History of the Jews, Vol. 5 (of 6)

Induced by the cruel torture, the half lifeless Jew in Rhodes made a confession. He incriminated several Jews in the murder of the boy, hoping that they had already fled from fear of persecution. But some of them were still in Rhodes. As in Damascus, they were incarcerated, tortured, and brought near to death's door. Nevertheless they remained firm. The consuls then ordered the Ghetto to be closed, so that no one might pass in and out, and the Jews might be unable to lay their complaints before the Pasha, or even before the Sultan. For three days the Jews received no food from outside. Greeks were constantly prowling around the Ghetto to throw in bones, to be able to say afterwards that they were the bones of a murdered Christian. The Austrian consul, who at first had taken the part of the Jews, was ultimately induced to join their enemies.

In consequence of this double accusation, a perfect storm arose against the Jews in Syria and Turkey. In Djabar, near Damascus, the mob broke into the synagogue, pillaged and destroyed it, and tore the scrolls of the Law to shreds. In Beyrout the Jews were protected from ill-treatment by the interposition of Laurilla, the Dutch consul, and Sason, the Prussian consul. The spirit of enmity spread as far as Smyrna, and was attended by many attacks upon the Jews.

Was it a mere accident that at the same time (beginning of March, 1840) a blood accusation was raised against a Jew in Rhenish Prussia, in Jülich? A Christian girl, nine years of age, asserted that a Jew had stabbed her. Her little brother, six years old, confirmed her statement. A Jew and his wife, who happened to be journeying through Jülich, were identified by the children as the criminals, and the girl added that the Jew at the same time had killed an old Christian with a knife. If truth speaks from the mouth of children, this Jew would have had to be sentenced as a murderer of Christians, a vampire. If the torture had been applied, an avowal of the crime would probably have been extorted from the Jew and his wife. But a strict judicial inquiry elicited that the statements of the children were idle falsehoods and deception. The Christian supposed to have been murdered was alive. The pretended wound on the girl's body was only a smudge of blood. The accused Jew was acquitted, and a rumor, referred to by the state attorney himself, charged two Christians from Düsseldorf with having drummed these horrible accusations into the children's heads.

In Rhenish Prussia the truth and the innocence of the Jews were brought to light quickly. In Damascus and Rhodes, on the other hand, the struggle was prolonged, because fiendish European Christians had intentionally woven such a network of lies, that even guileless persons were deceived. In vain the ill-treated Jews wrung their hands, and entreated their European brethren to aid them by means of their more favorable circumstances. They found it exceedingly difficult to bring the truth to light and to unmask villainy. Religious fanaticism, Judæophobia, and political party passions, all combined to assist the triumph of falsehood. The underhand plotters employed the art of Guttenberg – whose four hundredth jubilee was then being celebrated – to circulate accusations throughout the world that Jews were eager drinkers of Christian blood.

Ratti Menton arranged that a report from Damascus presenting the events from his point of view be inserted in the French journals to inform the European world that the Jews had murdered a priest and his servant, and had collected the blood for their unleavened bread for the Passover. One corpse had been thrown into the canal in their quarter, and the other into a Jew's cellar. They had confessed, acknowledging that they had committed the crime in order to celebrate the mysteries of their religion. Without Ratti Menton's zeal the culprits would not have been discovered, and without his interposition the Jewish quarter and all its inhabitants would have been destroyed. Not only the newspapers controlled by the Catholic clergy zealously spread this charge against the Jews, but also the liberal journals, in order to glorify the power of France in the East, published as facts all the distorted statements from Damascus. The eyes of Europe being at this time directed towards the entanglements in Turkey, the false reports rapidly spread through the veins of European journalism. The hatred of the Middle Ages against the Jews might have been easily re-awakened, and might have caused scenes of blood to be re-enacted. The Jews of Europe were filled with horror that in the broad daylight of the nineteenth century they had still to contend against the dark specter of the blood accusation, that it might not drag them down into the grave.

The press, which had been used by their adversaries, was now employed to greater advantage in the cause of the Jews. Calumnies and lying accusations against them could no longer be concealed under the veil of secrecy. There were courageous Jews who tore off the mask of virtue from falsehood and hypocrisy. Such a man was Adolf Crémieux (born 1796, died 1880), who shortly before this time had celebrated triumphs of eloquence. This extraordinary man was destined, as will be shown, to become the bold and powerful advocate of the Jews in their tribulation. The false charges brought against them in Damascus made him their advocate, and induced him to take an active part in the history of his co-religionists. Crémieux, who, among the many talented orators of France, was considered an exceptionally fine speaker, employed his great gifts in the defense of innocent prisoners, without distinction of creed, position, or party. Although Crémieux was at this time a member of the Franco-Jewish consistory, he had not hitherto troubled himself much about Jewish affairs; his soul was filled with patriotism for France. The blood accusation at Damascus, which had been spread far and wide by the opponents of the Jews, first reminded him of his Jewish origin, and inspired him with courage and zeal to take up the cause of his brethren in religion and race, and developed in him a glowing patriotism for Judaism. At the first news of the dark proceedings in Damascus, thoroughly convinced that the Eastern like the European Jews were innocent of blood, Crémieux hastened to the French minister to ask him whether the government had more precise information on the matter. The minister replied that he had not received the slightest information on the subject from the consul or any other source. Thus it was made evident how this game was played. With all the glowing fire of his eloquence and the courage instilled by a righteous cause, Crémieux opposed the wide-spread slanders which echoed through France (April 7), and became the center of a patriotic movement of the French communities. Crémieux was then vice-president of the central consistory; and the Jews of France looked to him, their appointed representative, to rend asunder the network of lies which extended from Damascus to France.

Like the French Jews, those of England also aroused themselves suddenly. By their wealth and honorable conduct they stood very high in public opinion. Some had been elected to fill the honorable post of sheriff; and it was to be expected that they would soon be admitted into Parliament. The most distinguished Jews of England, among them Baron Nathaniel Rothschild, Sir Moses Montefiore (who from a pious sentiment had undertaken a pilgrimage to the Holy Land), Salomons, and the highly-esteemed brothers Goldsmid, held a meeting (April 21), and resolved to appeal to the governments of England, France, and Austria, to use their influence to put a stop to the inhuman proceedings in Damascus. Crémieux came to London, and was present at the meeting, in order to consider a common course of action. The unanimity was noteworthy with which prominent Jews took up the cause of their persecuted brethren, and defended the purity of Judaism, of its Law, and the Talmud. On the same day (May 1), Crémieux presented himself before Louis Philippe, king of France, and a Jewish deputation waited on the English minister, Lord Palmerston, in order to obtain the protection of these two countries for the victims in Damascus.

Louis Philippe replied with much feeling:

"I do not know anything about the occurrence; but if anywhere there are unfortunate Jews who appeal to the protection of my government, and if anything can be effected by its means, I will conform with your wishes."

Whether the asseveration was seriously meant by this diplomatic monarch cannot be known. A vice-consul was, however, appointed to visit Damascus, investigate the matter, and draw up a report. But he was only a subordinate, whom, as might have been imagined, Ratti Menton could easily deceive, or venture to oppose. The answer of Lord Palmerston was more straightforward. He promised the Jewish deputation, who laid before him full proofs of the innocence of the accused at Damascus and Rhodes, that he would empower the English ambassador at Constantinople, as also the consul at Alexandria, to use every effort to check the continuance of such cruelties. In another quarter, less public, but more effective, steps were taken to obtain the support of Vienna and the Austrian cabinet. The Austrian consul in Damascus, Merlato, was the only one who had seen through the wickedness of Ratti Menton, his assistants, and the monks, and with true soldierly courage had offered firm resistance. In return, he was abused by his opponents both in the East and the West; they decried him as a Jew, to throw suspicion upon his defense of the Jews, and thus destroy its effects. But Merlato felt himself morally pledged to plead the innocence of the Jews as a personal matter. He issued a faithful and comprehensive report of the groundless attacks of the mob upon the victims at Damascus. This narrative, a defense of his conduct in protecting Picciotto, he despatched to his superior, the consul-general of Egypt, and it was sent by the latter as a correct account to Metternich, the Austrian minister. Although adverse to publicity, Metternich had allowed all writings favorable to the Jews to be circulated in the newspapers. In this report Ratti Menton, whom the clerical intriguers had glorified as an angel of light, was shown to be an evil demon. A revolution ensued in public opinion which filled the Jews with courage, and foreshadowed the triumph of justice. It is difficult to say whether Metternich's intervention in this matter arose from his own impulse, from displeasure at the cruelty practiced, or from political hostility to France and a desire to break her power in the East, or, perhaps, from complaisance to the house of Rothschild, whose members were extraordinarily zealous on behalf of their co-religionists in this affair. At any rate, Metternich encouraged the Austrian agents in Egypt and Syria to stand up boldly in defense of the Jews.

In Constantinople, at the divan of the Sultan, the representatives of European governments friendly to the Jews, obtained a revision of the trial for blood accusation in the island of Rhodes. Jewish deputies from Rhodes had at length succeeded in reaching Constantinople. Nathaniel de Rothschild also betook himself thither, and as a result Abdul Meg'id issued a Firman (July 27) that the Greek population should send to the capital three primates as accusers, and the Jews as many elders as defendants. A tribunal, under the presidency of Risaat Bey, was appointed to inquire into the matter, the result being that Jussuf Pasha was dismissed from his post of governor of Rhodes, and the Jews charged with child-murder were acquitted. Further, they were instructed to demand compensation for the losses sustained from those who had unjustly accused them, viz., some of the European consuls. In three months – from the beginning of May till towards the end of July – the affair was settled.

With Mehmet Ali there were greater difficulties to be encountered. He had, indeed, as early as the beginning of April, promised the Austrian consul-general Laurin to put an end to the atrocities; but this was prevented by the French consul-general, Cochelet, and, foolishly trusting in France, he could not quarrel with the agents of the French government. But Laurin, acting on the instructions of Metternich, was untiring in his efforts to withdraw the Pasha of Egypt from the net of the French intriguers. At his instigation the Jews of Alexandria presented an eloquent and spirited address to Mehmet Ali. It was remarkable that the Egyptian Jews did not receive the bastinado for speaking the truth; Mehmet Ali well knew who supported them. A letter of Metternich to the Pasha produced a wonderfully favorable effect. In the settlement of the Eastern Question, the latter could not afford to break with Austria, from which country the Sultan could obtain reinforcements more quickly than from France.

Mehmet Ali therefore resolved to form a court of justice, consisting of the consuls of Austria, England, Russia, and Prussia, to carry on the trial according to European usages. The tribunal was empowered to dispatch a commission to Damascus, and institute an impartial examination of witnesses on the spot. An order was sent to Damascus to Sherif Pasha, commanding him to discontinue the torture of the prisoners, and in general to stop the persecution of the Jews. To suppress any riotous outbreak of the Christians, whose courage had increased, eight hundred soldiers were sent thither. The matter began to look as if the truth would be vindicated. The four consuls nominated as chief judges, diffident of their ability to conduct so complicated a trial, turned for aid to Vienna, and asked that four German judges, well versed in criminal law, investigate the matter, but a political interlude interrupted the proceedings.

A secret war was waged between the overwise king, Louis Philippe, and the cunning statesman Thiers, who was trifling with the minister's portfolio, and whose little person and big phrases so thwarted the king that he kept him as much as possible at arm's length. Just at this time (in May) Thiers played a trick on the king, and forced him to make him president of the cabinet. The little "fly," as he was called, began to hum and buzz, behaving as if he could acquire the Rhine as French property, and settle the Eastern Question according to the views of France. To secure a majority in the Chamber, Thiers was forced to gain the good graces of the clerical party, which was especially strong in the Chamber of Peers. Thus it happened that no strict investigation into the Damascus affair could be permitted, in order that the brutal behavior of Ratti Menton and the monks might not be brought to light. At any rate, it had been a slight upon France that its consul had been excluded from the new court of justice. Besides this, Thiers was not on friendly terms with the financial world, that is, with the Rothschilds, and he desired to strike a blow to make them yield. The French consul-general Cochelet, in Alexandria, received instructions from Thiers to stay the hand of Mehmet Ali, and prevent the misdeeds in Damascus from being brought to light. The Egyptian Pasha, misled by Thiers' plotting, obeyed his orders, and withdrew the promise made to the four consuls. Thus the drama which had seemed to be approaching a conclusion was again prolonged, but its end was not favorable to Thiers and his protégés.

Jews of every shade of opinion had become possessed of sufficient independence to defy the prevarications of a minister or of a consul. Achille Fould, who was bound to Judaism by only a slender tie, as well as the strictly orthodox Hirsch Lehren in Amsterdam, both regarded it as their duty to take a bold part in the defense of their persecuted co-religionists in Syria. In the French Chamber of Deputies (July 2) Fould questioned Thiers so sharply that the latter was forced to make excuses.

"The French consul had ordered the torture, and after the French nation had set the example of obedience to the rule of 'equality before the law' as well as in religious matters, a Frenchman countenanced this exception to the rule, employed torture, and thus supported the executioners of the Pasha. This behavior was so deeply resented by the other European agents that the French ambassador was excluded from the council which had been established, because he was the accuser, whilst the others were the defending advocates."

To this statement Thiers was compelled to reply, but each word he uttered sounded like a falsehood. Two Christian deputies took the part of the Jews in this discussion. Count Delaborde, who had traveled in the East, highly praised the Jews of Turkey, and stated that well-deserved respect was accorded to them, and that, like Lamartine, he had received the most hearty and generous hospitality from their wealthy members. Thiers' positive assertion that he was in possession of papers which proved the innocence of Ratti Menton, was met by another deputy, Isambert; he produced a report drawn up by the apostolical missionary, the successor of Father Tomaso, which stated "that the exertions and zeal of the French consul in torturing the Jews of Damascus surpassed all comprehension." The Chamber of Deputies, however, did not pass a vote of censure upon the minister, who so belied the courteous character of the French nation, but the looks of the deputies condemned him. Thiers felt such discomfort that he made a petty attack upon the Jews, "who had stirred up a storm throughout Europe, asking the assistance of the ministers of every state, and had thus shown that they possessed more influence than was asserted."

The Jews, to be sure, had to unite and develop especial activity, seeing that the Catholic party in France, Italy, and Belgium had formally conspired, or received a hint from headquarters to enshroud in darkness the events in Damascus, and to represent the Jews in the East and in Europe as murderers and cannibals. Throughout Italy the documents in favor of the Damascus victims or against Ratti Menton were not allowed to be printed: the censorship, which was under the care of the clergy, forbade it. A French journal had called on baptized Jews to state upon oath and to the best of their knowledge, whether they had ever found among their former co-religionists or in Jewish writings, the slightest trace or precept concerning the abominable crime imputed to the unhappy people in Damascus. Several Jews who had been converted to Protestantism, and even held ecclesiastical positions, asserted the innocence of the Jews of this crime – amongst them, Augustus Neander, known as Church historian and a man of tender conscience. No Catholics, with the exception of one man, came forward to do so. Perhaps they were compelled to remain silent. The clerical enemies of the Jews now published a fresh accusation, that the Talmud which the European Jews knew and studied might indeed be free from passages hostile to Christians and advising the shedding of blood, which may have been expunged from the copies out of fear, but the Jews of the Orient, under Turkish rule, still possessed the Talmud in its original form, which was full of hatred against all men, especially against Christians.

Thus the Jews were forced to establish a bond of truth against the untrue, to make public the innocence of the martyrs in Damascus, and at the same time attest the purity of their own doctrines; in short, they had to help themselves. The French central consistory, which had received solemn promises from Louis Philippe, saw itself deceived in its hopes. Crémieux was compelled to make the painful statement to his brethren, "France is against us." The urgent cries of the Jews from Damascus, Beyrout, Alexandria, and Constantinople, in letters to the Rothschilds, to Moses Montefiore, Crémieux, and to Hirsch Lehren in Amsterdam, made it apparent that it was necessary for prominent European Jews to repair to the scene of action, in order to obtain more effective results. The central consistory therefore determined to send an emissary, with an escort, to Alexandria, whose burning eloquence might gain the favor of Mehmet Ali. Entrusted with this dangerous and honorable mission, Crémieux entered into communication with the heads of the Jewish community in London.

Here a committee of the noblest and most distinguished Jews, including Montefiore and Rothschild, had been formed, who, in a meeting held in the vestibule of a synagogue (June 15), passed the following important resolution, that Montefiore, accompanied by a friend chosen by himself, should undertake the journey to Egypt together with Crémieux, "to represent the Jews of England at the court of the Pasha, and to defend their persecuted brethren in the East by means of his weighty influence and his zeal." It was also determined at this meeting to collect large sums of money, because it was seen that they would be wanted, not indeed as bribes in the pending trial at Damascus, but that large rewards might be offered to discover the murderer of Father Tomaso. A thousand pounds sterling were offered as a reward for the discovery of the criminal. The readiness of the Jews to contribute was on this occasion again manifested in a most conspicuous manner. Poor men as well as millionaires contributed to the just cause. The committee also caused unfalsified public opinion, as it exists in England, to make itself heard in Parliament on behalf of the Jews, and Sir Robert Peel, who exercised great influence, undertook this task.

The session of the House of Commons (June 22) affords an interesting contrast to the sitting of the French Chamber of Deputies at the same time and upon the same subject. Peel rightly introduced the questions to the ministers with the words, "that it was merely necessary to mention the matter in the Lower House, to reach the great ends of justice and humanity." Lord Palmerston answered in a totally different manner to Thiers:

"I have already directed the English consul-general Hodges to represent to Mehmet Ali what effect the news of such atrocities must produce in Europe, and that it was in his own interest to inquire into the matter, and hand over to punishment the guilty parties, if they were discovered, whilst the innocent victims should be indemnified, if this were still possible. I have also sent instructions to Her Majesty's consul in Damascus to make a thorough investigation into all that has taken place, and to send home an exact report as to the part which the European consuls had taken in the matter."

The air of England rendered susceptible to feelings of liberty even those who were accustomed to elevate the enslavement of bodies and minds to the rank of a dogma. O'Connell, the fiery Irish agitator for the emancipation of the Catholics in England, advocated in Parliament that a similar privilege be granted to the Jews.

"Observations upon this subject would have been stronger, if a member of this House belonging to the creed of the accused had been able to make them. The Government ought to introduce a bill for the complete emancipation of the Jews."

Thus spake England by the mouths of its worthiest representatives.

Next day (June 23) a numerous assembly of the most distinguished Jews in London was held in the Great Synagogue to make final arrangements for sending Montefiore to Egypt. It was proved on this occasion what a noble circle of Jews England harbored, and that their minds were filled by lofty sentiments of attachment to Judaism and its adherents. Hitherto the English Jews had taken but little part in Jewish history, they had remained passive owing to their insignificant numbers. But when for the first time they asserted themselves, they displayed their independence, and gave a brilliant example to others. Montefiore, De Castro, Rothschild, Van Oven, Salomons, and many others, spoke and acted like Jews conscious of their dignity, who were ready to make the greatest sacrifices, in order to secure the triumph of their impugned belief. Crémieux had come over from Paris to be present. The meeting first acknowledged its gratitude to those men, Christians as well as Jews, who had zealously defended the unhappy people of Damascus, viz., James de Rothschild, who had largely contributed towards the support of the impoverished Jews in Damascus, Metternich and his agents, Laurin and Merlato, and also Hodges, the English consul. Bernard van Oven delivered a glowing speech, which, however, was to the point, and was received with much applause.

Many words were not required at this meeting. All were firmly resolved to make every effort and every sacrifice to obtain satisfaction for those falsely accused of shedding blood. This high-minded Jewish assembly in London was somewhat similar to that held in Alexandria exactly eighteen centuries before, when Judaism, in the time of the Emperor Caligula, was branded with disgrace by shameless, diabolical enemies. At that time, also, the most prominent Jews, famed for their culture, nobility of mind, and wealth, gathered together. But the Alexandrine assembly, surrounded by foes, had met with terror and fear, whilst the one in London was encouraged and supported by the good wishes and sympathy of the citizens of the capital. In the second Jewish congregation, that of Manchester, a similar meeting was held.