Napoleon Bonaparte's Letter to the Jews
April 20,, 1799
April 20,, 1799
Introduction
In 1799, the French armies under Napoleon were camped outside of Acre. Napoleon issued a letter offering Palestine as a homeland to the Jews under French protection. The project was stillborn because Napoleon was defeated and was forced to withdraw from the Near East. The letter is remarkable because it marks the coming of age of enlightenment philosophy, making it respectable at last to integrate Jews as equal citizens in Europe and because it marked the beginning of nineteenth century projects for Jewish autonomy in Palestine under a colonial protectorate. After the defeat of Napoleon, it was largely the British who carried forward these projects, which have in hindsight been given the somewhat misleading name of "British Zionism."
Letter to the Jewish Nation from the French Commander-in-Chief Buonaparte
(translated from the Original, 1799)
General Headquarters, Jerusalem 1st Floreal, April 20th, 1799,
in the year of 7 of the French Republic
BUONAPARTE, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMIES OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC
IN AFRICA AND ASIA, TO THE RIGHTFUL HEIRS OF PALESTINE.
(translated from the Original, 1799)
General Headquarters, Jerusalem 1st Floreal, April 20th, 1799,
in the year of 7 of the French Republic
BUONAPARTE, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMIES OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC
IN AFRICA AND ASIA, TO THE RIGHTFUL HEIRS OF PALESTINE.
Israelites, unique nation, whom, in thousands of years, lust of conquest and tyranny have been able to be deprived of their ancestral lands, but not of name and national existence !
Attentive and impartial observers of the destinies of nations, even though not endowed with the gifts of seers like Isaiah and Joel, have long since also felt what these, with beautiful and uplifting faith, have foretold when they saw the approaching destruction of their kingdom and fatherland: And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35,10)
Arise then, with gladness, ye exiled ! A war unexampled In the annals of history, waged in self-defense by a nation whose hereditary lands were regarded by its enemies as plunder to be divided, arbitrarily and at their convenience, by a stroke of the pen of Cabinets, avenges its own shame and the shame of the remotest nations, long forgotten under the yoke of slavery, and also, the almost two-thousand-year-old ignominy put upon you; and, while time and circumstances would seem to be least favourable to a restatement of your claims or even to their expression ,and indeed to be compelling their complet abandonment, it offers to you at this very time, and contrary to all expectations, Israel's patrimony !
The young army with which Providence has sent me hither, let by justice and accompanied by victory, has made Jerusalem my head-quarters and will, within a few days, transfer them to Damascus, a proximity which is no longer terrifying to David's city.
Rightful heirs of Palestine !
The great nation which does not trade in men and countries as did those which sold your ancestors unto all people (Joel,4,6) herewith calls on you not indeed to conquer your patrimony ;nay, only to take over that which has been conquered and, with that nation's warranty and support, to remain master of it to maintain it against all comers.
Arise ! Show that the former overwhelming might of your oppressors has but repressed the courage of the descendants of those heroes who alliance of brothers would have done honour even to Sparta and Rome (Maccabees 12, 15) but that the two thousand years of treatment as slaves have not succeeded in stifling it.
Hasten !, Now is the moment, which may not return for thousands of years, to claim the restoration of civic rights among the population of the universe which had been shamefully withheld from you for thousands of years, your political existence as a nation among the nations, and the unlimited natural right to worship Jehovah in accordance with your faith, publicly and most probably forever (JoeI 4,20).
(translated from the Original, 1799)
General Headquarters, Jerusalem 1st Floreal, April 20th, 1799,
in the year of 7 of the French Republic
in the year of 7 of the French Republic
BUONAPARTE, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMIES OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC
IN AFRICA AND ASIA, TO THE RIGHTFUL HEIRS OF PALESTINE.
IN AFRICA AND ASIA, TO THE RIGHTFUL HEIRS OF PALESTINE.
Israelites, unique nation, whom, in thousands of years, lust of conquest and tyranny have been able to be deprived of their ancestral lands, but not of name and national existence!
Attentive and impartial observers of the destinies of nations, even though not endowed with the gifts of seers like Isaiah and Joel, have long since also felt what these, with beautiful and uplifting faith, have foretold when they saw the approaching destruction of their kingdom and fatherland: And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35,10)
Arise then, with gladness, ye exiled! A war unexampled In the annals of history, waged in self-defense by a nation whose hereditary lands were regarded by its enemies as plunder to be divided, arbitrarily and at their convenience, by a stroke of the pen of Cabinets, avenges its own shame and the shame of the remotest nations, long forgotten under the yoke of slavery, and also, the almost two-thousand-year-old ignominy put upon you; and, while time and circumstances would seem to be least favourable to a restatement of your claims or even to their expression ,and indeed to be compelling their complet abandonment, it offers to you at this very time, and contrary to all expectations, Israel's patrimony!
The young army with which Providence has sent me hither, let by justice and accompanied by victory, has made Jerusalem my headquarters and will, within a few days, transfer them to Damascus, a proximity which is no longer terrifying to David's city.
Rightful heirs of Palestine!
The great nation which does not trade in men and countries as did those which sold your ancestors unto all people (Joel,4,6) herewith calls on you not indeed to conquer your patrimony; nay, only to take over that which has been conquered and, with that nation's warranty and support, to remain master of it to maintain it against all comers.
Arise! Show that the former overwhelming might of your oppressors has but repressed the courage of the descendants of those heroes who alliance of brothers would have done honour even to Sparta and Rome (Maccabees 12, 15) but that the two thousand years of treatment as slaves have not succeeded in stifling it.
Hasten!, Now is the moment, which may not return for thousands of years, to claim the restoration of civic rights among the population of the universe which had been shamefully withheld from you for thousands of years, your political existence as a nation among the nations, and the unlimited natural right to worship Jehovah in accordance with your faith, publicly and most probably forever (Joel 4,20).
Bibliography
- Anchel, Napoléon et les juifs, 1928
- Roth, C. The Jews of Malta in: Transactions of the Jewish Historical Society of England, XII (1931).
- The Jewish Press Magazine, April 1998, page 69
- The Memoirs of Dr. Barry O'Meara
- The New Judea, vol 16, September 1949
- Schwarzfuchs, Simon. Napoleon, the Jews and the Sanhedrin
- The Memoirs of Baron Fain, First Secretary of the Emperor Cabinet, Proctor Jones Publishing, 1998.
- Kobler, Frans. Napoleon and the Jews (1975).
- Yahuda, A.S. Conception d'un état juif par Napoléon, Evidences publication, 1951, no 19, May-June.
Frenchman’s plans for conquer are foiled by stone walls and British war ships, despite a vain attempt to win over local Jews with an early iteration of Zionism.
On May 21, 1799, following an arrogant two-month effort to conquer the ancient walled city of Acre, Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces succumbed to the plague, the Royal Navy, stone walls and the city’s defender, Jezzar Pasha. Conquering Acre had been a vital step in the 30-year-old first consul of France’s plans to spread his empire’s influence from Egypt to Syria and eventually through the Ottoman Empire’s heart, Constantinople. The notoriously small French general had faced little trouble in his conquests of Egypt was moving quickly northward until he reached the fortified port city of Acre, which would eventually repel him back to France.
In 1798, Napoleon had successfully conquered Egypt’s major cities. Intent on expanding his reach through to Syria, he began marching his armies northward. After a battle in el-Arish and an unchallenged short stopover in Gaza, the French forces took the port city of Jaffa where thousands were slaughtered on the fortress city’s shores. Some historians point to the savage killings there as a major motivating factor for the impenetrable resistance he later faced in Acre, where tales of the atrocity quickly spread.
Quickly moving on from Jaffa, the French forces logged victories in Haifa, Mt. Tavor and the Carmel on their way to the prized and strategically vital port city of Acre. There, however, aware of his rapid advance and the bodies left in the wake of previous victories, the city’s Bosnian-born Ottoman ruler and defender, Jezzar Pasha was ready for the inevitable battle that helped shape Middle Eastern history and the fate of at least one fabled European military legend.
Reinforced by British forces led by Commodore Sidney Smith who brought with him a former classmate of Napoleon, Antoine DePhelipoux, Jezzar Pasha began preparations for the impending French advance on his city. Secondary walls were built behind the city’s main defenses and the Ottoman defenders were told of the brutal slaughter met by their counterparts in Jaffa who surrendered to Bonaparte’s forces.
When Napoleon’s forces finally arrived at the walls of Acre after a slight delay, they encountered walls much taller than the ladders they naively brought to climb over them. A naval blockade imposed by Commodore Smith slowed and prevented reinforcements and equipment from reaching Bonaparte’s forces, even seizing Napoleon’s cannons, which would quickly be turned against him. British Naval forces harassed the French on the shore. Faced with 5,000 Ottoman troops, 250 artillery cannons and the naval forces at sea, Napoleon was forced to abandon his plans for a rapid assault and instead began a siege of the well-defended city.
In 1798, Napoleon had successfully conquered Egypt’s major cities. Intent on expanding his reach through to Syria, he began marching his armies northward. After a battle in el-Arish and an unchallenged short stopover in Gaza, the French forces took the port city of Jaffa where thousands were slaughtered on the fortress city’s shores. Some historians point to the savage killings there as a major motivating factor for the impenetrable resistance he later faced in Acre, where tales of the atrocity quickly spread.
Quickly moving on from Jaffa, the French forces logged victories in Haifa, Mt. Tavor and the Carmel on their way to the prized and strategically vital port city of Acre. There, however, aware of his rapid advance and the bodies left in the wake of previous victories, the city’s Bosnian-born Ottoman ruler and defender, Jezzar Pasha was ready for the inevitable battle that helped shape Middle Eastern history and the fate of at least one fabled European military legend.
Reinforced by British forces led by Commodore Sidney Smith who brought with him a former classmate of Napoleon, Antoine DePhelipoux, Jezzar Pasha began preparations for the impending French advance on his city. Secondary walls were built behind the city’s main defenses and the Ottoman defenders were told of the brutal slaughter met by their counterparts in Jaffa who surrendered to Bonaparte’s forces.
When Napoleon’s forces finally arrived at the walls of Acre after a slight delay, they encountered walls much taller than the ladders they naively brought to climb over them. A naval blockade imposed by Commodore Smith slowed and prevented reinforcements and equipment from reaching Bonaparte’s forces, even seizing Napoleon’s cannons, which would quickly be turned against him. British Naval forces harassed the French on the shore. Faced with 5,000 Ottoman troops, 250 artillery cannons and the naval forces at sea, Napoleon was forced to abandon his plans for a rapid assault and instead began a siege of the well-defended city.
Finally receiving the artillery reinforcements he was long waiting for, on May 8, Napoleon began his largest push to penetrate the city. Two hundred grenadiers finally breached the high walls of Acre. When they encountered the secondary defenses that had been built, however, low morale spread through the ranks all the way up to Bonaparte himself, who at that point must have begun to sense his impending failure. The Frenchman would make one final vain push to conquer the stubborn city before lifting his siege and retreating from his grand aspirations to control the entire eastern shore of the Mediterranean.
But military forces were not the only tactics employed by Napoleon in his attempt to control Acre. The city’s ruler and commander, Jezzar Pasha, had a trusted Jewish advisor whom Bonaparte attempted to win over with a surprising declaration. On April 20, 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte had an order penned, declaring that when he conquered the territory, Jews, who he called the “rightful heirs of Palestine,” would inherit the land.
France and his army, Napoleon wrote to the Jews in what many today point to as one of the first iterations of modern Zionism, “offers to you at this very time, and contrary to all expectations, Israel's patrimony.” Haim Farhi, Jezzar Pasha’s advisor, was not, however, wooed by the French general’s promises of Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel.
Although it is widely believed that his intentions in penning the declaration were more influenced by a desire to incite the Jews living under and serving the Ottomans to betray them, Bonaparte did make other declarations implying sympathy for the Jewish people’s longing for the land of Israel. Albeit written in hindsight and over a year after his defeat in Acre, Napoleon wrote, “If I governed a nation of Jews, I should reestablish the Temple of Solomon.” As it is, however, the French general never had a chance to prove whether he was serious in these declarations or if they were simply tactical statements designed to ferment an insurrection by the Jews of Palestine.
But military forces were not the only tactics employed by Napoleon in his attempt to control Acre. The city’s ruler and commander, Jezzar Pasha, had a trusted Jewish advisor whom Bonaparte attempted to win over with a surprising declaration. On April 20, 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte had an order penned, declaring that when he conquered the territory, Jews, who he called the “rightful heirs of Palestine,” would inherit the land.
France and his army, Napoleon wrote to the Jews in what many today point to as one of the first iterations of modern Zionism, “offers to you at this very time, and contrary to all expectations, Israel's patrimony.” Haim Farhi, Jezzar Pasha’s advisor, was not, however, wooed by the French general’s promises of Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel.
Although it is widely believed that his intentions in penning the declaration were more influenced by a desire to incite the Jews living under and serving the Ottomans to betray them, Bonaparte did make other declarations implying sympathy for the Jewish people’s longing for the land of Israel. Albeit written in hindsight and over a year after his defeat in Acre, Napoleon wrote, “If I governed a nation of Jews, I should reestablish the Temple of Solomon.” As it is, however, the French general never had a chance to prove whether he was serious in these declarations or if they were simply tactical statements designed to ferment an insurrection by the Jews of Palestine.
Therefore, in 1811, all restrictions were removed and nothing from a political or civil activity distinguished the Jews from non-Jews in France.
ReplyDeleteHere is a true anecdote that proves how Napoleon was sympathetic to his Grognards. A young member of the Army served with exceptional bravery. He was from Alsace. The Emperor decided to decorate him with a medal in front of his troops. The Emperor said, "David Bloom, you are a brave soldier. Your place with the Old Guard is inevitable." Then he took off his own silver medal, which he wore proudly, and pinned it on David Bloom's uniform.
David Bloom responded by saying, "Sire, I am from Alsace and I find it difficult to accept this decoration as long as my family is being dishonored by French laws that limit their equality and freedom." Napoleon was visibly upset and was reported to have said, "They have lied to me again, and I will correct these unfair restrictions immediately."
Due to the close collaboration between the administration officials and the local Rabbis and leaders, the Jews were able to leave the ghettos where they were confined and to participate freely in the life of France. Jews were able to enroll in the universities, participate in whatever professions they wanted and were able to work for various government agencies. Nothing was prohibited any more.
The Imperial Almanac of 1811 reported that the Jewish religion was now one of three religions accepted by the French government. Napoleon's effort to liberate the Jews was effective, not only in France, but also in all the other countries where France ruled. The new Civil Code, which Napoleon created, assured liberty, fraternity, and equality of all peoples regardless of their religion or station in life.
After the Congress of Vienna and the creation of the Holy Alliance, the laws permitting equality, liberty and fraternity were retracted and were not applied again until 1830 when the principles fixed by the French Revolution and the First Empire, were re-instated.