<Tunisia under Ottoman Rule until the Modern Era.
[Spanish Christian
occupations of the Tunisian towns - pogroms and massacres
- Turkish occupation - migrations]
The anarchy which prevailed in North Africa during the late
15th and early 16th centuries facilitated the Portuguese
invasions of Morocco and the Spanish invasion of Algeria and
Tunisia. Only the unexpected intervention of the Ottoman
Turks in the latter two countries finally spared them from
Spanish occupation. In the meantime the menace of
anti-Jewish Spain overshadowed the Tunisian communities.
In 1515 the Spanish fleet raided Djerba and (col. 1441)
the Jews suffered extensively. In 1535 Charles V occupied
Bizerta and La Goulette, their small communities being
expelled or massacred. When the emperor occupied Tunis, he
immediately turned the town over to his soldiers who
ransacked it and massacred 70,000 persons, including a large
number of Jews, while others were sold as slaves.
Several Tunisian ports were taken, liberated, and retaken by
the Spaniards until 1574, when Turkish military victories
finally brought these attacks to an end. As a result of this
climate of insecurity and constant danger, the Jewish
communities of the coast were almost completely depleted of
their members; many of them, natives and Spanish expellees,
left for the orient or Italy.
[Italian havens Pisa and
Leghorn - Leghorn Jews in Tunis - Tunisian native Jews
suspect the immigrated Italian Jews]
When the grand duke of Tuscany called upon the Jews to
establish themselves in his ports of Pisa and Leghorn
[[Livorno]] in 1593, the large number of Conversos and Jews
from various Mediterranean countries who immediately settled
there were joined by African Jews who had already taken
refuge in Italy and sought a permanent home there. Leghorn
thus became a large Jewish center and its trade underwent
considerable expansion. The Jewish community soon sent
representatives to Africa, and from the early 17th century
there was a sizable number of Leghorn Jews in Tunis, where
they were known as "Grana" from the Arab name for Leghorn -
"Gorna".
All the foreign Jews, former Marranos, or Tunisians who,
returned to their native country after spending one or two
generations in Italy were gradually integrated among the
Jews of Spanish or Sicilian origin remaining in Tunisia, as
well as those who had recently arrived from Algeria or
Morocco. In fact, those people who possessed a common
language - Spanish or Italian - customs, and way of life
which were more or less similar were called "Granas" or
"Gornim". From 1685 they designated themselves as "la nation
livornese [from Leghorn] ebrea en Tunes", although many of
them had never set foot in Leghorn.
From the beginning, the Jews known as "Touansa" (natives of
Tunisia), who formed the overwhelming majority of the
community, looked upon the "Grana" with suspicion. Although
both groups lived together in the hara [[Jewish quarter]] for a long time,
their relations continually deteriorated until they bordered
upon hatred.
[17th century-1857:
restrictions of Hamuda Pasha: land possession prohibited -
overcrowded Jewish quarter]
Indeed, in the middle of the 17th century Hamuda Pasha
prohibited all the Jews, whether "Grana" or "Touansa", to
own real estate; they were confined to residential quarters
where they could only be tenants. As a result of
overcrowding, rents soared. The rabbis then decided that
anyone who was the first tenant of a house thus acquired the
right of hazakah
(possession). No other Jew could have the first tenant
evicted by offering a higher rent. The right of hazakah
remained in force for a long time among Tunisian Jews, only
falling into disuse when the government of Muhammad Pasha
authorized the Jews to acquire real estate in the wake of
the Pacte Fondamental of 1857.
[1710-1944: Split between
native Tunisian and immigrated Italian-born Jews]
The decrees which prohibited Jewish ownership of real estate
or confined them to a special quarter were by no means
generally observed in Tunis. In fact, after having coexisted
for several generations the "Touansa" realized that they
were despised by the "Grana", whose religious practices
differed from their own; they subsequently assigned them
special places in their synagogues, as a result of which
life in common became unbearable. The "Grana" finally
separated from their native-born coreligionists completely
and established an independent community which possessed its
own administration, cemetery, slaughterhouses, rabbinical
tribunal, dayyanim
[[judges]], and chief rabbi.
This secession, which occurred in 1710, prevailed until 1899
when the authorities issued a decree calling for an official
merger of the two communities. From that time there was a
single chief rabbi for the whole (col. 1442)
of Tunisia, one rabbinical tribunal and one slaughterhouse
in each town, and a single delegation within the council of
the community and the cabinet of the Tunisian Government. In
practice, however, the schism persisted and the authorities
were compelled to issue a further decree of amalgamation in
1944.
[Expulsion of the
Italian-born Jews from the Jewish quarter by the Tunisian
native Jews - new Jewish quarter and new synagogues - meat
struggle and the meat rules of July 1741 and 1784]
After 1710 the "Touansa" waged a veritable holy war against
the "Grana", going so far as to treat them as false Jews in
light of their pride. They finally succeeded in having them
expelled from the hara
[[Jewish quarter]]. The "Grana" then founded the suq al-Grana, the
commercial artery of the old part of Tunis, and opened three
new synagogues and two houses of prayer, one of which was
situated in the heart of the Christian quarter of that
period.
The struggle between the groups continued and the "Grana" of
Tunis attracted every newcomer in the town to their
community, whether he was of European, African, or Asian
origin. Moreover, their slaughterhouses, which were more
popular, also sold meat to the "Touansa", thus depriving the
ancient community of a part of its meat taxes, raised for
the benefit of its poor. An arrangement became imperative,
and in July 1741 a takkanah
[[rabbinical law unrelated to biblical laws]] was signed by
the rabbis of the two communities under the supervision of
R. Abraham Tayyib, their leader. The following agreements
were reached:
(1) that all Jews who had originated in Christian countries
would form part of the community of the "Grana", while all
those who had originated in Muslim countries would belong to
the community of the "Touansa";
(2) that two-thirds of the general expenses of the community
would be covered by the "Touansa" and one-third by the
"Grana"; and that the "Touansa" could not buy meat in the
"Grana" slaughterhouses.
This prohibition was not observed and had to be renewed in
1784.
[19th century: new
Italian-born Jews influx to Tunisia - equal and distinct
treatment by the government]
The community organization of the Tunisian Jews remained
unchanged for several centuries, with only a single leader,
the qa'id of the
Jews. This leader wielded extensive powers and was
responsible for the collection of taxes - an honorary
position of considerable importance and not lacking in
material advantages. He was generally a member of the
ancient community. Thus, for the most part the "Touansa"
dominated the "Grana". Moreover, the bey regarded both as
his subjects.
This state of affairs was even maintained during the first
half of the 19th century - when there was an intensified
immigration of Leghorn Jews - by the inclusion of a number
of clauses in the treaty signed in 1822 between Tuscany and
the regency of Tunis. In fact, it was anticipated therein
that the Leghorn Jews who settled in the regency would
always be considered and treated as subjects of the country
and would enjoy the same rights as the native-born Jews.
Occasionally, the authorities even adopted policies toward
the ancient community differing from those for the new one,
which was thus discriminated against.
[1686: solidarity of the
Tunisian-born Jews in tax questions and pirate questions]
In 1686 the latter - through the intercession of their
leaders Jacob and Raphael Lombroso, Moses Mendès Ossuna, and
Jacob Luzada - requested a loan from the consul of France in
order to pay a huge tax imposed on them by the Muslim
authorities. They then informed the consul of the extreme
poverty to which the "Leghorn nation" had been reduced. They
claimed that the extortions and assassinations, both past
and present, had impoverished them and that it was their
intention to seek the assistance of their coreligionists of
Leghorn in order to repay the loan which "with tears in
their eyes, they now solicited for the love of God so as to
redeem a nation and a community". Under these circumstances,
as others, the "Touansa" supported the "Grana". Moreover, it
was a rule among the Jews of Tunis to redeem their
coreligionists who had been captured by pirates.
[Rabbis of Tunis: almost
all from the Tunisian-born Jewish group]
There were instances when a single spiritual leader (col.
1443)
headed both communities at the same time. In such a case the
chief rabbi was always a native of the country or a
personality whose ancestors were of African origin. there
was, however, one exception: the renowned talmudist R. Isaac
*Lombroso, who was born in Tunis but was of Leghorn
parentage. His teachers, however, were Tunisians: R. Zemah
Serfati and R. Abraham Tayeb (d. 1714), the famous "Baba
Sidi" who exerted a great influence on the whole of Tunisian
Jewry. The grandson of the latter, also named R. Abraham,
wrote Hayyei Avraham
(1826), a voluminous commentary on the Talmud accompanied by
important notes on *Alfasi, *Rashi, and Maimonides. His son
R. Hayyim Tayeb wrote Derekh
Hayyim (1826) and R. Isaac Tayeb (1830) was
also the author of several valuable works.
The Borjel family were Leghorn Jews of Tunisian origin.
Their ancestor, R. Abraham *Borjel (d. 1795), was a
well-known author and dayyan
[[judge]] in Tunis. Members of this family ranked among the
leaders of Tunisian Jewry for two centuries. The most
famous, R. Elijah *Borjel, simultaneously held the positions
of chief rabbi and qa'id
[[leader]] of the Jews.
From 1750-1850 the Bonan family, Leghorn Jews of African
origin, presided over the destinies of the "Grana", of
Tunis, who were also headed by other Faricans such as
members of the Darmon family.
[Broken fronts between
Tunisian-born and Italian-born Jews by marriages and
Jewish learning]
In the sphere of learning and Jewish studies all enmity
between the two factions disappeared.
The authority of the rabbis of Tunis was very broad: they
supervised the strict observance of religious precepts and
the moral conducts of the individual, also issuing
regulations pertaining to clothing and condemning the fancy
of young women for elegance, jewelry, and fineries. These
rabbis were widely known and were consulted from Erez Israel
and other countries. They were the first to abolish flogging
in Tunis, substituting a heavy fine on behalf of the poor
for it, they also compelled the members of all the
communities to donate one tenth of their annual profits to
charitable and religious institutions. Furthermore, they
encouraged marriage between the "Grana" and the "Touansa".
From the 17th century Tunis became an important center of
Jewish learning: there was a particularly brilliant revival
of the study of Talmud and Kabbalah. H.J.D. *Azulai, who
visited Tunis in 1773, was impressed by the extensive
learning and piety of Tunisian scholars, such as that of his
hosts the Cohen-Tanoudjis family, among whom there
were scholars and qa'ids
[[leaders]]. He also became acquainted with the chief rabbi
of Tunis, R. Mas'ud Raphael al-*Alfasi (d. 1776), author of
the novellae Mishnah
de-Revuta (1805), and his two sons, Solomon (d.
1801) and Hayyim (d. 1783), author of Kerub Mimsha (1859).
In Tunis there were other eminent scholars, such as R.
Uzziel Al-'Haik (*Alhayk), the author of Mishkenot ha-Ro'im
(1760), a rabbinic code in form of an encyclopedia which
deals with every category of problem encountered in the
internal and public life of the Jews of Tunisia during the
17th-18th centuries and thus constitutes a valuable source
of information that is indispensable to the writing of the
history of the Jews of Tunisia. R. Mordecai *Carvalho (d.
1785) was a wealthy merchant in Tunis who devoted a large
part of his life to rabbinical studies. In 1752 he was
appointed rabbi of the Leghorn community and as such was
widely known as a rabbinical authority. Of his works, the To'afot Re'em (1761), a
commentary on the works of R. Elijah *Mizrahi, is the best
known. R. Abraham Boccara (d. 1879), author of Ben Avraham
(1882), was also a leader of the "Grana".
[Tunisian Jews as political
ambassadors and translators for the Turks]
The Jews of Tunisia occasionally played important roles in
diplomatic capacities: in 1699 *Judah Cohen was sent to
Holland as ambassador in order to negotiate a peace and
commercial treaty; in 1702 he was the intermediary between
(col. 1444)
Tunisia and the States General of the United Provinces,
which ratified the secret decisions pertaining to their
relations with the Barbary states. Moreover, Tunisian Jews
were often appointed by the Christian powers to official
positions in the capacity of interpreters or vice-consuls.
In 1814 Mordecai Manual *Noah arrived in Tunis to fulfill
the function of consul of the United States; upon his return
he wrote a work on his travels which includes information on
Tunisian Jews - yet, he never maintained relations with them
as he sought to conceal his Jewish identity. It was,
however, precisely because he was a Jew that the president
of the United States, James Madison, relieved him of his
functions. In a letter which he addressed to the president,
Noah declared that his Jewish identity - when it became
known in Washington - had left an unfavorable impression and
he was therefore asked to leave the U.S. consulate in Tunis.
[Trade questions: higher
taxes for the Jews - articles of commerce]
Their capacity as merchant magnates enabled the Jews of
Tunisia, who were particularly well placed, to redeem
Christian captives. In their trade with France, Italy, and
the Orient these merchants employed bills of exchange, and
controlled the maritime trade in spite of the fact that the
bey imposed higher export and import duties on them than on
the Christians. For the latter the duty was 3% of the value
of the goods, while for Jews it was 10% - reduced to 8% in
the 18th century.
Many Tunisian Jews were treasurers or bankers; they were
employed at the mint; and it was to them that the
authorities assigned the monopolies on fishing of tunny and
corals and the trade in ostrich feathers, tobacco, wool, and
the collection of custom duties.
In 1740 the custom duties of Tunis were leased to the
"Grana" for an annual payment of 80,000 piasters. In 1713
the bey sent a Jew from Bizerta to Sicily to sign a treaty
on coral fishing. By this treaty the Sicilians committed
themselves to bring in their haul of coral to Bizerta, where
it would be sold to the Jews who had signed the treaty. From
the 17th century to 1810 the Jews manufactured over 20,000
shawls of wool or silk in Tunis. More than one half of these
were tallitot
[[sg. tallit, prayer shawl]], which were sent to the
Jews of *Trieste and Leghorn, from where they were exported
to Poland for the religious requirements of the Jews of that
country. The bey defended the interests of the Jewish
merchants.
[1784: War against Venice -
pogroms at Tunis in 1752 and 1756]
In 1784 he declared war on the Republic of *Venice as it had
not indemnified them for the loss of several cargoes in
which the Venetian fleet was involved. Yet, during the same
century the Jews of Tunis were the victims of pillaging on
two occasions: in 1752 by the troops of the bey himself,
when he was deposed from the throne for a time by a
marabout; and in 1756 by Algerian troops who took the lives
of thousands of Muslims and committed the worst outrages on
Jewish women and children.
[since 16th century: craft
professions]
In contrast to the information on the Hafsid period, the
Jews of Tunisia from the 16th century onward engaged in a
variety of crafts. They were clock makers, artistic
ironworkers, shoemakers, and the only ones who worked with
precious metals. They also manufactured musical instruments.
Moreover, many of them were musicians, particularly on
festive occasions. The members of every craft, as well as
the petty tradesmen, were organized in guilds which were
presided over by a Muslim amin
(chief of the corporation) appointed by the authorities.
All controversies between Jewish businessmen,
industrialists, craftsmen, or workers, and all disputes over
salaries, the price charged for the execution of a piece of
work, and the like, were settled by three competent Jewish
colleagues who were designated by their coreligionists.
Occasionally the parties concerned challenged these persons
and demanded the intervention of the amin. The rabbis and
the leaders of the (col. 1445)
community were then compelled to accept his judgment and
enforce it under the threat that a ban would be issued
against the parties involved if they bribed the amin.
[Jewish dresses - "affair
of the hats" because of European-Jewish hats - hat law of
1823]
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Tunisia, vol. 15, col. 1436,
Jewish dress in 19th century: Tunisian Jewish woman, 19th
century.
The whiet pantaloons and velvet kufia hat were typical garb.
Courtesy Israel Museum Photo Archives. Photo: J. Kunn, Paris
The native adult Jews of Tunisia wore a kind of small violet
turban which was wound around a black skullcap', while the
remainder of their dress was patterned after the Turkish
fashion. During the 18th century the Leghorn Jews wore hats
and wigs like the Europeans of the West. Until the beginning
of the 19th century the "Grana" and a large number of
"Touansa" merchants had the habit of wearing European
clothes and round hats as a result of their trade, which
required them to stay in Europe for various periods of time.
The authorities shut their eyes to this departure from the
Covenant of Omar. In the end this tolerance gave rise to
abuses when a number of Jews, under the cover of their
European dress, sought to evade certain obligations to which
they were subjected. The bey then decided to compel all the
Jews, whether "Touansa", "Grana", or foreigners, to wear a
cap or a three-cornered hat. This decree was at the source
of the so-called "affair of the hats" which took place in
1823 and almost caused the breaking off of diplomatic
relations between Tunisia and the European states. The
execution of the bey's orders was accompanied by many acts
of cruelty and extortion perpetuated by the officers
responsible for their application.
From the beginning of the [[19th]] century the Jews of Tunis
manifested their approval of the French Revolution, whose
armies emancipated the Jews of Europe in the name of human
rights. They all wore the cockade. One of them who appeared
before the bey with this badge received the bastinado. The
Jews subsequently became ardent supporters of Napoleon and
the "Grana" returned to wearing the French cockade. In order
to restrain them the bey wanted to have one of them burned
alive; he was only saved through the intervention of the
consuls.
[1830-1856: Bey Ahmad
protecting the Jews]
The bey Ahmad (1830-56) treated the Jews favorably on every
occasion. When he visited the king of France, many Jews
formed part of his retinue. He bestowed many honors on his
Jewish private physicians, the baron Abraham Lombrozo, Dr.
Nunez Wais, and the baron Castel Nuevo, who endeavored to
improve the status of their coreligionists. The Muslims
referred to the bey Ahmad as the "bey of the Jews". During
his reign and those of his successors, a large number of
Jews held important positions in his government.
[1855-1859: Bey Muhammad
exempting the Jews from special tasks - execution of Batto
Sfez 1857]
The bey Muhammad (1855-59) abolished the collective
responsibility of the Jews in the sphere of taxation,
exempted them from all degrading tasks, declared that they
would pay the same duties on goods as Muslims and
Christians, and attempted to include them in the common law.
In 1857, however, a Jews, Batto Sfez, who had quarreled with
a Muslim was accused of having blasphemed Islam. The mob
dragged him before the qadi, who condemned him to death. In
spite of a vigorous protest by the consul of France, the bey
Muhammad ratified the sentence and Batto Sfez was executed;
the promises which were given to the consular authorities
and the Jewish population that his life would be spared were
disregarded.
A squadron of Napoleon III's then took up positions in front
of La Goulette so as to coerce the bey to apply the
principles of equality and tolerance toward all the
inhabitants of the regency. The equality of all Tunisian
subjects of every religion was then proclaimed in a kind of
declaration of human rights known as the Pacte Fondamental
(September 1857). All the laws which discriminated against
the Jews were repealed.
[1857-1882: Bey Muhammad
al-Sadiq-Bey: equal rights and taxes for all is not
accepted by the Muslim masses - pogroms 1861-1864 - French
support for the Jews]
In 1861 Muhammad al-Sadiq-Bey (1857-82) promulgated edicts
for drawing up civil and penal codes to be applied by the
newly constituted tribunals. There was widespread discontent
among the Muslim masses as a result of these (col. 1446)
laws. The government was reproached for favoring the
infidels and raising the taxes paid by the Muslims, while
the ministers were accused of having ruined the state. This
was during a period in which the minister of finance, the qa'id Nissim Samama,
contracted onerous loans in Europe.
An insurrection of the tribes broke out. In the north of the
country the ill-treated Jews were convinced that their
salvation only lay in the intervention of European warships,
whose presence indeed restrained the rebels. In the south,
pillaging against the Jews of Djerba and Sfax took place. In
1864 the bey was compelled to abolish the new constitution,
but the abuses which it had suppresses did not reappear. The
bey ordered that the Jewish victims of the insurrection be
indemnified. The International Financial Commission, imposed
on Tunisia in the wake of these financial upheavals,
received the collaboration of the Jews and succeeded in its
mission. From then on the French found in the Jewish
population a very useful instrument for support of its
policy, while the "Grana" remained the champions of the
Italian presence in the country. [[...]]
[19th century: Jewish
population figures]
During the 19th century the Jewish population of the country
was mainly concentrated in the towns: there were 60,000 Jews
in Tunis in 1786, 30,000 Jews in 1815 and only 15-16,000 in
the following years; Jews also lived in Matra, Le Kef,
Nefta, Gafsa, Gabès, Sfax, Sousse, Naloeul, Mahdiya, and
Testour. There were also may Jews in the villages and on the
island of Djerba. The total Jewish population of Tunisia at
the end of the 19th century was estimated by some scholars
as 50,000 persons, by others as 60,000, and still others as
100,000.
[C.CO.]> (col. 1447)
Encyclopaedia
Judaica 1971: Tunisia, sources
|
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Tunisia, vol. 15, col.
1430 |
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Tunisia, vol. 15, col.
1431-1432 |
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Tunisia, vol. 15, col.
1433-1434 |
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Tunisia, vol. 15, col.
1435-1436 |
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Tunisia, vol. 15, col.
1437-1438 |
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Tunisia, vol. 15, col.
1439-1440 |
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Tunisia, vol. 15, col.
1441-1442 |
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Tunisia, vol. 15, col.
1443-1444 |
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Tunisia, vol. 15, col.
1445-1446 |
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Tunisia, vol. 15, col.
1447-1448 |
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Tunisia, vol. 15, col.
1449-1450 |
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Tunisia, vol. 15, col.
1451-1452 |
^
