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The Corps of Israelites (
Nijhoff (Arnhem), 1920 (Dutch) King Louis on 7 April 1809 proposed to "raise a corps of troops of officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers consisting entirely of Israelites", confirmed by royal decree on 8 July which stated the purpose of "allowing all Israelite subjects to support the defence of the fatherland, like any other subjects of the realm". Louis decreed that all Jewish males aged 18 to 45 who were dependent on poor relief would be obliged to join the corps, and anyone who refused to enlist would be removed from the welfare rolls. The corps was created, based in
"Making Jews Dutch: Secular discourse and Jewish responses, 1796-1848"
Chapter 4. Thesis, University of Groningen, 2015 as well as concerns that recruits would not be able to carry out their religious practices while in military service, such as eating kosher food and observing the Shabbat. The government tried to win recruits by issuing a propaganda brochure printed in both Yiddish and Dutch, urging the Jews to join the corps, and Chief Rabbi Jacob Moses Löwenstamm and other rabbis gave sermons in support of the corps, but these efforts had little effect. Löwenstamm's public support was probably enforced by the government, as in an unpublished sermon he condemned Jewish conscription, questioning the ability of Jewish conscripts to observe their religious practices. On 3 November of that year the Dutch government announced that Louis had decided to disband the unit due to lack of interest from the Jewish community. Its members were dispersed amongst other units.
The Corps of Israelites (Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
: ''Corps Israëlieten'') was a short-lived military unit of the Kingdom of Holland
The Kingdom of Holland ( nl, Holland (contemporary), (modern); french: Royaume de Hollande) was created by Napoleon Bonaparte, overthrowing the Batavian Republic in March 1806 in order to better control the Netherlands. Since becoming Empero ...
recruited solely from the Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
population.
History
KingLouis Bonaparte
Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French cl ...
, who strongly supported Jewish emancipation,K. Sonnenberg-Stern, ''Emancipation & Poverty: The Ashkenazi Jews of Amsterdam'', Springer, 2000 proposed to raise the unit as part of his efforts to improve the equality of Jews in his kingdom. Until the Batavian Revolution of 1795, Jews had traditionally been excluded from most professions, including military service."Bijdragen voor Vaderlandsche Geschiedenis en Oudkunde"Nijhoff (Arnhem), 1920 (Dutch) King Louis on 7 April 1809 proposed to "raise a corps of troops of officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers consisting entirely of Israelites", confirmed by royal decree on 8 July which stated the purpose of "allowing all Israelite subjects to support the defence of the fatherland, like any other subjects of the realm". Louis decreed that all Jewish males aged 18 to 45 who were dependent on poor relief would be obliged to join the corps, and anyone who refused to enlist would be removed from the welfare rolls. The corps was created, based in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, and its officers were appointed. However, the unit could never muster enough recruits. There was little support for the unit among the Dutch Jewish community, based on the general unpopularity of military service at that time,Rädecker, T. S. (2015)"Making Jews Dutch: Secular discourse and Jewish responses, 1796-1848"
Chapter 4. Thesis, University of Groningen, 2015 as well as concerns that recruits would not be able to carry out their religious practices while in military service, such as eating kosher food and observing the Shabbat. The government tried to win recruits by issuing a propaganda brochure printed in both Yiddish and Dutch, urging the Jews to join the corps, and Chief Rabbi Jacob Moses Löwenstamm and other rabbis gave sermons in support of the corps, but these efforts had little effect. Löwenstamm's public support was probably enforced by the government, as in an unpublished sermon he condemned Jewish conscription, questioning the ability of Jewish conscripts to observe their religious practices. On 3 November of that year the Dutch government announced that Louis had decided to disband the unit due to lack of interest from the Jewish community. Its members were dispersed amongst other units.
See also
*History of the Jews in the Netherlands
The history of the Jews in the Netherlands began largely in the 16th century when they began to settle in Amsterdam and other cities. It has continued to the present. During the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany in May 1940, the J ...
References
{{reflist Military history of the Netherlands Military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars Army units and formations of the Netherlands Military units and formations established in 1809 Military units and formations disestablished in 1809 Judaism in the Netherlands Kingdom of Holland