1838 Druze massacre of Safed
Encyclopedia
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.
. 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
. In 1834, [1834 Arab revolt in Palestine[|Arab revolt]] erupted across the Galilee and the hill country of Palestina, as a reaction to conscription order into the Egypt
ian 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 after the Great Safed Plunder
of 1834, the city 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 northern, Jewish section of the town was almost entirely destroyed, while the southern, Moslem section suffered far less damage.
. 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:
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.
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
rebels plundered and robbed the town of Safed and caused casualties and losses to Safed's mostly Jewish population.
Pretext
Under the Ottomans, Safed was part of the vilayet of SidonSidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
. In around 1625, Quaresmius
Franciscus Quaresmius
Franciscus Quaresmius was an Italian writer and Orientalist.-Life:Quaresmius was born at Lodi. His father was the nobleman Alberto Quaresmi and his mother Laura Papa. At an early age he was enrolled among the Franciscan Observantines at Mantua...
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
Near East earthquake of 1759
The Near East earthquake of 1759 was a devastating earthquake that shook a wide region in November, 1759.-See also:Historical earthquakes...
left the city in ruins. An influx Russian Jews in 1776 and 1781, and of Lithuanian Jews of the Perushim
Perushim
The Perushim were disciples of the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, who left Lithuania at the beginning of the 19th century to settle in the Land of Israel, then under Ottoman rule...
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
Abdullah Pasha
Abdullah Pasha or Abdullah Kölemen was an Ottoman general in the First Balkan War, notable as the Ottoman commander in the Battle of Kirk Kilisse in 1912, the Battle of Lule Burgas, and the Battle of Adrianople in which the Ottoman forces were defeated by the Bulgarians.-External links:* * * * *...
, the governor of Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
.
In 1831, the region of Southern Syria
Ottoman Syria
Ottoman Syria is a European reference to the area that during European Renaissance from the late 15th to early 18th century was called the Levant within the early period of the Ottoman Empire, the Orient until the early 19th century, and Greater Syria until 1918...
was annexed by Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...
. In 1834, [1834 Arab revolt in Palestine[|Arab revolt]] erupted across the Galilee and the hill country of Palestina, as a reaction to conscription order into the Egypt
Muhammad Ali Dynasty
The Muhammad Ali Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Egypt and Sudan, from the 19th to the mid-20th Century. It is named after its progenitor, Muhammad Ali Pasha, regarded as the founder of modern Egypt. It was also more formally known as the Alawiyya Dynasty...
ian army by the Wāli Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...
. 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
Ottoman Syria
Ottoman Syria is a European reference to the area that during European Renaissance from the late 15th to early 18th century was called the Levant within the early period of the Ottoman Empire, the Orient until the early 19th century, and Greater Syria until 1918...
, headed by the prominent Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
clans of Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
, Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
and the Jerusalem-Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
area. On June 15, 1834, Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
rioters went on a Safed Plunder
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
,
and mass-rape on Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
in Safed
Safed
Safed , is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and of Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters...
, Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
. Druze
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
rebels are also said to take part in the 1834 Safed Plunder.
Shortly after the Great Safed Plunder
Safed plunder
The Safed Plunder or Safed Great Plunder was a large scale looting and massacre of Safed's Jewish population, that took place in 1834 in Safed Galilee, during the events of the Arab revolt against Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt.-Background:...
of 1834, the city was ruined in the Galilee earthquake of 1837
Galilee earthquake of 1837
The Galilee earthquake of 1837, often called the Safed earthquake, was a devastating earthquake that shook the Galilee on January 1, 1837.-Impact:...
, The earthquake killed 2,158 inhabitants, of which 1,507 were Ottoman subjects, Muslim or Jewish. The northern, Jewish section of the town was almost entirely destroyed, while the southern, Moslem section suffered far less damage.
The attack
After the 1834 defeat of the Arab rebellion, the situation continued to be tense between the local Druze and the Egyptian governorship. In summer of 1838 tensions mounted as the Druze captured an Egyptian garrisson outside of SafedSafed
Safed , is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and of Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters...
. 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
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
rebels thought the Jews possessed hidden treasures and local Muslims encouraged them to attack. The plunder lasted for 3 days.
See also
- List of massacres in Israel
- Muhammad Ali of EgyptMuhammad Ali of EgyptMuhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...
- 1660 Safed massacre
- 1929 Safed massacre1929 Safed massacreThe 1929 Safed pogrom took place on 29 August during the 1929 Palestine riots. Eighteen Jews were killed and eighty wounded. The main Jewish street was looted and burned...
- History of the Jews in the Land of IsraelHistory of the Jews in the Land of IsraelThe history of the Jews in the land of Israel can be traced from the first appearance of the name "Israel" in the historic record, an Egyptian inscription of c.1200 BCE where it refers to an ethnic group apparently located in the northern part of the central highlands between the Mediterranean and...