1834 looting of Safed

At a glance

Dates: 1834-06-15 – 1834-07-17.

What came before

Prelude Safed had long been inhabited by Musta'arabi Jews . It became a kabbalistic centre from the 1540s onwards when students attracted by the teachings of sages such as Moses ben Jacob Cordovero settled there. [ 1 ] By the 1830s around 4000 Jews were living in the town, comprising at least half the population. [ 2 ] Throughout their history, the Jews of Safed, though supported by the Sublime Porte , had been the target of oppressive exactions by corrupt local officials. In 1628,

What happened

Attack Letter to the Jewish community of London from a resident of Safed describing the event and appealing for assistance, 10 August 1834 The account of Neophytos, a monk of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre , described the looting of the town, alongside similar events in Ramla , Lydda , Jaffa , Acre and Tiberias , noting that the perpetrators "robbed the Jews, who lived in these towns, of immense property, as is reported, for there was no one to offer any opposition". [ 1 ]

The 1834 looting of Safed Hebrew: ביזת צפת בשנת תקצ"ד was a month-long attack on the Jewish community of Safed in the Sidon Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire during the Peasants' revolt in Palestine. It began on Sunday, June 15, the day after the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, and lasted for 33 days. It has been described as a spontaneous attack on a defenseless population during the armed uprising against the rule of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, the Ottoman governor.