Rhodes blood libel
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The Rhodes blood libel (February 1840) was an instance of the blood libel against Jews in which the Jews of the island of Rhodes were accused of the ritual murder of a Christian boy.
The libel originated in the Greek Orthodox community and enjoyed active support from the consuls of several European countries, including the United Kingdom, France, the Austrian Empire, Sweden, and Greece. Most importantly, the Ottoman governor of Rhodes broke with the long tradition of the Ottoman governments (which had previously shielded the Jews from blood libel accusations) and also supported the ritual murder charge. Several Jews were arrested with some of them making false confessions under torture, and the entire Jewish quarter was blockaded for twelve days.
The Jews of Rhodes appealed for help to the Jewish community in Constantinople, who forwarded the materials on the Rhodes affair to Europe. In the United Kingdom and Austria, Jewish communities were able to win sympathies of their governments, and dispatches sent to the ambassadors in Constantinople unequivocally condemned the blood libel; thus, a consensus favorable to the Jews formed within the European diplomatic community. In addition, the governor of Rhodes proved unable to force the case to any formal conclusion and turned for instructions to the central government, which initiated a formal inquiry into the affair. In July 1840, a governmental investigation established the innocence of the Jews. Finally, in November of the same year, the Ottoman sultan issued a decree (firman) denouncing the blood libel.
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[edit] Background
[edit] Jewish community of Rhodes
The existence of a Jewish community in Rhodes is first documented towards the end of the Hellenistic period. In a Roman decree dated to 142 BCE, Rhodes is listed among the areas notified of the renewal of the pact of friendship between the Roman senate and the Jewish nation. The Jews of Rhodes are mentioned in documents at the time of the Arab conquest of the island in the 7th century. In the 12th century, Benjamin of Tudela found some 400 Jews in the city of Rhodes. In 1481 and 1482, earthquakes destroyed the Jewish quarter, so that only 22 families did not leave the city. After an epidemic of plague in 1498–1500, the Knights Hospitaller who ruled the island at that time expelled the remaining Jews, who would not be baptized. In the next two decades, the Hospitaliers brought to the island between 2,000 and 3,000 captured Jews who were kept as slaves to work on fortifications.[1]
In 1522, these Jewish captives helped the Ottomans seize Rhodes. Under the Ottoman rule, Rhodes became an important Sephardi center, home to many famous rabbis. In the 19th century, the wealthier Jews were merchants in cloth, silk, sulfur, and resins, and the rest were small shopkeepers and artisans, ambulant vendors, and fishermen. The community was governed by a council of seven officials. Sources give the number of Jews during the 19th century between 2,000 and 4,000.[1]
[edit] Blood libel against the Jews in the Ottoman Empire
The blood libel against Jews originated in England in 1144 with the case of William of Norwich. The accusation that Jews use blood of Christian children to prepare matzos for the Passover became a staple of the Christian antisemitism in the Middle Ages, but the number of cases began to decline with the strengthening of standards of evidence and few blood libel cases reached European courts after 1772.[2] In the Middle East, the blood libel was deeply ingrained in the consciousness of local Christian communities.[3] Blood libel was commonplace in the Byzantine Empire, and after the Ottomans conquered the Byzantine lands, the ritual murder charge originated almost always from within the Greek communities. The first appearance of the blood libel under the Ottoman rule took place in the reign of Mehmet II. Subsequently, accusations of ritual murder were only sporadic and were usually condemned by the Ottoman authorities.[4] In the 16th century sultan Suleiman the Magnificent issued a firman, formally denouncing blood libel against the Jews.[5]
The situation changed with the increase of Christian influence in the Ottoman Empire and the concomitant decline in the standing of the Jews. The sultan's Hatt-i Sharif of Gulhane, proclaimed in 1839, ushered in an era of liberal reforms known as Tanzimat; however, it also further enhanced the status of the Christians and eroded the power of the authorities to protect the Jews.[3] Before 1840, cases of blood libel occurred in Aleppo in 1840 and in Antioch in 1826.[4] Simultaneously with the affair in Rhodes, another, much more famous case of blood libel, which became known as the Damascus affair, was developing in Damascus, which was at the time under a short-lived control of Muhammad Ali of Egypt.
[edit] Accusation
[edit] Disappearance
On February 17, 1840, a boy from a Greek Orthodox family went for a walk and did not come back home. The next day his mother reported the disappearance to the Ottoman authorities. The island's governor, Yusuf Pasha, ordered the start of a search, but it brought no result even after several days of efforts. Then the European consuls pressed the governor to solve the case: after all, the boy's family were Christians even though they were not under foreign protection. The Christian population of Rhodes, meanwhile, had no doubts that the boy had been murdered by the Jews for ritual purposes. An eyewitness reported: "It was firmly believed that the child in question was doomed to be sacrificed by the Jews. The whole island was agitated from one end to the other." The assurance of the local Christians impressed upon the Ottoman authorities, who began searching the Jewish quarter, again in vain.[6]
[edit] Arrests, interrogations, and torture
A major turn of the events occurred in several days when two Greek women reported that they had seen the boy walking towards the city of Rhodes accompanied by four Jews. The women claimed that one of the Jews was Eliakim Stamboli, who was then arrested, questioned, and subjected to five hundred blows of the bastinado. On February 23, he was interrogated again and tortured in the presence of many dignitaries, including the governor, the qadi (Muslim judge), the Greek archbishop, and the European consuls. The report from the Jews of Rhodes said that Stamboli was "loaded with chains, many stripes were inflicted upon him and red-hot wires were run through his nose, burning bones were applied to his head and a very heavy stone was laid upon his breast, insomuch as he was reduced to the point of death." Under torture, Stamboli confessed to the ritual murder charge and incriminated other Jews, opening the door to further arrests. Some half dozen Jews were accused of the crime and tortured, and the chief rabbi was intensely questioned as to whether Jews practice ritual murder.[7]
[edit] Blockade
The governor then ordered the whole Jewish quarter sealed off so that its dwellers could not obtain even food or fresh water.[8] An attempt was made to smuggle a dead body into the Jewish quarter, but the Jews thwarted this plot.[9] However, with the exception of the governor, the Muslim authorities were not at all keen at pursuing the ritual murder accusation against the Jews. The Muslim official in charge of the blockade of the Jewish quarter was found smuggling bread there; upon insistence of the British consul, he was bastinadoed and dismissed from service. The qadi openly sympathized with the Jews, and at the end of February he initiated further hearings on the case after which evidence was declared insufficient to convict the prisoners. The governor, on the other hand, refused to lift the blockade of the Jewish quarter, even though he seemed to waver somewhat, as in the early March he sent to Constantinople, asking for instructions. Only after the blockade had lasted for twelve days was the governor forced to lift it by a high treasury official who visited the island on a tour of inspection. At that point, the Jews thought that the affair was over and "returned thanks to the Almighty for their deliverance".[10]
[edit] Influence of the Damascus affair
The relief, however, was soon dashed in the early March by the arrival of the news about the Damascus affair. The news reinforced the belief of the Christian community in the truth of the ritual murder charge. The British consul reported that "the Greeks cried loud that justice had not been rendered to them and that the rabbi and chiefs ought to have been imprisoned… In order to keep the populace quiet… it was decided that these should be arrested." A total of eight Jews were arrested, including the chief rabbi and David Mizrahi, who were suspended swinging from hooks in the ceiling in the presence of the European consuls. Mizrahi lost consciousness after six hours, while the rabbi was kept there for two days until he suffered a hemorrhage. Nevertheless, neither of them confessed and they were released after a few days, but the other six Jews remained in prison in early April.[11]
[edit] Consular involvement
The European vice-consuls in Rhodes were united in their belief in the ritual murder charge. They played the key role in the interrogation, with J. G. Wilkinson, the British consul, and E. Masse from Sweden being particularly heavily involved.[8] During the interrogation of the chief rabbi, Wilkinson asked referring to the qadi's decision to dismiss the case against the Jews: "What signifies the Mollah's judgment to us after what happened in Damascus and it is proved that, according to the Talmud, Christian blood must be used in making your Passover bread?"[12] The consuls were also present during much of the torture.[8] When the chief rabbi, an Austrian subject, was tortured, he appealed to the Austrian vice-consul Anton Giuliani, who replied: "What rabbi? What do you complain about? So you are not dead yet."[11]
The Jews of Rhodes accused the consuls of conspiracy aimed at exploiting the case to eliminate Elias Kalimati, a local Jew, who represented business interests of Joel Davis, a Jewish businessman from London. Davis was rapidly increasing his share in the profitable sponge exports from the island, and he was a major business rival of the European consuls. The accusation, however, was probably without merit because Elias Kalimati was not among the persons held in relation to this affair. The Jewish sources also claimed that "[t]he consuls stated openly… their purpose of exterminating the Jews of Rhodes or to compel them to change their religion.[8]
[edit] Jewish lobbying and European diplomatic involvement
In the first days of the blockade, someone managed to smuggle a letter out of the Jewish quarter to the Jewish leadership in Constantinople. However, it was only on March 27 that the leaders of the Jewish community in the Ottoman capital forwarded it, together with a similar call for help from the Jews of Damascus, to the Rothschild family. To these documents, the Jewish leaders attached their own statement in which they cast doubt on their ability to influence the sultan.[13]
The intervention of the Rotschilds bore the quickest fruit in Austria. The head of the Rotschild family bank in Vienna, Salomon Mayer von Rothschild, played the key role in raising financing for the Austrian Empire, and he had very close relationship with the Austrian chancellor von Metternich. On April 10, Metternich dispatched instruction regarding both the Damascus and Rhodes affairs to Bartolomäus von Stürmer, ambassador in Constantinople, and Anton von Laurin, consul in Alexandria. In his dispatch, Metternich wrote: "The accusation that Christians are deliberately murdered for some blood-thirsty Passover festival is by its nature absurd..." Regarding the Rhodes case, the chancellor instructed von Stürmer "to tip the wink to the Turkish regime, so that they instruct pasha of Rhodes accordingly and that you let [our] vice-consul in Rhodes know that in such cases he should work in the spirit of sensible mediation."[14] Von Stürmer, however, replied to Metternich that "there have been no persecutions against the Jewish population, at least not by the authorities."[15]
In the UK, it took the Jewish community longer to react to the calls for help from Rhodes and Damascus. The Board of Deputies of the British Jews convened to discuss the blood libels only on April 21. It was resolved to request the British, Austrian, and French governments to intercede with the Ottoman government and stop the persecutions. The resolution condemning the ritual murder charges was published as a paid advertisement in 35 British journals; in the most important newspapers it appeared twice. On April 30, a delegation elected by the Board met with the foreign secretary Lord Palmerston, who the blood libel a "calumny" and promised that "the influence of the British government should be exerted to put a stop to [the] atrocities." In his dispatch of May 5, the foreign secretary told Lord Ponsonby, the British ambassador in Constantinople, to communicate the material on the Rhodes affair to the Ottoman government "officially and in writing" and to "request... an immediate and strict inquiry to be made... especially into the allegation that these atrocities were committed at the instigation of the Christians and the European consuls."[16]
Thus, a consensus formed within the European diplomatic community in Constantinople that the persecution of the accused Jews had to be stopped. This opinion was held not only by Lord Ponsonby, but also von Stürmer, whose correspondence revealed that he was not at all convinced in the innocence of the Jews, as well as the French ambassador Edouard Pontois, whose government stood by the French consuls who supported blood libels in Rhodes and Damascus, and by the Prussian ambassador Hans von Königsmark. Consequently, the way was open for Lord Ponsonby, by far the most powerful diplomat in Constantinople, to intervene unopposed on behalf the Jews of Rhodes.[17]
[edit] Investigation and trial
[edit] Intervention of the Ottoman government
In response to Yusuf Pasha's request, the Ottoman government sent its instructions to Rhodes, where they arrived at the end of April. The government would set up an official investigatory commission before which representatives of the Jewish and Greek communities were ordered to present their evidence. In mid-May, the government sent the orders to release the six remaining Jewish prisoners. On May 21, they were ceremoniously called before the court (shura) and freed under the guarantees of the elders of the Jewish community.[18]
The Christians responded to these actions of the central government with a fresh wave of fury against the Jews so that in late May violence was in the air. The Jews described many cases in which they were assaulted or beaten by the Greeks, and the sons of the British and the Greek consuls were among those who beaten up a number of Jews. When the Jews complained to the governor, he ordered the complainants subjected to four to five hundred blows of the bastinado. The qadi disassociated himself from the actions of the governor, who declared that he had acted upon the demands of the consuls. On top of that, the governor ordered five other Jews arrested.[19]
[edit] Acquittal
The Greek and Jewish delegations from Rhodes, each numbering five, arrived at Constantinople on May 10.[20] In the capital they were joined by the qadi, the French consul and the Austrian vice-consul. On May 26, the investigatory tribunal held its first open session chaired by Rifaat Bey. The qadi argued that "the entire affair is the product of hatred; [and] was instigated by the English and Austrian consuls alone." The consuls insisted on the guilt of the Jews, and they presented a concurring written testimony of their colleagues who stayed on Rhodes.[21]
The case dragged on for two more months, as the British ambassador insisted on bringing into light the facts implicating the Rhodes governor of torture. Finally, on July 21 the verdict was announced. In its first part, the case between "the Greek population of Rhodes, the plaintiff, and the Jewish population, defendant", the result was acquittal. In its second part, Yusuf Pasha was dismissed from the post as the governor of Rhodes because "he had permitted procedures to be employed against the Jews which are not authorized in any way by the law and which are expressly forbidden by the Hatt-i Sherif of 3 November". The British ambassador praised the investigation as one during which "[t]he affair of Rhodes was examined with fairness" and called the verdict "a signal proof of the justice and humanity with which the Sublime Porte acts."[22]
[edit] Sultan's firman
In October 1840, Sir Moses Montefiore was returning to Europe by way of Constantinople from his successful mission to the Middle East on behalf of the Jews accused in the Damascus affair. On October 15 in Constantinople he had a meeting with Lord Ponsonby, to whom Montefiore suggested that following the precedent set by Suleiman the Magnificent, the sultan should issue a decree (firman), formally denouncing the blood libel and effectively sealing the cases both in Rhodes and in Damascus. The British ambassador was enthusiastic about the idea, and within one week he arranged for Montefiore a meeting with Reshid Pasha. Montefiore prepared a draft text of the firman and had its French translation read to Reshid Pasha, who responded encouragingly.[5]
Montefiore's audience with the sultan's took place at the palace late in the evening on October 28. Montefiore described in his diary that as he and his party were driving to the palace, "[t]he streets were crowded; many of the Jews had illuminated their houses." During the audience, Montefiore read aloud a formal address in which he thanked the sultan for his stand in the Rhodes case. In turn, the sultan assured his guests that their request would be granted. The firman was delivered to Montefiore on November 7, and a copy was subsequently provided to the Hakham Bashi. Citing the judgment in the Rhodes case, the decree stated that a careful examination of the Jewish beliefs and "religious books" had demonstrated that "the charges brought against them... are pure calumny... The Jewish nation shall possess the same privileges as are granted to the numerous other nations who submit to our authority. The Jewish nation shall be protected and defended."[23]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b "Rhodes," Encyclopedia Judaica
- ^ Frankel (1997), p. 29
- ^ a b Frankel (1997), p. 65
- ^ a b Lewis (1984), p. 158
- ^ a b Frankel (1997), p. 376
- ^ Frankel (1997), p. 69
- ^ Frankel (1997), pp. 69–70.
- ^ a b c d Frankel (1997), p. 70
- ^ Angel (1980), p. 38
- ^ Frankel (1997), pp. 70–71
- ^ a b Frankel (1997), pp. 71–72.
- ^ Frankel (1997), p. 71.
- ^ Frankel (1997), p. 80
- ^ Frankel (1997), pp. 119–122
- ^ Frankel (1997), p. 159
- ^ Frankel (1997), pp. 123–127
- ^ Frankel (1997), pp. 160–161
- ^ Frankel (1997), pp. 156–157
- ^ Frankel (1997), pp. 157–158
- ^ Frankel (1997), p. 157
- ^ Frankel (1997), pp. 161–162
- ^ Frankel (1997), pp. 162–163
- ^ Frankel (1997), p. 377
[edit] References
- Angel, Marc D. (1980). The Jews of Rhodes: The History of a Sephardic Community. New York: Sepher-Hermon Press. ISBN 0-87203-072-5
- Frankel, Jonathan (1997). The Damascus Affair: "Ritual Murder," Politics, and the Jews in 1840. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-48396-4
- Lewis, Bernard (1984). The Jews of Islam. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00807-8
- "Rhodes" (1997). Encyclopedia Judaica (CD-ROM Edition Version 1.0). Ed. Cecil Roth. Keter Publishing House. ISBN 965-07-0665-8
