
Weeks and months passed, and no reply came from Egypt. Sir Moses
meanwhile occupied himself with other subjects, thinking that perhaps
another and more favourable opportunity might present itself for
bringing the matter forward again. His duties in connection with his
financial companies took up his time till about the month of March,
when the report of an outrage in the East roused sorrow and
indignation in the heart of every upright man.
In a letter from the Elders of the Hebrew community in Constantinople,
addressed to Messrs de Rothschild in London, dated March the 27th,
1840, we read:--
"Independently of the tie which so strongly binds together the whole
Jewish community, of which you, gentlemen, are distinguished
ornaments, having always been prominent in assisting our distressed
brethren, whose appeals to you are not infrequent, your hearts cannot
but be greatly moved to sympathise with two Jewish communities (viz.,
that of Damascus, under the Egyptian jurisdiction, and that of Rhodes,
one of the Ottoman States) oppressed by the tyrannies of the Pashas
who govern them.
"These persecutions originated in calumnies, which the oppressors
themselves have invented, and which have been long rankling in their
hearts, to the prejudice of the Jewish community. Our brethren are
accused of being accomplices in murder, in order to make their
Passover cakes with the blood of the murdered men--a thing in itself
incredible, as being forbidden in our holy religion. This report has,
however, found credence with the governing Pashas of Damascus and
Rhodes, and they have oppressed and incarcerated not only several old
men and Rabbins, but even a number of children, putting them to
tortures, of which it makes men shudder to hear. Such is the
afflicting picture drawn in the letters of our persecuted brethren, of
which, with deep regret, we hand you copies.
"The community now addressing you, although implored by the sufferers
to put an end to these persecutions, and to prevent, if possible,
their recurrence, is deeply grieved to find itself incapacitated from
affording any relief, in consequence of being subject to a Government
not on friendly terms with the Pasha of Egypt.
"There remain, therefore, no means of salvation for the oppressed,
except an appeal to your innate goodness and pity. We entreat you to
interpose your valuable mediation, in such manner and with such
persons as you may deem most desirable, for the safety of our unhappy
brethren languishing in chains and in prison, so as to obtain, from
the Pasha of Egypt, the liberation of the Jews of Damascus, and a
compensation, not only from the governing Pasha of Damascus,
commensurate with the excesses committed by him, but also from the
Consular Agents at Rhodes, who have oppressed persons not subject to
them.
"We, the Rabbins and Elders of this place, impressed with the urgency
of the case, and moved by compassion for our brethren, and further
induced by the report which is current throughout the world, of the
generous and philanthropic sentiments which animate you and fill your
hearts, ever open to the miseries of the oppressed, feel persuaded
that you will exert yourselves to do all you possibly can, in these
distressing circumstances.
"(Signed) I. Camondo.
Salamon Qm. Mco. Fua.
Samuel de N. Treves.
"The Jews of Damascus, addressing Messrs Abram Conorte and Aaron
Cohen, Elders of the Congregation at Constantinople, after expressing
their wishes for their health, say as follows:--
"To our deep regret, we address you these few lines to inform you of
the continued state of misery in which our brethren, inhabitants of
Damascus, still remain, as communicated to you in my letter of the
17th of Adar (February), forwarded to you by the steam-packet. We had
hoped to advise you in this letter that the circumstances of the
murder, respecting which the Jewish community were calumniated, had
been ascertained, but in this hope we have been sadly disappointed. We
will now, therefore, repeat everything in detail, and it is this:--
"On Wednesday, the 1st day of the month of Adar (February) there
disappeared from Damascus a priest, who with his servant had dwelt for
forty years in the city. He exercised the profession of physician, and
visited the houses of Catholics, Jews, and Armenians, for the purpose
of vaccination.
"The day following, viz., Thursday, there came people into the Jewish
quarter to look for him, saying they had seen both him and his servant
in that quarter on the previous day. In order to put into execution
their conspiracy they seized a Jewish barber, telling him that he must
know all about the matter, and took him to the Governor, who on
hearing the accusation, immediately ordered him to receive five
hundred stripes. He was also subjected to other cruelties. During the
intervals between these inflictions he was urged to accuse all the
Jews as accomplices, and he, thinking by this means to relieve
himself, accused Messrs David, Isaac, and Aaron Harari, Joseph
Legnado, Moses Abulafia, Moses Becar Juda, and Joseph Harari, as
accomplices, who had offered him three hundred piastres to murder the
above mentioned priest, inasmuch as the Passover holidays were
approaching, and they required blood for their cakes. He said that he
did not, however, give ear to their instigations, and did not know
what had happened to the priest and his servant. Upon this the Pasha
caused the persons named to be arrested as instigators, and punished
with blows and other torments of the most cruel nature; but as they
were innocent they could not confirm as true that which was a calumny,
and therefore, in contradiction, they asserted their innocence,
appealing to the sacred writings, which strictly prohibit the Jews
from feeding upon _any_ blood, much less that of a fellow-creature, a
thing totally repugnant to nature. Nevertheless they were imprisoned
with chains round their necks, and had daily inflicted on them the
most severe beatings and cruelties, and were compelled to stand
upright without food of any kind for fifty hours together.
"Subsequently the Hebrew butchers were cited to appear; they were put
in chains together with the Rabbins Jacob Antubi, Salomon Harari, and
Asaria Jalfon; and they too were beaten to such an extent that their
flesh hung in pieces upon them; and these atrocities were perpetrated
in order to induce them to confess that they used blood in making the
Passover cakes. They replied that, if such had been the case, many
Jewish proselytes would have published the fact. This, however, was
not sufficient.
"After this, the same Governor went to the boy's college; he had the
boys carried to prison, bound them with chains, and forbade the
mothers to visit their imprisoned children, to whom only ten drachms
of bread and a cup of water per day were allowed, the Governor
expecting that the fathers, for the sake of liberating their children,
would confess the truth of the matter.
"Subsequently a Jew, who was still at liberty, presented himself
before the Governor, stating that the calumny of our using blood for
our Passover cakes had been discussed before all the Powers, who,
after consulting their divines, had declared the falsehood of the
charge; and he added that either others had killed the priest and his
servant, or they had clandestinely absented themselves from the
country, and that the barber, in order to save himself from
persecution, had stated that which, was not true.
"Upon this the Governor replied that, as he had accused other persons
of killing them, he must know who the murderers were; and in order
that he should confess, he was beaten to such an extent that he
expired under the blows.
"After this, the Governor, with a body of six hundred men, proceeded
to demolish the houses of his Jewish subjects, hoping to find the
bodies of the dead, but not finding anything, he returned, and again
inflicted on his victims further castigations and torments, some of
them too cruel and disgusting to be described. At last, being
incapable of bearing further anguish, they said that the charge was
true!!!
"The Governor, hearing this statement, asked them where they had
secreted the blood of the murdered men, to which one of them replied,
that it had been put into a bottle, and delivered to Moses Abulafia,
who, however, declared he knew nothing of it. In order to make him
confess he received a thousand stripes, but this infliction not
extorting any confession from him, he was subjected to other
insupportable tortures, which at length compelled him to declare that
the bottle was at home in a chest of drawers. Upon this the Governor
ordered him to be carried on the shoulders of four men (for he could
not walk), that he might open the bureau. This was opened, but nothing
was found in it, except a quantity of money which the Governor seized,
asking at the same time where the blood was. Whereupon Abulafia
replied that he made the statement in order that the Governor should
see the money in the bureau, trusting by this means to escape. Upon
this the tortures were again repeated, and Abulafia, to save himself,
embraced the Mohammedan religion.
"In this manner they treated all the prisoners who have been for one
month in this misery. In Beyrout and in Damascus the Jews are not
permitted to go out.
"After this an individual came forward, and stated that by means of
astrology he had discovered and ascertained that the seven individuals
above named assassinated the priest, and that the servant was killed
by Raphael Farkhi, Nathan and Aaron Levy, Mordecai Farkhi, and Asher
of Lisbon. The two first were immediately arrested, the others, it
appears, sought safety in flight.
"You will judge from this--the Elders of Damascus say--what sort of
justice is administered by means of astrology, and how such justice is
exercised. And there is no one who is moved to compassion in favour of
the unfortunate victims. Even Bekhor Negri, the Governor's banker,
unable to bear these afflictions, became a Mussulman.
"Read this, dearest friends,--they continue,--to Messrs Camondo,
Hatteni, and Carmona, in order that they may co-operate for the safety
of our unfortunate and calumniated brethren, with such persons as they
may deem most fitting.
"The Jews of Rhodes describe their state of misery to the elders of
the congregation in Constantinople in the following statement:--
"A Greek boy, about ten years old, son of an inhabitant of the
country, is said to have been lost, and the Christians have
calumniated us by saying that we have killed him. All the European
Consuls came forward to demand an elucidation of the affair. They went
in a body, with the exception of the Austrian Consul, to the Pasha,
and requested that he would entrust to them the conduct of the
business, which request the Pasha granted. They then summoned before
them two Greek women who dwelt near the city, who stated that on
Tuesday some Jews were passing from the villages to the city, and that
one of them had a Greek boy with him. The Consuls immediately cited
the Jew to appear before them, and questioned him on the subject. He
replied that he could prove that during the whole of Tuesday he was in
the village, and did not come into the city until Wednesday. He added,
moreover, that even if this boy did enter the city by that road, and
at the time the Jews were going into it, it ought not therefore to be
believed that the Jews had killed him, as the road was the chief and
public thoroughfare through which any one might pass.
"These reasons were not admitted by the Consuls, and the unfortunate
Jew was immediately put in irons, and tortured in a manner never yet
seen or heard of. Having been loaded with chains, many stripes were
inflicted on him, red hot wires were run through his nose, burning
bones applied to his head, and a heavy stone was laid upon his breast,
so that he was reduced to the point of death; all this time his
tormentors were accusing him, saying, 'You have stolen the Greek boy,
to deliver him up to the Rabbi--confess at once, if you wish to save
yourself."
"Their object was to calumniate our Rabbi, and to take vengeance on
all the community; and they stated openly that this was done for the
purpose of exterminating the Jews in Rhodes, or to compel them to
change their religion, so that they might be able to boast in Europe
of having converted an entire community.
"Meanwhile the poor Jew cried out in the midst of these torments,
praying for death as a relief, to which they replied, that he must
confess to whom he had given the boy, and then he should be
immediately set at liberty. The poor Jew, oppressed by tortures beyond
endurance, resorted to falsehood in order to save himself. He
calumniated first one and then another, but many whom he accused had
been absent from the town some time, which clearly proved that his
assertions had no other object than to free himself from these
tortures. Nevertheless all those who could be found were immediately
imprisoned, and subjected to insupportable torments, to extort from
them the confession that they had delivered the boy to the Chief
Rabbi, or to the elders of the community, and night and day they were
tormented, because they would not accuse innocent persons. Meanwhile,
goaded by continual tortures, these poor creatures cried out and
prayed that they might be killed rather than be subjected to the
endurance of such anguish; especially seven of them, who anxiously
courted death, and indeed were all but dead in consequence of these
tortures. To increase the misery, the Jewish quarter was closed and
surrounded by guards, in order that none might go out, or learn what
had happened to their unfortunate brethren.
"You must know--they say--that during the day at such times as there
is no one in the Jewish quarter, the Christians are going about
endeavouring clandestinely to leave the dead body of a Turk or
Christian in the court of some Jewish house, for the purpose of having
the individual brought before the Governor, in order to give a
colouring to their calumny. Such is the misery that weighs upon our
hearts and blinds our eyes. We have even been refused the favour of
presenting a petition to the Pasha of the city.
"After three days spent in this wretchedness, they refused even to
supply us with bread in our quarter, for our families shut up with us;
but by dint of entreaty we have obtained, as a favour, the supply at
high prices of salt fish and black bread.
"From what we can gather from the Europeans who are about the Pasha,
he acts in concert with the Consuls, as he has done from the
beginning. We except the Austrian Consul, who at first endeavoured to
protect us, but who was at length compelled to join with the
multitude."