1838 Druze massacre of Safed
The 1838 Druze massacre of Safed or 1838 Safed massacre was a violent event in Galilee, in which Druze rebels plundered and robbed the town of Safed and caused casualties and losses to Safed's mostly Jewish population.
Pretext
| HaYishuv haYashan |
 |
| Jewish life in the Land of Israel before Modern Zionism |
| Key figures: |
|---|
| Nahmanides • Yechiel of Paris • Bartenura • Yehuda he-Hasid |
| Finance: |
| Kollel • Halukka • Etrog |
| Communities: |
| Sephardim • Perushim • Hasidim |
| Synagogues: |
| Ramban • Ari • Hurva • Shomrei HaChomos |
| Related articles: |
| History of the Jews in the Land of Israel • History of Zionism (Timeline) • Haredim and Zionism • Edah HaChareidis • ShaDaR • Yishuv • Three Oaths |
Under the Ottomans, Safed was part of the vilayet of Sidon. In around 1625, Quaresmius spoke of the town being inhabited "chiefly by Hebrews, who had their synagogues and schools, and for whose sustenance contributions were made by the Jews in other parts of the world." An outbreak of plague decimated the population in 1742 and the Near East earthquake of 1759 left the city in ruins. An influx Russian Jews in 1776 and 1781, and of Lithuanian Jews of the Perushim in 1809 and 1810, reinvigorated the community. In 1812, another plague killed 80% of the Jewish population, and in 1819 the remaining Jewish residents were held for ransom by Abdullah Pasha, the governor of Acre.
In 1831, the region of Southern Syria was annexed by Muhammad Ali of Egypt. By 1834, Arab revolt erupted across the area as a reaction to conscription into the Egyptian army by the Wāli Muhammad Ali. Ali, as a part of a modernisation policy, began the conscription of ordinary subjects. The imposition of a conscription levy led to a revolt in the Egyptian conquered portion of Ottoman Syria, headed by the prominent Arab clans of Nablus, Hebron and the Jerusalem-Jaffa area. On June 15, 1834, Arab Muslim rioters went on a Safed Plunder, and mass-rape on Jews in Safed, Galilee. Druze rebels are also said to take part in the 1834 Safed Plunder.
Shortly before the Druze plunder of 1838, the city of Safed was ruined in the Galilee earthquake of 1837, The earthquake killed 2,158 inhabitants, of which 1,507 were Ottoman subjects, Muslim or Jewish. The north, Jewish section of the town was almost entirely destroyed, while the south, Moslem section suffered far less damage.
The attack
The situation continued to be tense between the Druze and the Egyptian governorship. In summer of 1838 tensions mounted as the Druze captured an Egyptian garrisson outside of Safed. The local Safed militia of several hundred was heavily outnumbered by the Druze, and the city was gripped in despair. The Jewish population relied on the protection of the Arab governor against the Druze. Dr. Elizer Loewe wrote in his diary
- We huddled together in Rebbe Avraham Dov's house... The women were hysterical and the children crying. The Rebbe asked me to write a note in Arabic to the mayor, pleading with him not to forsake us in this desperate time. I did so, but his answer was mere lip service.
According to Loewe, the mayor and his militia fled the city, and the Jews became Open prey for the ravenous rebels. The Druze rebels were joined by Muslim mob and they looted the Jewish quarters, as the Druze rebels thought the Jews possessed hidden treasures and local Muslims encouraged them to attack. The plunder lasted for 3 days.
See also
References
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1838_Druze_massacre_of_Safed
