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Isaac Ben Abraham Judah Akrish

Isaac Ben Abraham Judah Akrish (1489-1578) Talmudic scholar and publisher, born in Salonica. Divided most of his life among Jewish communities in countries around the Eastern Mediterranean. He arrived in Egypt in 1548, having lived in Naples, Italy, and Salonica (now in Greece), where he was employed by David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra (Radbaz), a leader of the Jewish community, as a teacher to his grandchildren. In Cairo, Egypt, he amassed an extensive collection of books by purchasing old manuscripts and copying those in Ibn Abi Zimra's library. His love for books stayed with him until the end of his life and wherever he traveled, he spent most of his earnings in purchasing additional books. However, he lost his collections at least twice: the first time in 1554 when following the new Papal edicts against the Talmud the Venetians confiscated his manuscripts while he passed through Candia (now Iraklion, on the Island of Crete). In 1569, a fire in the Jewish quarter of Constantinople destroyed his collection of books again. He spent the later part of his life under the patronage of Esther Kiera, a philanthropist and patron of art and letters, and other influential Jews, like Don Josef Nassi, duke of Naxos. In Constantinople Akrish published a number of important Hebrew literary pieces, some of them contained in Kovetz Vikkuhim - a collection of ten documents featuring the letter of Profiat Duran. This was followed by Maaseh Beth David bi-Ymei Malkhut Paras and Kol Mavasser the last including the alleged correspondence between Hisdai Ibn Shaprut and Josef, the King of the Khazars in addition to stories about the Ten Lost Tribes who live beyond the Sambation river.

AKRISH, ACRICH, ACRISH, ACRIX

Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name derives from a personal characteristic or nickname. Akrish is the Arabic equivalent of a "thorny plant" or "spinach". Acrix is recorded as a Jewish family name in the 14th century with Icach Acrix, who is mentioned in a list of 48 families living in Sagunto, Spain, in 1352; Akrish is recorded as a Jewish family name in the 16th century with Mosheh Ben Hayyim Akrish, an engraver who was deported from Portugal and settled in Jerusalem. The name is recorded as a Jewish family name in the following cases: Rabbi Isaac Ben Abraham Ben Judah Akrish (born 1489 in Spain, died 1578), lived in Naples, Italy, and in Cairo, Egypt; Isaac Abraham Akrish, was a rabbi in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in the 19th century, author of ‘Kiryat Arba’ (Jerusalem, 1876), died in Jerusalem in April 1888; Rabbi Jacob Ben Joseph Akrish, died in Jerusalem in 1892.

Napoli

In English: Naples

A city and former kingdom in south Italy.

The first Jewish settlement in Naples probably dates to the first century C.E. By the fourth century C.E. the community was of considerable size and economically important. In 536 the Jewish population helped the Goths, although unsuccessfully, to defend the city when it was besieged by the Byzantines. 11TH and 12th century documents show that the Naples community had a synagogue and a school. Jews enjoyed the right to own real estate and to dispose of it as they wished. Benjamin of Tudela, who visited the town in c. 1159, found 500 Jews living there. From 1288, under Charles II, anti-Jewish disorders incited by Dominican preachers occurred; they reached their height in 1290 when serious outrages were committed and a synagogue was converted into a church. However, in 1330 Robert of Anjou invited Jews from the balearic islands to settle in Naples and in the rest of his kingdom, promising them protection against annoyance and the same taxation rights as those enjoyed by
Christians. From 1442, under the rule of Aragon, conditions for the Jews in Naples and its surroundings were favorable, and attracted Jews from various parts of Europe.

At the end of 1492 and the beginning of 1493, a large influx of refugees from Sicily, Sardinia, and Spain found temporary asylum in Naples. The Spanish refugees, undernourished and sick, probably introduced the pestilence in 1492 that struck down 20,000 persons in Naples alone.

Among the Spanish refugees who landed in Naples in 1492 was Don Isaac Abrabanel, who became fiscal adviser to King Ferdinand I and Alfonso II. In 1495 the kingdom of Naples was conquered by the Spanish and in 1496 a decree for the expulsion of the Jews was issued, although not implemented. The expulsion of the Jews was definitively for 200 wealthy Jewish families who undertook to pay an annual tax of 300 ducats to the crown. In 1515 the new Christians were also expelled from the kingdom. The 200 wealthy families, who had been joined by others in 1520, had increased to 600 within the following decade. Although a new decree of expulsion was issued in 1533, permission was granted to the Jews in November 1535 to reside in Naples for a further ten years against the payment of 10,000 ducats. However, the agreement was not respected by emperor Charles V, and in 1541 he ordered the total expulsion of the Jews; this coincided with the establishment of a Christian loan bank (monte di Pieta) in Naples. It was not until 1735, when the kingdom passed to the Bourbons, that Jews were readmitted into Naples and the vicinity by an edict signed by Charles IV on Feb. 3, 1740. However, following pressure by Jesuits and the church, the few Jews who had accepted the invitation were again expelled (Sept. 18, 1746). At the beginning of the 19th century, several Jewish families were residing in Naples, among them the banker Karl Mayer Von Rothschild of Frankfort on the Main. Religious services began to be held in Naples in 1831, but a synagogue was not opened until June 1864.

In 1931 there were 998 Jews in the community of Naples, whose authority extended to all southern Italy.

Persecutions during World War II had minor consequences as the allied landing led to a speedy liberation of southern Italy. Nevertheless, 11 Jews were taken to extermination camps from Naples and other were killed elsewhere. After the war 534 Jews remained in the community. In 1969 there were 450 Jews in Naples.

Salonika

In Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη / Thessaloniki, in Jewish sources - “Jerusalem of the Balkans”

The second largest city in Greece.

21ST CENTURY

As part of Thessaloniki being named 1997 Culture Capital of Europe, one of the buildings to survive a devastating 1917 fire, and that once housed offices of the French-language Jewish newspaper "L' Independant" was renovated to house the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki, which was established in 2001.

In January 2016, an agreement was signed to establish a new Holocaust Museum of Greece at the city'sold railway station, where 50,000 Thessaloniki Jews boarded cattle cars to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland.

HISTORY

Alexandrian Jews who arrived in 140 B.C.E. were among the first Jews to settle in Salonika. After the splitting up of the Roman empire in 395 C.E., Salonika became the second most important town after Constantinople in the Byzantine empire. The Byzantine emperors in their efforts to "Christianize" their subjects were hostile to the Jews of Salonika. In spite of the hardships they suffered during the Byzantine period, they were merchants, engaging especially in the silk trade. The oldest synagogues of Salonika, "Etz ha- Chayim" and "Etz ha-Da'at", which existed until the beginning of the 20th century, date back to the Byzantine period.

During the second half of the 14th century, Salonika attracted Jews from all over the world; the first immigrants were Hungarian Jews who arrived in 1376. In 1430, Salonika was occupied by the Turks. At approximately the same time, waves of Jewish immigrants started to arrive. In 1470, Bavarian Jews arrived in Salonika and formed the Ashkenazi community.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, many Jewish exiles from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sicily, France, and refugees from North Africa, settled in Salonika. Once in Salonika, they founded separate synagogues and named them after their native countries. Marranos expelled from Portugal arrived to Salonika. In 1514, the rabbis of Salonika issued a special "Haskamah" regarding the Marranos as Jews as far as marriage and divorce were concerned. It is estimated that by 1553, there were 20,000 Jews in Salonika. The Jewish immigrants maintained their relations with their coreligionists and colleagues in their countries of origin and therefore had a relative advantage in international trade. The Jews of Salonika also engaged in the crafts.

The organization of Jewish life in Salonika was quite unique. There were about 30 independent congregations, who sometimes associated themselves as a voluntary body that took care of the common interests of the congregations. The "Takkanot" issued by this body were to be accepted by every congregation. The heads of each community were called Parnasim, Memunim, Nivrarim and Anshei Ma'amad, and were elected by all the members of each congregation. A committee elected by the Parnasim of each congregation decided what proportion of taxes each congregation had to pay to the Turkish authorities.

During the 16th century, there were numerous important rabbis whose influence spread beyond the borders of Salonika and even the Ottoman empire. Among them was Isaac Adarbi, the author of "Divrei Rivot ve Divrei Shalom", Mosses Almosnino, and Samuel di Medina ("Rashdam"). Salonika was also renowned as a center of Kabbalah. In addition to the rabbinical schools in Salonika in the 16th century, there was a Bet Midrash for secular studies where medicine, natural sciences, astronomy, and other subjects were taught.

In the beginning of the 17th century, the town suffered once again from plagues and fires. By the middle of the century, about 30,000 Jews lived in Salonika, which represented half of the total population of the town. The end of the century was marked by a deterioration of commercial activities as a result of the decline of the Ottoman empire. However, Salonika remained a center of religious studies and Halakhah. The famous Halakhic authority, rabbi Chayim Shabbetai (d. 1647), author of the "Torat ha- Chayyim", lived in the town during the first half of the 17th century; other important religious authorities included Aaron Cohen Perachyah, the author of "Parach Matteh Aharon", and David Conforte, author of "Kore ha-Dorot".

The most influential event for the Jewish community in the 17th century was the appearance of the pseudo-messiah Shabbetai Tzevi in 1657. Initially, he was very warmly accepted, but when he declared that he was the true messiah, he was expelled by the most important rabbis of the town. Later, he converted to Islam, and 13 years after his death, in 1683, a group of believers - some 300 Jewish families - also converted to Islam. This sect was called the Doenmeh (in Turkish "apostates") and their religious center was in Salonika, from which they spread to Constantinople and other places.

In 1680, the 30 congregations in Salonika merged into one community, with a supreme council composed of three rabbis and seven dignitaries. Another important step was the reorganization of all the rabbinical courts into three bodies. The "Batei Din" were famous for their justice and integrity; many Muslims and Greeks preferred to settle the disputes they had with Jews in these courts instead of using the Turkish courts.

In 1720-30, Portuguese Marranos called "Francos" emigrated to Salonika. Most of them were well-educated and among them were merchants and bankers. Initially, they refused to pay the relevant taxes to the Jewish community.

Towards the second half of the 19th century, European culture and technology had reached Salonika. In 1873, the "Alliance Israelite Universelle" established a school in the city, and additional schools along Western standards were also built.

In 1886, the Bank of Salonika was founded. As a result of this Westernization, liberalism became paramount among the Jews of Salonika. The "Chevrat Kadimah" for the spreading of the Hebrew language was founded in 1899, and Isaac Epstein was brought to Salonika to teach Hebrew. In 1887, the rabbinical triumvirate was dismissed and Jacob Kovo was appointed to the post of "Chakham Bashi" (chief rabbi). In 1900, there were approximately 80,000 Jews in Salonika (out of a total population of 173,000).

In 1908, when the "Young Turks" rose against the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Chamid II, many Jews joined their forces. One of the first actions of the Young Turks when they rose to power was the mobilization of all non-Muslims into the Turkish army. As a result, many young Jews left Salonika and emigrated to the United States.

At the same time, the first Zionist organizations, Agudath Bnei Zion and Maccabee, appeared in Salonika. The Young Turks' revolution marked a new "golden" era for the Jews of Salonika. Jews were represented in every profession and at its height, the Jewish community published over 30 newspapers.

In 1912, the Greek army entered the city. King George declared that Jews and all other minorities were to have the same rights as the Greek population.

After the Greek government took control of the city, it implemented a policy of Hellenization, in an attempt to enforce Greek language and culture, and unify the city's population of minorities. Over the following three decades, the Jewish community of Salonika all but disappeared as a result of Greek government policy, disaster, and Nazi rule.

In 1917, a great fire destroyed two-thirds of the city, including the city center where most of the city's Jews lived. Some 50,000 Jews were left homeless, and many of them left.

A 1922 law forced all the inhabitants of Salonika to refrain from working on Sundays, and contributed to another wave of emigration. Some Jews went to Palestine, while most emigrated to Paris, France, where they founded an important community.

As part of its Hellenization policy, the government wanted to establish a Greek Jewish educational framework aimed at assimilating the Jewish population, which resisted. In 1924, the community refused a proposal for the funding of schools through the state, enraging the nationalistic circles of Salonika.

In the early 1930s, when the Port of Haifa was built, the local workers' council suggested bringing in Jewish port workers from Thessaloniki. Abba Hushi, the council secretary, traveled to Thessaloniki and persuaded 100 Jewish port workers to return to Israel with him, together with their families. A few members of the Mano family that later became prominent in the Israeli shipping industry were among this group.

In 1935, nearly 60,000 Jews lived in Salonika.

THE HOLOCAUST PERIOD

On the eve of World War II, 55,250 Jews lived in Salonika.

The Germans entered Salonika on April 9, 1941. Two days later, the "Messsagero", the sole surviving Judeo-Spanish daily paper, was suppressed. All Jews were ordered to give up their radios. The Germans ultimately agreed to exempt the Jews from forced labor in return for a ransom of two and a half billion Drachmae, equivalent to about 40,000 US gold dollars. In the following months, there were more and more expropriations and seizures of Jewish businesses, warehouses, and property. This culminated when, in December 1942, the ancient cemetery, containing nearly 500,000 graves and dating back certainly to the 15th century, was expropriated and thus became a quarry for the entire town.

Shortly after the German occupation, the libraries and synagogues of Salonika were raided and their treasures seized, packed, and dispatched to Frankfurt, where a Jewish research library was being set up for Anti-Semitic purposes. In 1943, a commission headed by Dieter Wisliceny and Alois Brunner arrived in Salonika to implement the racial laws. Two days later, an order was issued imposing the supreme indignities that had already become the rule elsewhere in Nazi-dominated Europe. All Jews were henceforth to wear a yellow badge, and their shops and offices had to be similarly marked. No Jew was allowed on the streets after nightfall; no Jew was allowed to use the telephone; and no Jew could ride on the tramway. Camouflaging their intent, the authorities maintained the pretext that the new system would facilitate the reorganization of the community on quasi-autonomous lines. But the real object of the new measures gradually emerged.

Jews were isolated in ghettos and all their possessions were carefully checked and registered.

On the morning of March 14, 1943, Jews were instructed to assemble in the local synagogue, where they were informed by Rabbi Koretz that they were being deported to Poland, where they would find a new home, among their own people. Some Polish paper money was distributed to the victims, in order to disguise the real purpose of their trip. Day by day, these scenes repeated themselves, group after group being dispatched to Auschwitz and Birkenau, where the Jews of Salonika were exterminated. All together, 43,850 Jews, 95% of the Jewish population, were deported from Salonika in these few months.

In October 1944, Salonika was recaptured by the Greek and allied forces.

POST-WAR

Two thousand Jews settled in Salonika after the war. The number of Jews fell from about 2,000 in 1946 to about 1,500 in 1971 as a result of emigration to Israel and to other countries. There was an organized community, but only two synagogues were in use. The Jewish organizations were unified by the “Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece” in Athens.

In 1997, 1,000 Jews lived in Salonika and a small Jewish school was operated by the community.

Istanbul

Until 1453 Constantinople (Kushta, Costandina, Costantina).
City in Turkey, on both sides of the Bosporus at its entrance on the sea of Marmara.

There were 1,743,000 inhabitants in 1965 and 20,000 Jews in 1976, with a general community council comprising 60 men, including some of the Ashkenazi community. It elects the head of the community, administration, and religious committees. The chief rabbi was officially recognized in 1953. The community organized the Or-Chayyim hospital (built 1885), an orphanage, the "tzedakah u-marpe" charitable organization (founded 1918) for underprivileged students, "machzikei torah" for training cantors and mohalim, and an old age home. The community had three elementary schools and a high school, the 1,000 students being mainly poor - wealthy children attended foreign schools. Among the youth groups were "Kardeslik" and "Amical" which provided some Hebrew education. The level of education improved under the Alliance Israelite Universelle. Jews were well represented in commerce but very few were in the civil service.

In the Byzantine period, the Jewish area changed five times, and in the Turkish invasion, 1453. Jews worked in copper, tanning, dyeing, silk weaving, and - despite church opposition - Jewish doctors served at court. In the 11th and 12th centuries Jews were compelled to work as executioners. They were politically active in the circus parties, the blues and greens. Leo III gave the Jews the choice of leaving the town or being baptized (721), but the community continued to exist, as shown by the poet Shephatiah Ben Amittai, Benjamin of Tudela, and Judah Aharizi. Messianic fervor arose due to the first crusade (1095-1099). Many Jews were killed in riots against western merchants at the end of the 12th century. An important Karaite community of Jews from Venice and Genoa existed from the 11th century until the Turkish conquest.

With the Ottoman conquest the armies of Muhammad II totally massacred the inhabitants of Istanbul except the Jews, seemingly because of their support. Muhammad II brought residents of Anatolia and the Balkans to repopulate Istanbul - among them Jews and Karaites engaged as craftsmen and the Romanids (Gregos), formerly of Greece and Byzantium, Ashkenazim, Italians, and Sephardim. The Jews of Istanbul, as in all the Ottoman Empire, constituted an autonomous religious-administrative unit, first led by rabbi Moses Capsali, who represented the community before the government and collected the Jewish taxes; after him was rabbi Elijah Mizrachi. The Ashkenazim from Bavaria and Hungary enjoyed an independent status for many years and among its distinguished personalities were Elijah Ha-Levi Ha-Zaken, and the court physician Solomon Tedesci. Relations continued with their countries of origin but in time they assimilated with the Sephardim. When Jews from Spain and Portugal settled in Istanbul ( approximately 40,000 from Spain) they included rabbis, judges, and heads of yeshivot including Joseph Ibn Lev, Joseph Taitatzak, Abraham Jerusalmi, rabbi Isaac Caro, and rabbi Elijah Ben Chayyim. They founded large yeshivot which raised the spiritual and cultural level of local Jewry. Their financial status and numerical superiority gave them a prestigious place in the community.

The Sultans appreciated the Jewish contribution to commercial life, crafts, medicine, and the manufacture of firearms, and 16th century Istanbul was one of the world's most important Jewish centers. Among notables in the community were the family of doctors Hamon, and prominent bankers and capitalists, holders of central financial positions in the empire whose position in court was beneficial to the rest of the community; for example, the Mendes family from Portugal, his widow Gracia and her nephew Don Joseph Nasi who rebuilt Tiberias, and the families of Solomon Ibn Ya'ish and Jacob Ankawa. The magnificence and exhibitionism of wealthy Jews angered the inhabitants who forbade lavish clothing and jewelry. As the Ottoman Empire declined culturally and economically, so did the Jewish community. When a number of Jewish quarters were destroyed by fire the structure of the "Kehalim" changed. During the reign of Murad IV Jews were accused of murdering a Turkish child for ritual purposes (1633). Many Jews were captured by the Cossacks, Turks, and Ukrainians in the massacres of 1648-49, and sold as slaves in Istanbul where local Jewry redeemed them at great expense. In 1666 Shabbetai Tzevi arrived in Istanbul and many followed him. His opponents had him arrested and with the movement's failure the Jewish community declined. Great fires destroyed the Jewish quarters in the 17th and 18th centuries - the greatest in 1740 - after which the Jews, forbidden to rebuild, moved to other areas of the town. At this time the "treasurers for Israel" were active, collecting contributions for the inhabitants of Eretz Israel. In 1727 a weekly tax was imposed for the benefit of Jerusalem - obliging all Jews in the empire and Italy. The money went for the upkeep of the holy cities of Israel.

Until the end of the 18th century Istanbul was a major center for Hebrew publishing.

In the 18th and 19th centuries the standard of Hebrew learning reached such a low point that the majority could not read the bible. Books were published in Spanish and Ladino. Among the great writers were rabbi Jacob Culi of Safed, author of Ma'am Loas, who settled in Istanbul in the mid- 18th century, and rabbi Abraham Ben Isaac Assa, "the father of Ladino literature", who translated the bible, religious works, science, and the Shulchan Arukh. Distinguished families included the Kimitti, Rosanes, and Navon families. rabbi Chayyim Kimchi headed a yeshivah, and rabbi Judah Rosens published against the Shabbatean movement. Isaiah Adsiman, Bekhor Isaac Carmona, Ezekiel Gabbai, and Abraham de Camondo, all men of great power, were influential in government circles in the 19th century. De Camondo founded a modern school and guaranteed half its expenses. A "va'ad perkidim" was founded, composed of wealthy men and progressive intellectuals. Splits occurred between the latter and the conservatives led by the Chakham Bashi (chief rabbi). During the reign of Abdu-l-Mejid I (1839- 61), Jews were accepted into the military school of medicine and poll tax was abolished. The secular leadership strengthened, and in the days of the Sultan Abul Zziz, the Jews published chief rabbi, a secular council containing Jewish government officials, and a rabbinical council. The two councils were elected for three years. Each quarter had a local rabbi with a secretary whose duty it was to send reports of births and deaths to the government. Three Battei Din dealt with matrimonial matters, and other affairs went before a municipal tribunal. These ordinances remained in effect until the establishment of the republic in 1923. In the second half of the 19th century Jews received decorations and held high government administrative posts. Newspapers and periodicals began to appear in Ladino (the first, Or Israel, was edited by Chayyim de Castro in 1853). Jewish population grew to 100,000 at the start of the 20th century due to Russian emigration from the 1905 revolution.

With the establishment of the republic the community was forbidden to levy its own taxes and personal status came under civil jurisdiction. Turkish replaced French as the language of instruction (used in Alliance schools throughout the Middle East and North Africa) and affiliation with foreign organizations, such as the World Jewish Congress and the World Zionist Organization, was prohibited. In 1932 all schools were secularized and religious education forbidden. Like other non-Muslim subjects, the Jews of Istanbul were most severely affected by the imposition of the capital levy of 1942. Many of those who could not meet these levy payments were compelled to sell their property. In 1949 Jews received autonomy, proposed by Solomon Adato, a delegate in the house of representatives. Religious instruction was again permitted in public schools, and many young Jews went to universities. The number of Jews in Istanbul, estimated at 55,000 in 1948, dropped to 32,946 and 30,831 in the 1955 and 1965 censuses as a result of the large-scale emigration to the state of Israel. In 1970 an estimated 30,000 Jews lived in Balat, Haskoy, Ortakoy, and other quarters. The wealthy lived in the Pera and Sisli neighborhoods.

In 1997 there were 20,000 Jews living in Turkey; about 17,000 of them - in Istanbul.

Cairo

In Arabic: القاهرة‎ 

Capital of Egypt

It is almost certain that Jews settled in Fostat at the time of its establishment in 641 by Arab occupation, and they built their synagogue in the ancient byzantine citadel. In the 10th century Jews arrived from Babylon and founded two communities - the Babylonian and the Palestinian. After the Fatimids established the new city of Cairo (969), north of Fostat, the local Jewish community became the most famous in Egypt. Jews continued to dwell in Fostat (old Cairo) until it was burned by the Egyptians (1169) in an effort to prevent its capture by the crusaders; the famous "genizah" was found in the ancient synagogue of Fostat at the end of the 19th century.

Maimonides, his son Abraham, and his grandson David lived in Fostat. The heads of the Palestinian community in the b. Moses ha-Levi, and his brother Sar Shalom ha-Levi. Persecutions took place during the rule of the Mamluks (1250-1517), who persecuted non-Muslim communities in general and the large Christian Coptic minority in particular. Synagogues and churches were destroyed and closed and fanatical Muslims plotted against Jews for many reasons. It is said that Sultan Baybars gathered the Jews and the Christians under the citadel walls and threatened to burn them alive unless they agreed to pay a large sum of money (13th century). Mamluk rule forbade Jews to trade in spices and other imports from the Far East, and their economic situation worsened. Most of them were tradesmen and manufacturers and a privileged group still continued to deal in money and banking.

Meshullam of Volterra reports 800 Jewish households in Cairo in 1481 as well as 150 Karaite and 50 Samaritan families. According to an Arab historian, there were five synagogues in Cairo. In the beginning of the 16th century, many refugees from Spain came to Cairo. There were two distinct groups of Jews: maghrebim (Jews of North African origin), and Sephardim, each with its own bet din and charitable institutions; and there was occasional conflict between them. The Sephardim surpassed the other communities and were appointed as rabbis for the musta'rabs, who adopted the customs of the Spanish Jews in their prayers. The descendants of the exiles assimilated with the Jewish majority and forgot their Spanish language. Among the great Spanish scholars of the 16th century were R. David b. Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, R. Moses b. Isaac Alashkar, R. Jacob Berab, R. Bezalel Ashkenazi, R. Jacob Castro, and R. Solomon di Trani.

The Turks, who conquered Egypt in 1517, did not interfere in Jewish religious affairs. They badly treated the rich Jews, however, most of whom occupied official appointments, such as the operation of the mint and the collection of taxes; many of them were condemned to death on various pretexts. In 1524 the governor Ahmed Pasha extorted a vast sum of money from the director of the mint - Abraham Castro - by threatening to slaughter all the Jews. However on the day of payment Ahmed Pasha was murdered by a group of his own soldiers and the danger was averted. This day of salvation was commemorated as an annual Purim Mitzrayim (Purim of Egypt). The extortion and tyranny worsened in the 17th and 18th centuries with the decline of Ottoman rule.

Among the sages of the Jewish community of Cairo a special mention should be made of Chayyim Vital from the kabbalists of Safed, Mordecai ha- Levi, Solomon Algazi; and in the 19th century Moses Algazi, Elijah Israel, and Raphael Aaron b. Simeon.

A new era for the Jewish community in Cairo started with the rise of Muhammad Ali (1769-1849) to Egyptian rule (1805). Moses Montefiore, Adolphe Cremieux, and Solomon Monk (the secretary of the Jewish consistoire of France) visited Cairo, and founded modern schools; and after the economic development of Egypt Jews from other Mediterranean countries settled in Cairo. In 1882 there were 5,000 Jews in Cairo and after 15 years, 11,500, including 1,000 Karaites. In 1917 the Jewish community numbered 25,000, among them many refugees from eastern Europe. Jews prospered in commerce and banking and even took part in public affairs and government institutions. R. Yom Tov Israel was appointed to the legislative assembly and Jacob Cattaui became the chief revenue officer of Egypt; his son Joseph was minister of finance (1923) and another son Moses was president of the Cairo community for 40 years. In 1925 Chief Rabbi Haim Nahoum joined the Egyptian Academy of Science.

During early 20th century there were a number of Jewish newspapers in Cairo, among them Mitzrayim (Ladino, 1900), Die Zeit (Yiddish, 1907-08), and the weekly magazines l'Aurore (French, 1908), and Israel (French, 1919). In 1934 there was an Arabic weekly magazine, Al-Shams. The Karaites also published a weekly magazine of their own called Al-Kalim.

In 1947, 41,860 Jews (64% of Egyptian Jewry) lived in Cairo, 58.8% of whom were merchants, and 17.9% worked in industry. Although it contained a few wealthy Jews, the Cairo community was poorer than Alexandria. After the arrests of Jews in 1948-49 and the persecutions of 1956-57, only 5,587 Jews were left. After the Six-Day War this number decreased to about 1,500, and by 1970 only a few hundred remained, especially in the new mixed quarter of Heliopolis. Massive arrests began in June-July 1954; about 100 Jews were concentrated in two camps and fifteen of them brought to trial. In the spy case which ended in 1955, Moses Marzouk and Samuel 'Azar were condemned to death by hanging and others received life sentences. (They were released and sent back to Israel after the Six-Day War.) In 1956 the head of the community Salvador Cicurel left Egypt and was succeeded by Albert Romano. In November 1956 the government confiscated the hospital. After the death of R. Haim Nahoum, Chayyim was elected as chief rabbi in 1960; he left Egypt in 1972.

In 1997 there were 100 Jews living in Egypt, most them in Cairo.

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Isaac Ben Abraham Judah Akrish

Isaac Ben Abraham Judah Akrish (1489-1578) Talmudic scholar and publisher, born in Salonica. Divided most of his life among Jewish communities in countries around the Eastern Mediterranean. He arrived in Egypt in 1548, having lived in Naples, Italy, and Salonica (now in Greece), where he was employed by David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra (Radbaz), a leader of the Jewish community, as a teacher to his grandchildren. In Cairo, Egypt, he amassed an extensive collection of books by purchasing old manuscripts and copying those in Ibn Abi Zimra's library. His love for books stayed with him until the end of his life and wherever he traveled, he spent most of his earnings in purchasing additional books. However, he lost his collections at least twice: the first time in 1554 when following the new Papal edicts against the Talmud the Venetians confiscated his manuscripts while he passed through Candia (now Iraklion, on the Island of Crete). In 1569, a fire in the Jewish quarter of Constantinople destroyed his collection of books again. He spent the later part of his life under the patronage of Esther Kiera, a philanthropist and patron of art and letters, and other influential Jews, like Don Josef Nassi, duke of Naxos. In Constantinople Akrish published a number of important Hebrew literary pieces, some of them contained in Kovetz Vikkuhim - a collection of ten documents featuring the letter of Profiat Duran. This was followed by Maaseh Beth David bi-Ymei Malkhut Paras and Kol Mavasser the last including the alleged correspondence between Hisdai Ibn Shaprut and Josef, the King of the Khazars in addition to stories about the Ten Lost Tribes who live beyond the Sambation river.

Written by researchers of ANU Museum of the Jewish People
AKRISH
AKRISH, ACRICH, ACRISH, ACRIX

Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name derives from a personal characteristic or nickname. Akrish is the Arabic equivalent of a "thorny plant" or "spinach". Acrix is recorded as a Jewish family name in the 14th century with Icach Acrix, who is mentioned in a list of 48 families living in Sagunto, Spain, in 1352; Akrish is recorded as a Jewish family name in the 16th century with Mosheh Ben Hayyim Akrish, an engraver who was deported from Portugal and settled in Jerusalem. The name is recorded as a Jewish family name in the following cases: Rabbi Isaac Ben Abraham Ben Judah Akrish (born 1489 in Spain, died 1578), lived in Naples, Italy, and in Cairo, Egypt; Isaac Abraham Akrish, was a rabbi in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in the 19th century, author of ‘Kiryat Arba’ (Jerusalem, 1876), died in Jerusalem in April 1888; Rabbi Jacob Ben Joseph Akrish, died in Jerusalem in 1892.

Napoli

Napoli

In English: Naples

A city and former kingdom in south Italy.

The first Jewish settlement in Naples probably dates to the first century C.E. By the fourth century C.E. the community was of considerable size and economically important. In 536 the Jewish population helped the Goths, although unsuccessfully, to defend the city when it was besieged by the Byzantines. 11TH and 12th century documents show that the Naples community had a synagogue and a school. Jews enjoyed the right to own real estate and to dispose of it as they wished. Benjamin of Tudela, who visited the town in c. 1159, found 500 Jews living there. From 1288, under Charles II, anti-Jewish disorders incited by Dominican preachers occurred; they reached their height in 1290 when serious outrages were committed and a synagogue was converted into a church. However, in 1330 Robert of Anjou invited Jews from the balearic islands to settle in Naples and in the rest of his kingdom, promising them protection against annoyance and the same taxation rights as those enjoyed by
Christians. From 1442, under the rule of Aragon, conditions for the Jews in Naples and its surroundings were favorable, and attracted Jews from various parts of Europe.

At the end of 1492 and the beginning of 1493, a large influx of refugees from Sicily, Sardinia, and Spain found temporary asylum in Naples. The Spanish refugees, undernourished and sick, probably introduced the pestilence in 1492 that struck down 20,000 persons in Naples alone.

Among the Spanish refugees who landed in Naples in 1492 was Don Isaac Abrabanel, who became fiscal adviser to King Ferdinand I and Alfonso II. In 1495 the kingdom of Naples was conquered by the Spanish and in 1496 a decree for the expulsion of the Jews was issued, although not implemented. The expulsion of the Jews was definitively for 200 wealthy Jewish families who undertook to pay an annual tax of 300 ducats to the crown. In 1515 the new Christians were also expelled from the kingdom. The 200 wealthy families, who had been joined by others in 1520, had increased to 600 within the following decade. Although a new decree of expulsion was issued in 1533, permission was granted to the Jews in November 1535 to reside in Naples for a further ten years against the payment of 10,000 ducats. However, the agreement was not respected by emperor Charles V, and in 1541 he ordered the total expulsion of the Jews; this coincided with the establishment of a Christian loan bank (monte di Pieta) in Naples. It was not until 1735, when the kingdom passed to the Bourbons, that Jews were readmitted into Naples and the vicinity by an edict signed by Charles IV on Feb. 3, 1740. However, following pressure by Jesuits and the church, the few Jews who had accepted the invitation were again expelled (Sept. 18, 1746). At the beginning of the 19th century, several Jewish families were residing in Naples, among them the banker Karl Mayer Von Rothschild of Frankfort on the Main. Religious services began to be held in Naples in 1831, but a synagogue was not opened until June 1864.

In 1931 there were 998 Jews in the community of Naples, whose authority extended to all southern Italy.

Persecutions during World War II had minor consequences as the allied landing led to a speedy liberation of southern Italy. Nevertheless, 11 Jews were taken to extermination camps from Naples and other were killed elsewhere. After the war 534 Jews remained in the community. In 1969 there were 450 Jews in Naples.

Salonika

Salonika

In Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη / Thessaloniki, in Jewish sources - “Jerusalem of the Balkans”

The second largest city in Greece.

21ST CENTURY

As part of Thessaloniki being named 1997 Culture Capital of Europe, one of the buildings to survive a devastating 1917 fire, and that once housed offices of the French-language Jewish newspaper "L' Independant" was renovated to house the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki, which was established in 2001.

In January 2016, an agreement was signed to establish a new Holocaust Museum of Greece at the city'sold railway station, where 50,000 Thessaloniki Jews boarded cattle cars to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland.

HISTORY

Alexandrian Jews who arrived in 140 B.C.E. were among the first Jews to settle in Salonika. After the splitting up of the Roman empire in 395 C.E., Salonika became the second most important town after Constantinople in the Byzantine empire. The Byzantine emperors in their efforts to "Christianize" their subjects were hostile to the Jews of Salonika. In spite of the hardships they suffered during the Byzantine period, they were merchants, engaging especially in the silk trade. The oldest synagogues of Salonika, "Etz ha- Chayim" and "Etz ha-Da'at", which existed until the beginning of the 20th century, date back to the Byzantine period.

During the second half of the 14th century, Salonika attracted Jews from all over the world; the first immigrants were Hungarian Jews who arrived in 1376. In 1430, Salonika was occupied by the Turks. At approximately the same time, waves of Jewish immigrants started to arrive. In 1470, Bavarian Jews arrived in Salonika and formed the Ashkenazi community.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, many Jewish exiles from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sicily, France, and refugees from North Africa, settled in Salonika. Once in Salonika, they founded separate synagogues and named them after their native countries. Marranos expelled from Portugal arrived to Salonika. In 1514, the rabbis of Salonika issued a special "Haskamah" regarding the Marranos as Jews as far as marriage and divorce were concerned. It is estimated that by 1553, there were 20,000 Jews in Salonika. The Jewish immigrants maintained their relations with their coreligionists and colleagues in their countries of origin and therefore had a relative advantage in international trade. The Jews of Salonika also engaged in the crafts.

The organization of Jewish life in Salonika was quite unique. There were about 30 independent congregations, who sometimes associated themselves as a voluntary body that took care of the common interests of the congregations. The "Takkanot" issued by this body were to be accepted by every congregation. The heads of each community were called Parnasim, Memunim, Nivrarim and Anshei Ma'amad, and were elected by all the members of each congregation. A committee elected by the Parnasim of each congregation decided what proportion of taxes each congregation had to pay to the Turkish authorities.

During the 16th century, there were numerous important rabbis whose influence spread beyond the borders of Salonika and even the Ottoman empire. Among them was Isaac Adarbi, the author of "Divrei Rivot ve Divrei Shalom", Mosses Almosnino, and Samuel di Medina ("Rashdam"). Salonika was also renowned as a center of Kabbalah. In addition to the rabbinical schools in Salonika in the 16th century, there was a Bet Midrash for secular studies where medicine, natural sciences, astronomy, and other subjects were taught.

In the beginning of the 17th century, the town suffered once again from plagues and fires. By the middle of the century, about 30,000 Jews lived in Salonika, which represented half of the total population of the town. The end of the century was marked by a deterioration of commercial activities as a result of the decline of the Ottoman empire. However, Salonika remained a center of religious studies and Halakhah. The famous Halakhic authority, rabbi Chayim Shabbetai (d. 1647), author of the "Torat ha- Chayyim", lived in the town during the first half of the 17th century; other important religious authorities included Aaron Cohen Perachyah, the author of "Parach Matteh Aharon", and David Conforte, author of "Kore ha-Dorot".

The most influential event for the Jewish community in the 17th century was the appearance of the pseudo-messiah Shabbetai Tzevi in 1657. Initially, he was very warmly accepted, but when he declared that he was the true messiah, he was expelled by the most important rabbis of the town. Later, he converted to Islam, and 13 years after his death, in 1683, a group of believers - some 300 Jewish families - also converted to Islam. This sect was called the Doenmeh (in Turkish "apostates") and their religious center was in Salonika, from which they spread to Constantinople and other places.

In 1680, the 30 congregations in Salonika merged into one community, with a supreme council composed of three rabbis and seven dignitaries. Another important step was the reorganization of all the rabbinical courts into three bodies. The "Batei Din" were famous for their justice and integrity; many Muslims and Greeks preferred to settle the disputes they had with Jews in these courts instead of using the Turkish courts.

In 1720-30, Portuguese Marranos called "Francos" emigrated to Salonika. Most of them were well-educated and among them were merchants and bankers. Initially, they refused to pay the relevant taxes to the Jewish community.

Towards the second half of the 19th century, European culture and technology had reached Salonika. In 1873, the "Alliance Israelite Universelle" established a school in the city, and additional schools along Western standards were also built.

In 1886, the Bank of Salonika was founded. As a result of this Westernization, liberalism became paramount among the Jews of Salonika. The "Chevrat Kadimah" for the spreading of the Hebrew language was founded in 1899, and Isaac Epstein was brought to Salonika to teach Hebrew. In 1887, the rabbinical triumvirate was dismissed and Jacob Kovo was appointed to the post of "Chakham Bashi" (chief rabbi). In 1900, there were approximately 80,000 Jews in Salonika (out of a total population of 173,000).

In 1908, when the "Young Turks" rose against the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Chamid II, many Jews joined their forces. One of the first actions of the Young Turks when they rose to power was the mobilization of all non-Muslims into the Turkish army. As a result, many young Jews left Salonika and emigrated to the United States.

At the same time, the first Zionist organizations, Agudath Bnei Zion and Maccabee, appeared in Salonika. The Young Turks' revolution marked a new "golden" era for the Jews of Salonika. Jews were represented in every profession and at its height, the Jewish community published over 30 newspapers.

In 1912, the Greek army entered the city. King George declared that Jews and all other minorities were to have the same rights as the Greek population.

After the Greek government took control of the city, it implemented a policy of Hellenization, in an attempt to enforce Greek language and culture, and unify the city's population of minorities. Over the following three decades, the Jewish community of Salonika all but disappeared as a result of Greek government policy, disaster, and Nazi rule.

In 1917, a great fire destroyed two-thirds of the city, including the city center where most of the city's Jews lived. Some 50,000 Jews were left homeless, and many of them left.

A 1922 law forced all the inhabitants of Salonika to refrain from working on Sundays, and contributed to another wave of emigration. Some Jews went to Palestine, while most emigrated to Paris, France, where they founded an important community.

As part of its Hellenization policy, the government wanted to establish a Greek Jewish educational framework aimed at assimilating the Jewish population, which resisted. In 1924, the community refused a proposal for the funding of schools through the state, enraging the nationalistic circles of Salonika.

In the early 1930s, when the Port of Haifa was built, the local workers' council suggested bringing in Jewish port workers from Thessaloniki. Abba Hushi, the council secretary, traveled to Thessaloniki and persuaded 100 Jewish port workers to return to Israel with him, together with their families. A few members of the Mano family that later became prominent in the Israeli shipping industry were among this group.

In 1935, nearly 60,000 Jews lived in Salonika.

THE HOLOCAUST PERIOD

On the eve of World War II, 55,250 Jews lived in Salonika.

The Germans entered Salonika on April 9, 1941. Two days later, the "Messsagero", the sole surviving Judeo-Spanish daily paper, was suppressed. All Jews were ordered to give up their radios. The Germans ultimately agreed to exempt the Jews from forced labor in return for a ransom of two and a half billion Drachmae, equivalent to about 40,000 US gold dollars. In the following months, there were more and more expropriations and seizures of Jewish businesses, warehouses, and property. This culminated when, in December 1942, the ancient cemetery, containing nearly 500,000 graves and dating back certainly to the 15th century, was expropriated and thus became a quarry for the entire town.

Shortly after the German occupation, the libraries and synagogues of Salonika were raided and their treasures seized, packed, and dispatched to Frankfurt, where a Jewish research library was being set up for Anti-Semitic purposes. In 1943, a commission headed by Dieter Wisliceny and Alois Brunner arrived in Salonika to implement the racial laws. Two days later, an order was issued imposing the supreme indignities that had already become the rule elsewhere in Nazi-dominated Europe. All Jews were henceforth to wear a yellow badge, and their shops and offices had to be similarly marked. No Jew was allowed on the streets after nightfall; no Jew was allowed to use the telephone; and no Jew could ride on the tramway. Camouflaging their intent, the authorities maintained the pretext that the new system would facilitate the reorganization of the community on quasi-autonomous lines. But the real object of the new measures gradually emerged.

Jews were isolated in ghettos and all their possessions were carefully checked and registered.

On the morning of March 14, 1943, Jews were instructed to assemble in the local synagogue, where they were informed by Rabbi Koretz that they were being deported to Poland, where they would find a new home, among their own people. Some Polish paper money was distributed to the victims, in order to disguise the real purpose of their trip. Day by day, these scenes repeated themselves, group after group being dispatched to Auschwitz and Birkenau, where the Jews of Salonika were exterminated. All together, 43,850 Jews, 95% of the Jewish population, were deported from Salonika in these few months.

In October 1944, Salonika was recaptured by the Greek and allied forces.

POST-WAR

Two thousand Jews settled in Salonika after the war. The number of Jews fell from about 2,000 in 1946 to about 1,500 in 1971 as a result of emigration to Israel and to other countries. There was an organized community, but only two synagogues were in use. The Jewish organizations were unified by the “Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece” in Athens.

In 1997, 1,000 Jews lived in Salonika and a small Jewish school was operated by the community.

Istanbul
Istanbul

Until 1453 Constantinople (Kushta, Costandina, Costantina).
City in Turkey, on both sides of the Bosporus at its entrance on the sea of Marmara.

There were 1,743,000 inhabitants in 1965 and 20,000 Jews in 1976, with a general community council comprising 60 men, including some of the Ashkenazi community. It elects the head of the community, administration, and religious committees. The chief rabbi was officially recognized in 1953. The community organized the Or-Chayyim hospital (built 1885), an orphanage, the "tzedakah u-marpe" charitable organization (founded 1918) for underprivileged students, "machzikei torah" for training cantors and mohalim, and an old age home. The community had three elementary schools and a high school, the 1,000 students being mainly poor - wealthy children attended foreign schools. Among the youth groups were "Kardeslik" and "Amical" which provided some Hebrew education. The level of education improved under the Alliance Israelite Universelle. Jews were well represented in commerce but very few were in the civil service.

In the Byzantine period, the Jewish area changed five times, and in the Turkish invasion, 1453. Jews worked in copper, tanning, dyeing, silk weaving, and - despite church opposition - Jewish doctors served at court. In the 11th and 12th centuries Jews were compelled to work as executioners. They were politically active in the circus parties, the blues and greens. Leo III gave the Jews the choice of leaving the town or being baptized (721), but the community continued to exist, as shown by the poet Shephatiah Ben Amittai, Benjamin of Tudela, and Judah Aharizi. Messianic fervor arose due to the first crusade (1095-1099). Many Jews were killed in riots against western merchants at the end of the 12th century. An important Karaite community of Jews from Venice and Genoa existed from the 11th century until the Turkish conquest.

With the Ottoman conquest the armies of Muhammad II totally massacred the inhabitants of Istanbul except the Jews, seemingly because of their support. Muhammad II brought residents of Anatolia and the Balkans to repopulate Istanbul - among them Jews and Karaites engaged as craftsmen and the Romanids (Gregos), formerly of Greece and Byzantium, Ashkenazim, Italians, and Sephardim. The Jews of Istanbul, as in all the Ottoman Empire, constituted an autonomous religious-administrative unit, first led by rabbi Moses Capsali, who represented the community before the government and collected the Jewish taxes; after him was rabbi Elijah Mizrachi. The Ashkenazim from Bavaria and Hungary enjoyed an independent status for many years and among its distinguished personalities were Elijah Ha-Levi Ha-Zaken, and the court physician Solomon Tedesci. Relations continued with their countries of origin but in time they assimilated with the Sephardim. When Jews from Spain and Portugal settled in Istanbul ( approximately 40,000 from Spain) they included rabbis, judges, and heads of yeshivot including Joseph Ibn Lev, Joseph Taitatzak, Abraham Jerusalmi, rabbi Isaac Caro, and rabbi Elijah Ben Chayyim. They founded large yeshivot which raised the spiritual and cultural level of local Jewry. Their financial status and numerical superiority gave them a prestigious place in the community.

The Sultans appreciated the Jewish contribution to commercial life, crafts, medicine, and the manufacture of firearms, and 16th century Istanbul was one of the world's most important Jewish centers. Among notables in the community were the family of doctors Hamon, and prominent bankers and capitalists, holders of central financial positions in the empire whose position in court was beneficial to the rest of the community; for example, the Mendes family from Portugal, his widow Gracia and her nephew Don Joseph Nasi who rebuilt Tiberias, and the families of Solomon Ibn Ya'ish and Jacob Ankawa. The magnificence and exhibitionism of wealthy Jews angered the inhabitants who forbade lavish clothing and jewelry. As the Ottoman Empire declined culturally and economically, so did the Jewish community. When a number of Jewish quarters were destroyed by fire the structure of the "Kehalim" changed. During the reign of Murad IV Jews were accused of murdering a Turkish child for ritual purposes (1633). Many Jews were captured by the Cossacks, Turks, and Ukrainians in the massacres of 1648-49, and sold as slaves in Istanbul where local Jewry redeemed them at great expense. In 1666 Shabbetai Tzevi arrived in Istanbul and many followed him. His opponents had him arrested and with the movement's failure the Jewish community declined. Great fires destroyed the Jewish quarters in the 17th and 18th centuries - the greatest in 1740 - after which the Jews, forbidden to rebuild, moved to other areas of the town. At this time the "treasurers for Israel" were active, collecting contributions for the inhabitants of Eretz Israel. In 1727 a weekly tax was imposed for the benefit of Jerusalem - obliging all Jews in the empire and Italy. The money went for the upkeep of the holy cities of Israel.

Until the end of the 18th century Istanbul was a major center for Hebrew publishing.

In the 18th and 19th centuries the standard of Hebrew learning reached such a low point that the majority could not read the bible. Books were published in Spanish and Ladino. Among the great writers were rabbi Jacob Culi of Safed, author of Ma'am Loas, who settled in Istanbul in the mid- 18th century, and rabbi Abraham Ben Isaac Assa, "the father of Ladino literature", who translated the bible, religious works, science, and the Shulchan Arukh. Distinguished families included the Kimitti, Rosanes, and Navon families. rabbi Chayyim Kimchi headed a yeshivah, and rabbi Judah Rosens published against the Shabbatean movement. Isaiah Adsiman, Bekhor Isaac Carmona, Ezekiel Gabbai, and Abraham de Camondo, all men of great power, were influential in government circles in the 19th century. De Camondo founded a modern school and guaranteed half its expenses. A "va'ad perkidim" was founded, composed of wealthy men and progressive intellectuals. Splits occurred between the latter and the conservatives led by the Chakham Bashi (chief rabbi). During the reign of Abdu-l-Mejid I (1839- 61), Jews were accepted into the military school of medicine and poll tax was abolished. The secular leadership strengthened, and in the days of the Sultan Abul Zziz, the Jews published chief rabbi, a secular council containing Jewish government officials, and a rabbinical council. The two councils were elected for three years. Each quarter had a local rabbi with a secretary whose duty it was to send reports of births and deaths to the government. Three Battei Din dealt with matrimonial matters, and other affairs went before a municipal tribunal. These ordinances remained in effect until the establishment of the republic in 1923. In the second half of the 19th century Jews received decorations and held high government administrative posts. Newspapers and periodicals began to appear in Ladino (the first, Or Israel, was edited by Chayyim de Castro in 1853). Jewish population grew to 100,000 at the start of the 20th century due to Russian emigration from the 1905 revolution.

With the establishment of the republic the community was forbidden to levy its own taxes and personal status came under civil jurisdiction. Turkish replaced French as the language of instruction (used in Alliance schools throughout the Middle East and North Africa) and affiliation with foreign organizations, such as the World Jewish Congress and the World Zionist Organization, was prohibited. In 1932 all schools were secularized and religious education forbidden. Like other non-Muslim subjects, the Jews of Istanbul were most severely affected by the imposition of the capital levy of 1942. Many of those who could not meet these levy payments were compelled to sell their property. In 1949 Jews received autonomy, proposed by Solomon Adato, a delegate in the house of representatives. Religious instruction was again permitted in public schools, and many young Jews went to universities. The number of Jews in Istanbul, estimated at 55,000 in 1948, dropped to 32,946 and 30,831 in the 1955 and 1965 censuses as a result of the large-scale emigration to the state of Israel. In 1970 an estimated 30,000 Jews lived in Balat, Haskoy, Ortakoy, and other quarters. The wealthy lived in the Pera and Sisli neighborhoods.

In 1997 there were 20,000 Jews living in Turkey; about 17,000 of them - in Istanbul.

Cairo

Cairo

In Arabic: القاهرة‎ 

Capital of Egypt

It is almost certain that Jews settled in Fostat at the time of its establishment in 641 by Arab occupation, and they built their synagogue in the ancient byzantine citadel. In the 10th century Jews arrived from Babylon and founded two communities - the Babylonian and the Palestinian. After the Fatimids established the new city of Cairo (969), north of Fostat, the local Jewish community became the most famous in Egypt. Jews continued to dwell in Fostat (old Cairo) until it was burned by the Egyptians (1169) in an effort to prevent its capture by the crusaders; the famous "genizah" was found in the ancient synagogue of Fostat at the end of the 19th century.

Maimonides, his son Abraham, and his grandson David lived in Fostat. The heads of the Palestinian community in the b. Moses ha-Levi, and his brother Sar Shalom ha-Levi. Persecutions took place during the rule of the Mamluks (1250-1517), who persecuted non-Muslim communities in general and the large Christian Coptic minority in particular. Synagogues and churches were destroyed and closed and fanatical Muslims plotted against Jews for many reasons. It is said that Sultan Baybars gathered the Jews and the Christians under the citadel walls and threatened to burn them alive unless they agreed to pay a large sum of money (13th century). Mamluk rule forbade Jews to trade in spices and other imports from the Far East, and their economic situation worsened. Most of them were tradesmen and manufacturers and a privileged group still continued to deal in money and banking.

Meshullam of Volterra reports 800 Jewish households in Cairo in 1481 as well as 150 Karaite and 50 Samaritan families. According to an Arab historian, there were five synagogues in Cairo. In the beginning of the 16th century, many refugees from Spain came to Cairo. There were two distinct groups of Jews: maghrebim (Jews of North African origin), and Sephardim, each with its own bet din and charitable institutions; and there was occasional conflict between them. The Sephardim surpassed the other communities and were appointed as rabbis for the musta'rabs, who adopted the customs of the Spanish Jews in their prayers. The descendants of the exiles assimilated with the Jewish majority and forgot their Spanish language. Among the great Spanish scholars of the 16th century were R. David b. Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, R. Moses b. Isaac Alashkar, R. Jacob Berab, R. Bezalel Ashkenazi, R. Jacob Castro, and R. Solomon di Trani.

The Turks, who conquered Egypt in 1517, did not interfere in Jewish religious affairs. They badly treated the rich Jews, however, most of whom occupied official appointments, such as the operation of the mint and the collection of taxes; many of them were condemned to death on various pretexts. In 1524 the governor Ahmed Pasha extorted a vast sum of money from the director of the mint - Abraham Castro - by threatening to slaughter all the Jews. However on the day of payment Ahmed Pasha was murdered by a group of his own soldiers and the danger was averted. This day of salvation was commemorated as an annual Purim Mitzrayim (Purim of Egypt). The extortion and tyranny worsened in the 17th and 18th centuries with the decline of Ottoman rule.

Among the sages of the Jewish community of Cairo a special mention should be made of Chayyim Vital from the kabbalists of Safed, Mordecai ha- Levi, Solomon Algazi; and in the 19th century Moses Algazi, Elijah Israel, and Raphael Aaron b. Simeon.

A new era for the Jewish community in Cairo started with the rise of Muhammad Ali (1769-1849) to Egyptian rule (1805). Moses Montefiore, Adolphe Cremieux, and Solomon Monk (the secretary of the Jewish consistoire of France) visited Cairo, and founded modern schools; and after the economic development of Egypt Jews from other Mediterranean countries settled in Cairo. In 1882 there were 5,000 Jews in Cairo and after 15 years, 11,500, including 1,000 Karaites. In 1917 the Jewish community numbered 25,000, among them many refugees from eastern Europe. Jews prospered in commerce and banking and even took part in public affairs and government institutions. R. Yom Tov Israel was appointed to the legislative assembly and Jacob Cattaui became the chief revenue officer of Egypt; his son Joseph was minister of finance (1923) and another son Moses was president of the Cairo community for 40 years. In 1925 Chief Rabbi Haim Nahoum joined the Egyptian Academy of Science.

During early 20th century there were a number of Jewish newspapers in Cairo, among them Mitzrayim (Ladino, 1900), Die Zeit (Yiddish, 1907-08), and the weekly magazines l'Aurore (French, 1908), and Israel (French, 1919). In 1934 there was an Arabic weekly magazine, Al-Shams. The Karaites also published a weekly magazine of their own called Al-Kalim.

In 1947, 41,860 Jews (64% of Egyptian Jewry) lived in Cairo, 58.8% of whom were merchants, and 17.9% worked in industry. Although it contained a few wealthy Jews, the Cairo community was poorer than Alexandria. After the arrests of Jews in 1948-49 and the persecutions of 1956-57, only 5,587 Jews were left. After the Six-Day War this number decreased to about 1,500, and by 1970 only a few hundred remained, especially in the new mixed quarter of Heliopolis. Massive arrests began in June-July 1954; about 100 Jews were concentrated in two camps and fifteen of them brought to trial. In the spy case which ended in 1955, Moses Marzouk and Samuel 'Azar were condemned to death by hanging and others received life sentences. (They were released and sent back to Israel after the Six-Day War.) In 1956 the head of the community Salvador Cicurel left Egypt and was succeeded by Albert Romano. In November 1956 the government confiscated the hospital. After the death of R. Haim Nahoum, Chayyim was elected as chief rabbi in 1960; he left Egypt in 1972.

In 1997 there were 100 Jews living in Egypt, most them in Cairo.