19th century
Damascus Affair
1840·Damas
The toll is reproduced exactly as the source states it — never rounded, never added to another. Tolls overlap from one event to the next.
after the disappearance of Father Thomas, thirteen Jewish notables arrested and tortured, children taken as hostages; the community saved by the mission of Montefiore and Crémieux
The disappearance of a clergyman, Father Thomas, and of his servant triggers in Damas an accusation of ritual murder. Thirteen Jewish notables are arrested and tortured on the orders of the governor, with the support of the French consul; children are taken hostage to make their fathers speak. Several of the accused die under torture, others convert to escape it.
The affair is a turning point. For the first time, the communities of Western Europe organize in support of coreligionists in the East: Moses Montefiore and Adolphe Crémieux travel to the site and obtain from the sultan a firman condemning the blood accusation. It is from this mobilization that the great international Jewish organizations of the century would be born, and the idea that a community can be defended across borders.
- Period :
- 19th century
- Type :
- Trials and executions
- Region :
- Near and Middle East
- Country :
- Syrie
Correspondances consulaires françaises et britanniques ; récits de la mission Montefiore-Crémieux.