A Sephardi Life in Southeastern Europe by Esther Benbassa Aron Rodrigue

Author:Esther Benbassa, Aron Rodrigue [Esther Benbassa, Aron Rodrigue]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Religious, History, Europe, Eastern, Religion, Judaism
ISBN: 9780295998565
Google: d7I5jgEACAAJ
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Published: 2015-09-14T04:10:54+00:00

1. having welcomed the invading army with transports of joy and embraced the conqueror’s cause in an open display;

2. having provided food to the Turkish army, who were without it at the time of the occupation;

3. having participated in plundering the repositories of Greek clothing and weapons and trafficked in stolen goods.

Let me just remind you of the trait called bravery on one side, treason on the other, which all the newspapers reported: this involved the case of the Jew from Larissa who warned the Turkish army that the bridge near Larissa it was about to cross was mined.

As they were announced, we all deplored the excesses of zeal and the incredibly reckless attitude of our Thessalian coreligionists during the war, and we foresaw what is now happening. But from a distance, we could hardly help them with our advice.

Now the damage is done and we can only seek to attenuate its consequences.

The number of poor families currently in Smyrna is thirty-eight, constituting one hundred and eighty-one individuals. Most are in a state of complete destitution. Those poor people have come to implore our help; I promised them I would intercede with you on their behalf.

My advice would be to repatriate them all. We have too many poor people in Smyrna, and these new arrivals would drag on in their miserable existence. I showed them that, under the circumstances, they also acted without due consideration and that, despite the persecutions they fear, their fate in Larissa and Trikkala57 would be better than what awaits them in Smyrna.

Their response was that they would try to earn their living here or in the surrounding villages; if at the end of two or three months, they see they cannot live in this country, they will return to Thessaly.

For me, the experiment is already over and I know in advance the inevitable poverty to which these thirty-eight families, and those yet to arrive, are condemned. But to energetically stop this exodus and reverse the emigration current, we would need to know with accuracy if a danger truly threatens the existence of our coreligionists. To be certain of that, I believe a trip from Salonika to Larissa on the part of M. Matalon58 would be useful. With the report on the situation he could send you, you would be able to see if we can take it upon ourselves to make all those emigrants turn around and go back, and you could send me your instructions on the matter.

In the meantime, since we must prevent these people from starving to death, I would be very grateful if you would extend the amount of credit to me that you judge useful for coming to the aid of all those unfortunate souls.

Archives of the AIU, Turquie LXXV.E.

20 January 1899

… About a month ago, the newspapers of Constantinople published an item claiming that M. Fernandez, president of the Regional Committee, submitted a request to the Porte asking for authorization to create a society in Turkey for the acquisition and cultivation of lands by the Jews.

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