1838 Druze attack on Safed
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The 1838 Druze attack on Safed began on July 5, 1838, during the Druze revolt against the rule of
Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt Ibrahim Pasha ( tr, Kavalalı İbrahim Paşa; ar, إبراهيم باشا ''Ibrāhīm Bāshā''; 1789 – 10 November 1848) was an Ottoman Albanian general in the Egyptian army and the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised ...
. Tensions had mounted as the Druze captured an Egyptian garrison outside of
Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...
.Rossoff, David. ''Safed: the mystical city''. p.162-165. The local Safed militia of several hundred was heavily outnumbered by the
Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
, and the city was gripped in despair as the militia eventually abandoned the city and the Druze rebels entered the city on July 5. The Druze rebels and a Muslim mob descended on the Jewish quarter of
Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...
and, in scenes reminiscent of the
Safed plunder The 1834 looting of Safed ( he, ביזת צפת בשנת תקצ"ד, "Plunder of Safed, 5594 AM") was a prolonged attack against the Jewish community of Safed, Ottoman Empire, during the 1834 Peasants' Revolt. It began on Sunday June 15 (7 Siv ...
four years earlier, spent three days attacking Jews, plundering their homes and desecrating their synagogues. Some Jews ended up leaving the town, moving south to Jerusalem and Acre. Among them was Israel Beck, whose printing press had been destroyed a second time.


Prelude

By the 19th-century, the Galilean city of
Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...
comprised a major Jewish center. It had become a
kabbalistic Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
centre during the 16th-century, reaching a size of about 15,000 at its peak. Despite the decline through the 17th and 18th centuries, by the 1830s there were still around 3,500-4,000 Jews living there, comprising at least half the population. The Jews of Safed had been subjected to a prolonged attack in 1834 during the Peasants' Revolt: Over 5,000 Arab peasant rebels had launched a revolt protesting against legislation imposed by the new Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali and some had used the uprising as an opportunity to attack the Jews. After several months, the Egyptians managed to crush the rebellion and regain control of the county and the Jews of Safed began to rehabilitate themselves. Not long after, Safed was again the scene of devastation when in 1837 a strong
earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
resulted in thousands of deaths and the destruction of many buildings.The earthquake of 1 January 1837 in Southern Lebanon and Northern Israel
" by N. N. Ambraseys, in Annali di Geofisica, Aug. 1997, p.933,
The northern, Jewish section of the town was almost entirely destroyed. By 1838, the tense relationship between the ''
fellahin A fellah ( ar, فَلَّاح ; feminine ; plural ''fellaheen'' or ''fellahin'', , ) is a peasant, usually a farmer or agricultural laborer in the Middle East and North Africa. The word derives from the Arabic word for "ploughman" or "tiller". ...
'' and the Egyptian overlords was again mounting and a full-scale Druze revolt erupted in January. In summer of 1838, the Druze captured a heavily outnumbered Egyptian garrison outside
Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...
.


The attack

The Jewish population relied on the protection of an 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 The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
rebels thought the Jews possessed hidden treasures and local Muslims encouraged them to attack. The plunder lasted for 3 days. During the course of the attack, some Jews were assisted by friendly Arabs. One Arab by the name of Muhammed Mustafa, had helped protect them, lending them money and providing them with food and clothing.Emile Marmorstein (1975). ''Middle Eastern Studies'' II: "European Jews in Muslim Palestine". pg. 78. This time, Ibrahim Pasha's response was more swift, and after a few days things returned to normal.


See also

* 1660 destruction of Safed * 1929 Safed riots


References

{{Reflist, 2 History of Safed 1838 Druze attack Jews and Judaism in Safed Antisemitism in the Ottoman Empire 1838 riots Druze attack on Safed 1838 in Judaism History of the Druze