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98-711: Eastern Sephardim mostly settled in various parts of the Ottoman Empire , which included areas in West Asia ( Middle East , Anatolia , etc.), the Balkans in Southern Europe , plus Egypt . For centuries, these Jews made up the majority of the population of Salonica (now Thessaloniki , Greece ) and were present in large numbers in Constantinople (now Istanbul , Turkey ) and Sarajevo (in what

196-483: A Sephardic yeshiva ( Judith Lady Montefiore College ) after the death of his wife in 1862. In the grounds he built the elegant, Regency architecture Montefiore Synagogue and mausoleum modeled on Rachel's Tomb outside Bethlehem . (He also paid for the refurbishment and upkeep of this historic tomb.) Judith was laid to rest there in 1862. Montefiore died in 1885, at age 100 years and 9 months. He had no known children. His principal heir in name, arms and property

294-830: A Young Turk , and believed that the Jews of the Empire should be Turks first, and Jews second. Some Jews thrived in Baghdad , performing critical commercial functions such as money-lending and banking. Prior to the creation of the Yemen Vilayet in 1872, the Zaydi Imam of Yemen had implemented more restrictions on Jews than had been present in the Ottoman Empire, such as the Orphans' Decree , which required orphans of Jewish parents to be raised as Muslims. Once Ottoman rule began,

392-630: A small Jewish population today . At the time of the Battle of Yarmuk , on 15–20 August 636, when the Levant passed into Muslim rule, thirty Jewish communities existed in Haifa , Sh’chem , Hebron , Ramleh , Gaza , Jerusalem , as well as many other cities. Safed became a spiritual centre for the Jews and the Shulchan Aruch was compiled there as well as many Kabbalistic texts. In addition to

490-403: A majority of the city's population. In Salonica, Jews lived in communities around synagogues in which "Jewish organizations provided all the religious, legal, educational and social services". The concentration of Jews in the city as well as the binding social capital provided by Jewish organizations allowed Salonica to become an "almost autonomous" zone for Jews to flourish in. The strength of

588-693: A mob in Demnat , Morocco; elsewhere in Morocco, Jews were attacked and killed in the streets in broad daylight. In 1891, the leading Muslims in Jerusalem asked the Ottoman authorities in Constantinople to prohibit the entry of Jews arriving from Russia . In 1867, 1870, and 1897, synagogues were ransacked and Jews were murdered in Tripolitania . An important instance of anti-Semitism around this time

686-572: A new Jewish state instead of Palestine before the state of Israel was created. Sephardic Jews did not envision Palestine as the seat of Jewish governance and autonomy in the immediate aftermath of World War I. Sa'adi Levy, who lived in Salonica, owned a printing press in Amsterdam that published newspapers in Ladino and French covering the rival ideological claims and intellectual controversies of

784-716: A title perpetuated in Hebrew literature and song. Montefiore commissioned several censuses of the Yishuv, or Jewish community in Palestine: these were conducted in 1839, 1849, 1855, 1866 and 1875, and provided much data about the people. The censuses attempted to list every Jew individually, together with some biographical and social information (such as their family structure, place of origin, and degree of poverty). Montefiore played an important role in Ramsgate affairs, and one of

882-862: Is dedicated to Montefiore. The Montefiore Family Papers were initially deposited in the Montefiore Museum in Judith Lady Montefiore College , Ramsgate , Kent. In 1961 the Montefiore Endowment deposited the papers of Montefiore Family at the Mocatta Library of University College London . The archive spans 24 volumes and 515 items. The papers comprise correspondence, account books, and a private appointment diary. Also included are many testimonials and centenary tributes to Montefiore thanking him for his generosity; these have been digitised. Montefiore

980-746: Is derived from Old Spanish , plus Hebrew and Aramaic . The language was taken by Eastern Sephardim in the 15th century after the expulsion from Spain in 1492, where it was heavily influenced by Maghrebi Arabic . By contrast, the languages spoken by related Sephardi communities and descendants include: Eastern Sephardim still often carry common Spanish surnames, as well as other specifically Sephardic surnames from 15th century Spain with Arabic or Hebrew language origins (such as Azoulay , Abulafia , Abravanel ) which have since disappeared from Spain when those that stayed behind as conversos adopted surnames that were solely Spanish in origin. Other Eastern Sephardim have since also translated their Hispanic surnames into

1078-520: Is named after Montefiore Medical Center. A branch of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , US, also bears his name. Chicago 's West Side is home to a reform school of higher education, Moses Montefiore Academy , named in honour of him. A number of synagogues were named in honour of Montefiore, including the 1913 Montefiore Institute, now preserved as

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1176-787: Is now Bosnia and Herzegovina ), all of which were located in the Ottoman-ruled parts of Europe . Some migrated farther east to the territories of the Ottoman Empire, settling among the long-established Arabic-speaking Jewish communities of Baghdad in Iraq , Damascus in Syria and Alexandria in Egypt. A few of the Eastern Sephardim followed the spice trade routes as far as the Malabar coast of southern India, where they settled among

1274-473: Is still in use, although the modern Jewish population of Bursa has shrunk to about 140 people. During the Classical Ottoman period, the Jews, together with most other communities of the empire, enjoyed a certain level of prosperity. Compared with other Ottoman subjects, they were the predominant power in commerce and trade as well as diplomacy and other high offices. In the 16th century especially,

1372-681: The Ashkenazim in the 18th century, which was another primarily didactic body of literature. Examples of Sephardic literature from the Ottoman Empire include the Shevet Musar by Elijah ha-Kohen (b.1645, d.1729 in Izmir, Turkey). Another writer, Isaac Bekhor Amarachi, ran a printing business and also translated some works from Hebrew into Ladino, including a biography of the English-Sephardic philanthropist Moses Montefiore . Though

1470-766: The City of London . In 1803 he entered the London Stock Exchange , but lost all of his clients' money in 1806 in a fraud perpetrated by Joseph Elkin Daniels. As a result, he probably had to sell or give up his broker's licence. In 1812, Montefiore became a freemason , joining the Moira Lodge, No. 92 of the Premier Grand Lodge of England in London. Between 1810 and 1814 Montefiore was part of

1568-872: The Little Synagogue on the Prairie . The Montefiore Club was a private social and business association, catering to the Jewish community located in Montreal , Quebec , Canada. In Cleveland, Ohio , a Jewish nursing home is called Montefiore. He was commemorated on two Israeli banknotes. These were the IL 10, which was in circulation from 1970 to 1979, and the IS  1, which was legal tender from 1980 to 1986. The Dolphin's Barn Jewish cemetery in Dublin , Ireland ,

1666-589: The Ohel Moshe neighborhood for Sephardic Jews and the Mazkeret Moshe neighborhood for Ashkenazi Jews , who had distinctly different traditions and languages. Montefiore donated large sums of money to promote industry, education, and health amongst the Jewish community in Palestine. The project, bearing the hallmarks of nineteenth-century artisanal revival, aimed to promote productive enterprise in

1764-719: The Old City of Jerusalem . As President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews , he corresponded with Charles Henry Churchill , the British consul in Damascus , in 1841–42; his contributions are seen as pivotal to the development of Proto-Zionism . Queen Victoria's chaplain, Norman Macleod said of Montefiore: "No man living has done so much for his brethren in Palestine as Sir Moses Montefiore". He stated in an interview in

1862-681: The Torah is read. The visit had been a "spiritual transforming event" for him. In 1831, Montefiore purchased a country estate with twenty-four acres on the East Cliff of the fashionable seaside town of Ramsgate . The property had previously been a country house of Queen Caroline , when she was still Princess of Wales. It was next owned by the Marquess Wellesley , a brother of the Duke of Wellington . Soon afterward, Montefiore purchased

1960-628: The United States ) never took hold in Ottoman lands. Before the 18th century most mainstream Ottoman Jewish literature was published in Hebrew . The few books that were written in Ladino catered to Marranos who had escaped from the Inquisitions in Spain and Portugal and were returning to Judaism. It wasn't until the 1730s that rabbinic literature started to be published in Ladino. Through

2058-725: The United States , France and Latin America . In the 19th century, Sephardic communities in Istanbul , Salonica , Izmir and other parts of the Ottoman Empire started to become more secular . Westernization was favored by various forces both within the Empire and in Europe, including the Alliance Israélite Universelle . However, not all aspects of Western culture were embraced. Despite efforts by

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2156-847: The Yishuv . The builders were brought over from England. These activities were part of a broader program to enable the Old Yishuv to become self-supporting in anticipation of the establishment of a Jewish homeland. Montefiore built the Montefiore Windmill in an area that later developed as the Yemin Moshe neighbourhood, to provide cheap flour to poor Jews. He also established a printing press and textile factory, and helped to finance several Bilu agricultural colonies. The Jews of Old Yishuv referred to their patron as " ha-Sar Montefiore" ('The Prince' or simply 'Prince' Montefiore),

2254-533: The 14th and 15th centuries, there had been Jewish communities established throughout the region. The Ottoman Empire lasted from the early 12th century until the end of World War I and covered parts of Southeastern Europe , Anatolia , and much of the Middle East . The experience of Jews in the Ottoman Empire is particularly significant because the region "provided a principal place of refuge for Jews driven out of Western Europe by massacres and persecution." At

2352-420: The 16th century, the Ottoman Empire saw an increased Jewish influence on the economy and commerce. There is no doubt among historians that "Spanish Jews contributed significantly to the development of the capital in the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century". Although many Sephardic Jews had large amounts of political and cultural capital, the Jewish community in the Ottoman Empire was decentralized for most of

2450-636: The 1860s that "Palestine must belong to the Jews". Moses Montefiore was born in Leghorn ( Livorno in Italian), Tuscany , in 1784, to a Sephardic Jewish family based in Great Britain . His grandfather, Moses Vital (Haim) Montefiore, had emigrated from Livorno to London in the 1740s, but retained close contact with the town. It was known for making straw bonnets. Montefiore was born while his parents, Joseph Elias Montefiore and his young wife Rachel,

2548-410: The 19th century, Ladino literature flourished in the Ottoman Empire. Even though Musar literature , also called "ethical literature" or didactic literature, is one of the least studied genres of Jewish literature , it is also one of the most ancient and influential genres of Jewish literature. Musar literature which was written in the Ladino tongue paralleled the emergence of Hasidic literature among

2646-670: The Chief Rabbi of Edirne and wrote a letter inviting the European Jewry to settle in the Ottoman Empire , in which he stated " Turkey is a land wherein nothing is lacking" and asked "Is it not better for you to live under Muslims than under Christians?" Many had taken the Rabbi up on his offer, including the Jews who were expelled from the German Duchy of Bavaria by Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria in 1470. Even before then, as

2744-648: The Conquerors's successor, Beyazid II (1481–1512), after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal . The expulsion came about as a result of the Alhambra Decree in 1492, declared by the Spanish King and Queen Ferdinand II and Isabelle I as part of a larger trend of antisemitism resurging throughout Europe that the Ottomans would exploit. The Sephardic Jews were allowed to settle in

2842-491: The Empire for several decades, until that position would be lost to a wave of new Jewish arrivals . The number of native Jews was soon bolstered by small groups of Ashkenazi Jews that immigrated to the Ottoman Empire between 1421 and 1453. Among these new Ashkenazi immigrants was Rabbi Yitzhak Sarfati ( Hebrew : צרפתי , lit.   'French'), a German -born Jew whose family had lived in France. He became

2940-574: The Empire. In 1836 Montefiore became a governor of Christ's Hospital , the Bluecoat school, after assisting in the case of a distressed man who had appealed to him to help his soon-to-be-widowed wife and son. Montefiore was elected Sheriff of the City of London in 1837. He was knighted in November 1837. After retiring from business, Montefiore devoted the rest of his life to philanthropy . He

3038-641: The Empire. This was especially true for the Sephardic Jews, who had large amounts of political and cultural influence in the Ottoman Empire. The Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire had political and cultural influence because they "were perceived as Westerners who had extensive contacts with Europe, who knew European languages, and brought new knowledge and technologies". Additionally, some Sephardic Jews "were...prominent merchants with European markets" who were even regarded as "potential allies, diplomats, and spies" during times of war against Christians. Throughout

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3136-519: The Holy Land in 1827, Montefiore became a strictly observant Jew. He traveled with a personal shohet (ritual slaughterer), to ensure that he would have a ready supply of kosher meat. Although Montefiore spent only a few days in Jerusalem, the 1827 visit changed his life. He resolved to increase his religious observance and to attend synagogue on Shabbat , as well as Mondays and Thursdays when

3234-399: The Jewish banking families in the 16th-century Ottoman Empire was the Marrano banking house of Mendès, which moved to and settled in Istanbul in 1552 under the protection of sultan Suleiman the Magnificent . When Alvaro Mendès arrived in Istanbul in 1588, he is reported to have brought with him 85,000 gold ducats. The Mendès family soon acquired a dominating position in the state finances of

3332-489: The Jewish community in Salonica can even be seen after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. After the Ottoman Empire fell, the city of Salonica was not depicted as a Greek or Turkish city, but instead was considered a Jewish city. Additionally, some historians claim Salonica was seen as the "New Jerusalem" and has been named the "Mother of Israel" where the Jewish Sabbath "was most vigorously observed". Also, there were many international organizations that thought about creating

3430-401: The Jews rose to prominence under the millets , the apogee of Jewish influence could arguable be the appointment of Joseph Nasi to Sanjak-bey ( governor , a rank usually only bestowed upon Muslims) of the island of Naxos . Also in the first half of the 17th century the Jews were distinct in winning Tax farms , Haim Gerber describes it as: "My impression is that no pressure existed, that it

3528-528: The Jews, now all of them were put on the same level. Some Greeks objected to this, saying: 'The government has put us together with the Jews. We were content with the supremacy of Islam.'" Throughout the 1860s, the Jews of Libya were subjected to what Gilbert calls punitive taxation. In 1864, around 500 Jews were killed in Marrakech and Fezin Morocco . In 1869, 18 Jews were killed in Tunis , and an Arab mob looted Jewish homes and stores, and burned synagogues, on Jerba Island . In 1875, 20 Jews were killed by

3626-443: The Orphan's Decree was revoked, although a "Dung-Gatherers' Decree," which tasked Jews with cleaning sewers, remained in effect. Also, the Ottoman authorities raised the jizya tax burden on Jews and often did not respect Jewish holidays. Starting around 1881, many Yemeni Jews began to move to Jerusalem. In 1881, in response to rising antisemitism in mainland Europe, as well as a number of proposals made by various parties regarding

3724-415: The Ottoman Empire and in commerce with Europe. Ottoman Jews were obliged to pay special taxes to the Ottoman authorities. These taxes included the cizye , the ispençe , the haraç , and the rav akçesi ("rabbi tax"). Sometimes, local rulers would also levy taxes for themselves, in addition to the taxes sent to the Sublime Porte . The Jews of Salonica were well known for the spinning wool for

3822-459: The Ottoman Empire was engaged in a military conflict with the Christian nations at the time, Jews were trusted and regarded "as potential allies, diplomats, and spies". There were also Jews that possessed special skills in a wide range of fields that the Ottomans took advantage of, including David and Samuel ibn Nahmias, who established a printing press in 1493. That was then a new technology and accelerated production of literature and documents, which

3920-539: The Ottoman Turkish version of this constitution. This constitution was the culmination of a struggle between progressive lay bourgeoisie and conservative rabbis over leadership in the Jewish community, as well as pressure from the Porte to codify Jewish affairs in the empire. The constitution was ultimately a temporary victory for the laity, as the constitution was quickly eroded by renewed rabbinical control and corruption. This state of affairs continued until Abdul Hamid II 's accession. The hahambaşı , or Grand Rabbi,

4018-399: The Ottoman authorities and when given the choice between death and conversion , he opted for the latter. His remaining disciples also converted to Islam. Their descendants are today known as Donmeh . The first major event in Jewish history under Ottoman rule took place after the Empire gained control over Constantinople . After Sultan Mehmed II 's conquest of Constantinople , he found

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4116-490: The Ottoman treasury. Some Jews who reached high positions in the Ottoman court and administration include Mehmed II 's minister of Finance ("Defterdar") Hekim Yakup Pasha, his Portuguese physician Moses Hamon , Murad II 's physician Is'hak Pasha, and Abraham de Castro , who was the master of the mint in Egypt. The first Jewish synagogue linked to Ottoman rule is Etz ha-Hayyim ( Hebrew : עץ החיים ) in Bursa which passed to Ottoman authority in 1324. The synagogue

4214-407: The Ottomans conquered Anatolia and Greece, they encouraged Jewish immigration from the European lands from which they were expelled. The Ashkenazi Jews mixed with the already large Romaniot Jewish communities that had become part of the Ottoman Empire as they had conquered lands from the Byzantine Empire. An influx of Jews into Asia Minor and the Ottoman Empire, occurred during the reign of Mehmed

4312-461: The Surrey Militia. In 1815, he again bought a broker's licence, and briefly operated a joint venture with his brother Abraham until 1816. He largely closed down his trading activities in 1820. In 1812, Moses Montefiore married Judith Cohen (1784–1862), daughter of Levy Barent Cohen . Her sister, Henriette (or Hannah) (1783–1850), married Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836), for whom Montefiore's firm acted as stockbrokers. Nathan Rothschild headed

4410-470: The West and their trading diaspora ". An exception to this is Daniel de Fonseca , who was chief court physician and played a political role. He is mentioned by Voltaire , who speaks of him as an acquaintance whom he esteemed highly. Fonseca was involved in negotiations with Charles XII of Sweden . Ottoman Jews held a variety of views on the role of Jews in the Ottoman Empire, from loyal Ottomanism to Zionism . Emanuel Karasu of Salonika , for example,

4508-445: The adjoining land and commissioned his cousin, architect David Mocatta , to design a private synagogue, known as the Montefiore Synagogue . It opened with a grand public ceremony in 1833. Montefiore is mentioned in Charles Dickens ' diaries, in the personal papers of George Eliot , and in James Joyce ’s novel Ulysses . It is known that he had contacts with Protestant non-conformists and social reformers in Victorian England . He

4606-473: The already existent Jewish population in the lands the Ottomans conquered, many more Jews were given refuge after the expulsion of Jews from Spain under the reign of Beyezid II . Although the status of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire may have been exaggerated, it is undeniable that some tolerance was enjoyed. Under the millet system , non-Muslims were organized as autonomous communities on the basis of religion (viz. Orthodox millet , Armenian millet , etc.). In

4704-428: The beginning of the 16th century, and that of Safed increased from 300 to 2,000 families. Damascus had a Sephardic congregation of 500 families. Istanbul had a Jewish community of 30,000 individuals with 44 synagogues . Bayezid allowed the Jews to live on the banks of the Golden Horn . Egypt, especially Cairo , received a large number of the exiles, who soon outnumbered the pre-existing Musta'arabi Jews . Gradually,

4802-446: The benefit of the empire, they would be rewarded well. Compared to European laws, which restricted life for all Jews, that was a significant opportunity, which drew Jews from across the Mediterranean. The Jews satisfied various needs in the Ottoman Empire. The Muslim population of the Empire was largely uninterested in business enterprises and accordingly left commercial occupations to members of minority religions. Additionally, since

4900-420: The biblical Sepharad is disputed, but Sepharad was identified as Hispania by later Jews, that is, it was identified as the Iberian Peninsula . Sepharad now means "Spain" in modern Hebrew . Their traditional spoken languages were referred to as Judaeo-Spanish and Judaeo-Portuguese . In most locales, where the Eastern Sephardim settled, the indigenous Jewish population came to adopt the culture and customs of

4998-450: The chief centre of the Sephardic Jews became Salonica , where they soon outnumbered the pre-existing Romaniote Jewish community. In fact, the Sephardic Jews eclipsed and absorbed the Romaniot Jews and changed the culture and the structure of Jewish communities in the Ottoman Empire. In the centuries that followed, the Ottomans reaped the benefits of the Jewish communities that they adopted. In exchange for Jews contributing their talents for

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5096-434: The city in a state of disarray. After suffering many sieges , a devastating conquest by Catholic Crusaders in 1204, and the outbreak of the Black Death in 1347, the city was a shadow of its former glory. As Mehmed wanted the city as his new capital, he decreed the rebuilding of the city. And in order to revivify Constantinople he ordered that Muslims , Christians and Jews from all over his empire be resettled in

5194-401: The city of Safed , with a substantial Jewish community, was destroyed by Druzes over a struggle for power. The history of Jews in the Ottoman Empire in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is principally a chronicle of decline in influence and power. They lost their influential positions in trade mainly to the Greeks , who were able to "capitalize on their religio-cultural ties with

5292-425: The daughter of Abraham Mocatta , a powerful bullion broker in London, were in the town on a business journey. Moses was close to his aunt, Selina Hannah Laurence ( née Montefiore 1768–1838); a visit to her in 1829 prompted his recollection of the death of his beloved grandmother Esther Hannah Montefiore (1733 – c.  1812 ). Selina lived at Bury Court, St Mary Axe , London, and had anglicised

5390-497: The day: Ottoman nationalism , Zionism and socialism. The family were merchants and central figures in the textile trade between Salonica and Manchester, England . In 1919, one of his sons proposed Jewish autonomy and self-governance in Salonica to the League of Nations . During the Ottoman Empire, the following newspapers served Jewish communities: Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet , FRS (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885)

5488-401: The distress of Jews abroad. He went to the sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1840 to liberate from prison ten Syrian Jews of Damascus arrested for blood libel in a case known as the Damascus affair ; to Rome in 1858 to try to free Jewish youth Edgardo Mortara , who had been seized by the Catholic Church after allegedly being baptised by a Catholic servant; to Russia in 1846 (where he

5586-554: The early 16th century. Salonica was considered the main center of Jewish life in the Ottoman Empire. Jewish people maintained a strong presence in Salonica until the outbreak of World War II and the Holocaust, when "there were around 56,000 Jews living in" the city. Salonica became the Jewish center of the Ottoman Empire after 1492. At this time, the Spanish Inquisition began in Spain and Portugal and Jews were forced to convert to Christianity or emigrate. Religious persecution caused many Sephardic Jews to immigrate to Salonica and make up

5684-401: The early 21st century. The Greenhouse and the rest of the estate are now protected as King George VI Memorial Park. A plaque on the Gate House honors Sir Moses. The Montefiore Home for Chronic Invalids in Manhattan and the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx are both named after him. Montefiore Square, a small, triangular park in upper Manhattan 's Hamilton Heights neighbourhood,

5782-495: The established Cochin Jewish community, again, they imparted their culture and their customs to the local Jews . The presence of Sephardim and New Christians along the Malabar coast eventually aroused the ire of the Catholic Church , which then obtained permission from the Portuguese crown to establish the Goan Inquisition against the Sephardic Jews of India . In recent times, principally after 1948, most Eastern Sephardim have relocated to Israel , and others have relocated to

5880-495: The family's banking business in Britain , and the two brothers-in-law became business partners. In business, Montefiore was an innovator, investing in the supply of piped gas for street lighting to European cities via the Imperial Continental Gas Association . In 1824 he was among the founding consortium of the Alliance Assurance Company (which later merged with Sun Insurance to form Sun Alliance ). Though somewhat lax in religious observance in his early life, after his visit to

5978-439: The first precursor of the New Yishuv . Living outside the city walls was dangerous at the time, due to lawlessness and bandits. Montefiore offered financial inducement to encourage poor families to move there. Montefiore intended Mishkenot Sha’ananim to be a new type of self-sufficient, sanitary settlement where Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews lived together. Later on, Montefiore established adjacent neighborhoods south of Jaffa Road ,

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6076-412: The framework of the millet, Jews had a considerable amount of administrative autonomy and were represented by the Hakham Bashi , the Turkish term for the Chief Rabbi. There were no restrictions in the professions Jews could practice, analogous to the restrictions common in Western Christian countries. There were restrictions, however, regarding the areas Jews could live in or work, which were similar to

6174-407: The languages of the regions they settled in, or have modified them to sound more local. In recent years, several hundred Turkish Jews , who have been able to prove that they are descended from Portuguese Jews who had been expelled from Portugal in 1497 , have emigrated to Portugal and acquired Portuguese citizenship . Ottoman Jews By the time the Ottoman Empire rose to power in

6272-399: The large array of connections to other Jewish communities across the Mediterranean. Two violent incidences took place in Safed and Hebron after the Ottomans had ousted the Mamluks and taken Levant during the Ottoman–Mamluk War in 1517. Accounts of the attack against the Jews in Safed were recorded by historian Rabbi Elijah Capsali of Candia , ( Crete ) and Rabbi Joseph Garson, who

6370-508: The local ridings still bears his name. In 1845 he served as High Sheriff of Kent . In 1873, the year of his 89th birthday, a local newspaper mistakenly ran his obituary. "Thank God to have been able to hear of the rumour", he wrote to the editor, "and to read an account of the same with my own eyes, without using spectacles." The town celebrated his 99th and his 100th birthdays in great style, and every local charity (and church) benefited from his philanthropy. At East Cliff Lodge, he established

6468-513: The man and literally spit upon his Jewish gaberdine . To all this the Jew is obliged to submit; it would be more than his life was worth to offer to strike a Mohammedan. The overwhelming majority of the Ottoman Jews lived in the European provinces of the Empire. As the empire lost control over its European provinces in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these Jewish communities found themselves under Christian rule. The Bosnian Jews for example came under Austro-Hungarian rule after

6566-429: The manufacture of broadcloth . However, the city was also served by large port, making it easily susceptible to infectious agents from abroad. Incidents of plague often affected the production of broadcloth as residents of Salonica repeatedly became ill, died or fled during outbreaks. Friction between Jews and Turks was less common than in the Arab territories. Some examples: In 1660 or 1662, under Mehmet IV (1649–87),

6664-430: The new capital. Within months most of the Empire's Romaniote Jews , from the Balkans and Anatolia , were concentrated in Constantinople , where they made up 10% of the city's population. But at the same time the forced resettlement, though not intended as an anti-Jewish measure , was perceived as an "expulsion" by the Jews. Despite this interpretation however, the Romaniotes would be the most influential community in

6762-424: The occupation of the region in 1878. The independence of Greece , Bulgaria and Serbia further lowered the number of Jews within the borders of the Ottoman Empire. In the Ottoman Empire, Jews and Christians were considered dhimmi by the majority Muslim population. Muslims in the Ottoman Empire used the Qur'anic concept of dhimmi to place certain restrictions on Jews living in the region. For example, some of

6860-409: The onslaught was initiated by Turkish troops led by Murad Bey, the deputy of the Sultan from Jerusalem. In the sixteenth century, the leading financiers in Istanbul were Greeks and Jews. Many of the Jewish financiers were originally from Iberia and had fled during the period leading up to the expulsion of Jews from Spain . Many of these families brought great fortunes with them. The most notable of

6958-518: The potential settlement of Jews within the empire, the Council of Ministers declared that "[Jewish] immigrants [would] be able to settle as scattered groups throughout Turkey, excluding Palestine." The Jewish millet agreed upon a constitution which was enacted in 1865, Konstitusyon para la nasyon yisraelita de la Turkia or the Hahamname Nizamnamesi , originally written in Judaeo-Spanish (Ladino). Writer M. Franco stated that Ottoman government employee and translator Yehezkel Gabay (1825-96) wrote

7056-555: The provinces were added to the assembly. The Jewish millet constitution is noted for its similarity with the Armenian millet constitution . A key difference was the lack of clergy; The hahambaşı still held absolute spiritual authority over Jews of Istanbul, but provincial Jews were free to organize their local affairs as they wished. Istanbul was also the only city represented in the chamber. Historian Martin Gilbert writes that it

7154-474: The recent Sephardic arrivals. This phenomenon is just one of the factors which has currently led to the broader religious definition of the term Sephardi. The relationship between Sephardic communities is illustrated in the following diagram : Historically, the vernacular language of Eastern Sephardim was Judeo-Spanish , a Romance language also called Ladino (specifically "Ladino Oriental" or Eastern Ladino) and Judezmo ("Jewish [language]"). The language

7252-408: The region was wracked by an earthquake in 1836. The towns of Safed and Tiberias were particularly damaged, with the few survivors suffering disorder, terror and disease. Moses and Judith launched an ambitious programme of relief in 1837. In 1854 his American friend Judah Touro , also a Sephardic Jew, died after having bequeathed money to fund Jewish residential settlement in Palestine. Montefiore

7350-571: The region's history. This changed, however, when the Sultan appointed a Hakham-bashi or a chief rabbi to exercise jurisdiction in the community regarding issues of "marriage, divorce, engagement, and inheritance" in addition to delivering "his community's share of the taxes and keeping order" in the community. Although Jews were spread throughout the Ottoman Empire, the cities of Constantinople (Istanbul) and Salonica , also called Thessaloniki , had Jewish populations of about 20,000 Jewish people by

7448-409: The release of the condemned. Benny Morris writes that one symbol of Jewish degradation was the phenomenon of stone-throwing at Jews by Muslim children. Morris quotes a 19th-century traveler: I have seen a little fellow of six years old, with a troop of fat toddlers of only three and four, teaching [them] to throw stones at a Jew, and one little urchin would, with the greatest coolness, waddle up to

7546-423: The restrictions placed on Jews in the Ottoman Empire were included, but not limited to, a special tax, a requirement to wear special clothing, and a ban on carrying guns, riding horses, building or repairing places of worship, and having public processions or public worship. Even though Jews were placed under special restrictions in the Ottoman Empire, there was still a vibrant Jewish culture in certain regions of

7644-404: The restrictions placed on Ottoman subjects of other religions. Like all non-Muslims, Jews had to pay the haraç ("head tax") and faced other restrictions in clothing, horse riding, army service, slave ownership, etc. Although many of these restrictions were decreed, they were not always enforced. Jizya collected from Christian and Jewish communities was among the main sources of tax income of

7742-534: The secular Jewish press and Alliance to promote French , the majority of Turkish Jews were still speaking Ladino in the early 20th century. Though the power structures within the community were influenced by Western influences, religious tradition remained an important part of community life, despite the lessening of rabbinic authority, and the Reform Judaism movement that developed in Germany (and later

7840-414: The surname of her husband Zaccaria Levy (1751–1828) to Laurence following his death. The family returned to Kennington in London, where Montefiore attended school. His family's precarious financial situation prevented Montefiore from completing his schooling and he went out to work to help support the family. After working for a wholesale tea merchant and grocer, he was hired by a counting house in

7938-650: The time of the Ottoman conquests , Anatolia had already been home to communities of Byzantine Jews . The Ottoman Empire became a safe haven for Jews from the Iberian Peninsula fleeing persecution (see Alhambra Decree ). By the end of the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire had the largest Jewish population in the world, with 150,000 compared to Poland 's and non-Ottoman Ukraine 's combined figure of 75,000. The First and Second Aliyah brought an increased Jewish presence to Ottoman Palestine . The Ottoman successor state of modern Turkey continues to be home to

8036-588: The wealthier cities of the empire, especially in the European provinces (cities such as Istanbul , Sarajevo , Salonica , Adrianople and Nicopolis ), Western and Northern Anatolia ( Bursa , Aydın , Tokat and Amasya ) but also in the Mediterranean coastal regions (such as Jerusalem , Safed , Damascus and Egypt ). İzmir was not settled by Spanish Jews until later. The Jewish population at Jerusalem increased from 70 families in 1488 to 1,500 at

8134-404: The writings of Abraham Palachi, chief rabbi of Izmir, are markedly conservative, Palachi was a strong supported of improving French language education in his community and spoke at the opening of a new Alliance Israélite school in 1873. Sephardi writer Judah Papo, who died in Jerusalem in 1873, was one of the teachers of Judah Alkalai . The term Sephardi is derived from Sepharad . The location of

8232-458: Was a British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London . Born to an Italian Sephardic Jewish family based in London , after he achieved success, he donated large sums of money to promote industry, business, economic development, education and health among the Jewish community in the Levant . He founded Mishkenot Sha'ananim in 1860, the first Jewish settlement outside

8330-664: Was active in public initiatives aimed at alleviating the persecution of minorities in the Middle East and elsewhere, and he worked closely with organisations that campaigned for the abolition of slavery . A Government loan raised by the Rothschilds and Montefiore in 1835 enabled the British Government to compensate plantation owners under the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 and abolish slavery in

8428-423: Was appointed executor of his will, and used the funds for a variety of projects to encourage the Jews to engage in productive labor. In 1855, he purchased an orchard on the outskirts of Jaffa that offered agricultural training to the Jews. In 1860, he built the first Jewish residential settlement and almshouse outside the old walled city of Jerusalem , which today is known as Mishkenot Sha'ananim . This became

8526-779: Was buried in the mausoleum which he had had built near the Montefiore Synagogue at Ramsgate. The estate was sold to the Borough of Ramsgate around 1952, and the Lodge was demolished in 1954. All that remains today is a new building housing a firm of architects. It incorporates parts of the original structure, called the Coach House. There are also some outbuildings that survive (including the Gate House). The Italianate Greenhouse has been restored to its former glory in

8624-880: Was especially important for religious texts and bureaucratic documents. Other Jewish specialists employed by the empire included physicians and diplomats that emigrated from their homelands. Some of them were granted landed titles for their work, including Joseph Nasi, who was named Duke of Naxos. Although the Ottomans did not treat Jews differently from other minorities in the country, the policies seemed to align well with Jewish traditions, which allowed communities to flourish. The Jewish people were allowed to establish their own autonomous communities, which included their own schools and courts. Those rights were extremely controversial in other regions in Muslim North Africa and absolutely unrealistic in Europe. The communities would prove to be centers of education and trade because of

8722-428: Was his nephew Sir Joseph Sebag-Montefiore (1822–1903, born Joseph Sebag), a British banker, stockbroker and politician. Sir Joseph's descendant, British historian Simon Sebag Montefiore (born 1965), revealed that his family believes Sir Moses to have fathered a child late in life with a 16-year-old domestic servant. Philanthropist Leonard Montefiore was a great-nephew of Sir Moses Montefiore. Sir Moses Montefiore

8820-603: Was in the 19th century that the position of Jews worsened in Muslim countries. According to Mark Cohen in The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies , most scholars conclude that Arab anti-Semitism in the modern world arose in the nineteenth century, against the backdrop of conflicting Jewish and Arab nationalism, and was imported into the Arab world primarily by nationalistically minded Christian Arabs (and only subsequently

8918-695: Was it "Islamized"). There was a massacre of Jews in Baghdad in 1828. There was a massacre of Jews in Barfurush in 1867. In 1865, when the equality of all subjects of the Ottoman Empire was proclaimed, Ahmed Cevdet Pasha , a high-ranking official observed, "whereas in former times, in the Ottoman State, the communities were ranked, with the Muslims first, then the Greeks, then the Armenians, then

9016-554: Was living in Damascus at the time. The Safed attack may have been initiated by retreating Mamluk soldiers who accused the Jews of treacherously aiding the Turkish invaders, with Arabs from the surrounding villages joining the melee. In Hebron, Jews were attacked, beaten and raped, and many were killed as their homes and businesses were looted and pillaged. An account of the event, recorded by Japheth ben Manasseh in 1518, mentions how

9114-474: Was merely performαnce that counted." An additional problem was the lack of unity among the Jews themselves. They had come to the Ottoman Empire from many lands, bringing with them their own customs and opinions, to which they clung tenaciously, and had founded separate congregations. Another tremendous upheaval was caused when Sabbatai Zevi proclaimed himself to be the Messiah . He was eventually caught by

9212-445: Was president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews from 1835 to 1874, a period of 39 years, the longest tenure ever, and member of Bevis Marks Synagogue . As president, he corresponded with the British consul in Damascus, Charles Henry Churchill , in 1841–42; a practice seen as pivotal to the development of Proto-Zionism . From retirement until the day he died, Montefiore devoted himself to philanthropy, particularly alleviating

9310-460: Was received by the Tsar) and 1872; to Morocco in 1864, and to Romania in 1867. These missions made him a folk hero of near mythological proportions among the oppressed Jews of Eastern Europe, North Africa , and the Levant . Montefiore received a baronetcy in 1846 in recognition of his services to humanitarian causes on behalf of the Jewish people. He and his wife travelled to Palestine after

9408-434: Was renowned for his quick and sharp wit. A popularly circulated anecdote, possibly apocryphal, relates that at a dinner party he was once seated next to a nobleman who was known to be an anti-Semite . The nobleman told Montefiore that he had just returned from a trip to Japan , where "they have neither pigs nor Jews." Montefiore is reported to have responded immediately, "in that case, you and I should go there, so it will have

9506-413: Was still the civil and spiritual ethnarch of Ottoman Jews, and he was now constrained by the creation of two councils, one spiritual ( meclis-i umumi-ruhani ) and one civil. These councils were elected by a general assembly ( meclis-i cismani ) of 80 deputies, composed of 20 rabbis and 60 laymen, themselves elected by Istanbul Jews. The hahambaşı was now an elected position, whereupon 40 extra deputies from

9604-557: Was the Damascus affair , in which many Jews in Damascus (which was then under the leadership of Muhammad Ali of Egypt ) were arrested after being accused of murdering the Christian Father Thomas and his servant in an instance of blood libel . While the authorities under Sharif Pasha, Egyptian governor of Damascus, tortured the accused until they confessed to the crime, and killed two Jews who refused to confess, prominent European Jews such as Adolphe Crémieux demanded

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