Haim Farkhi
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Haim Farkhi (also Chaim, Farhi) (1760 - August 21, 1819 by assassination) was the Jewish advisor for the rulers of the Galilee in the days of the Ottoman Empire, and during Napoleon's travels in the land of Israel.
He was a central figure in the pilgrimage of the students of the Baal Shem Tov, in 1777, and their absorption in the Galilee and also in the repulsion of the Napoleon siege over the city of Akko in 1799.
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[edit] Historical background
After the occupation of Israel by the hands of the Ottoman empire in the year 1516, Israel became part of the empire. Still, the central Turkish rule was weak. Throughout the empire, which ruled over vast areas in Turkey, Asia, North Africa, the Balkans and Europe, came many local rulers, who created a near-autonomous rule, who had a weak connection with the central government in Istanbul.
The central rule at northern Israel was supposed to come from Damascus, where the governor of Damascus would be the person responsible in from of the throne in Turkey. During the 18th century rose a strong local leader by the name of Dhaher El-Omar, who cut ties with the empire. This leader was defeated at 1775 by the Turkish officer Ahmad Al-Jazar, and the Turkish re-established their control over the north of the land.
In the days of Dhaher El-Omar and Ahmad Al-Jazar, the Galilee was being resettled by Jews. Dahar invited Rabbi Chaim Abulafia[1] of Izmir to return to his homeland and resettle Tiberius.
An existence of a strong local ruling, which enforced and prevented road robbery, as in the days of Dahar and Al-Jazar, turned the Galilee to a center of attraction for many - Arabs from Syria and Lebanon, and also Jews from the east and the west.
[edit] Al-Jazar's advisor
Haim Farkhi was born to a respected Jewish family in Damascus, and some say[attribution needed] he was related to the royal house of David. For many years, the family's members, among them Shaul Farkhi, Farkhi's father, worked as the treasurers of the Damascus district. It is also possible that they were used to mediate between the Jewish community and the law. It is known that they tried to alleviate the burden of the taxes on the Jews of Safed. Haim Farkhi was the banker of the ruler of Damascus. He gained a lot of influence with the Turkish government, and became the advisor for the ruler of Akko, Ahmad Al-Jazar. Al-Jazar recognized his advisor's talents and acted upon his advice. In addition, he also relieved taxation of the Jewish community on Farkhi's request.
Notwithstanding this, Al-Jazar was a violent and cruel individual who's title "Al-Jazar" means "The Butcher". In violent attacks he would find pretext and do harm to his Jewish advisor and as a result he had pierced his eye and cut off the edge of his nose. A famous illustration of those days shows Al-Jazar sitting in Justice in front of his Jewish advisor who is wearing an eye patch.
In the days of Al-Jazar, in the year 1799, Napoleon tried to conquer the Land of Israel. His journeys in the land started in February 1799 when Napoleon and his army arrived from the south, captured Jaffa and massacred 2000 Turkish prisoners within it. They then moved north, captured Haifa and the Jezreel Valley and lay siege upon Akko. Al-Jazar's troops lasted the siege for a month and a half and refused to surrender. These soldiers used the help of English sailors who were under the command of Admiral Sidney Smith. Also, they used an artillery expert by the name of Antwan DeFilippo.
The mind behind the defence of Akko was Farkhi. As the advisor and right hand man of Al-Jazar, Farkhi had a direct hand at the way the war was run. Farkhi and DeFilippo fought against Napoleon a war full of cruelty and trickery. At it's peak, the siege as managed to breach the wall and with many casualties Napoleon's soldiers had tried entering into the city only to discover that within the weeks since the siege has started, Farkhi and DeFilippo have built a second wall, several Feet into the city where Al-Jazar's garden was. The construction of the second wall made Napoleon and his men realise that they will probably not be able to take over the city. The siege was removed and Napoleon returned on his way to Egypt. Some say that Napoleon's statement during the war; saying that if he were to succeed and conquer the land it would be returned to the Jews, was meant to capture Farkhi’s attention and make him support Napoleon.
[edit] His demise and murder
After the death of Al-Jazar in 1804, the role of ruler of the Galilee was given to his son Suliman. Suliman ruled over the region until his death in 1819, when he bequeathed the power to his adopted son Abdallah.
Suliman continued working with Farkhi and utilized him in the same way as his father did, however his adopted son, Abdallah, had made a decision to get rid of Farkhi. Farkhi got word of the decision but did not escape as he feared for the Jews of the kingdom.
On 21 August 1819, soldiers appeared at Farkhi's residence in Akko, announced that he is a traitor and killed him on the spot by strangling him. His house was ransacked by the soldiers and his family wasn't allowed to bury his body. His family escaped to Damascus but his wife was unable to withstand the hardship of the journey and died along the way in Safed.
[edit] The vendetta
When word arrived in Damascus about Farkhi's death, his brothers; Solomon, Refael and Moshe swore to avenge his killing. They went on to hire Turkish officers in Damascus and Halab and requested a Fatwa from "He who belongs to Islam" (the supreme religious authority of the Ottoman Empire) that Abdallah was to be killed.
In April, 1821, the Farkhi brothers arrived with a large army to the Land of Israel. They conquered the Galilee defeating Abdallah's armies that came along their way and appointing new rulers to take his place in each region they conquered. When they finally reached Akko, they kept it under siege for 14 months. During the siege, the eldest brother, Solomon, was poisoned by emissaries of Abdallah and the brothers grew despair of the siege and went back with their troops to Damascus.
[edit] His legacy
Farkhi's residency stands until today in Akko, but it is not open for visitors. In Akko there is a central city square at the old city in his name. Farkhi will be remembered as a contributor to the pilgrimage of the students of the Baal Shem Tov, in the year 1777, and their absorption in the Galilee. This pilgrimage is considered an important milestone in the Jewish resettlement in the Galilee.
[edit] References
- Avraham Yeari, "Memories of the land of Israel" (זכרונות ארץ ישראל), published by the department of youth matters of the Zionist Histadrut, 1947.
