1834 looting of Safed
Anti-Jewish violence in Palestine / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1834 looting of Safed (Hebrew: ביזת צפת בשנת תקצ"ד, 5594 AM) 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 (7 Sivan), the day after the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, and lasted for 33 days.[1][2] 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.[3][4] The event took place during a power vacuum while Ibrahim Pasha was fighting to quell the wider revolt in Jerusalem.[5]
Looting of Safed (1834) | |
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Part of the Arab Peasant Revolt | |
Native name | ביזת צפת בשנת תקצ"ד |
Location | Safed, Ottoman Syria (now Israel) |
Coordinates | 32°57′57″N 35°29′54″E |
Date | 15 June 1834 (1834-06-15) – 17 July 1834 (1834-07-17) (1 month and 2 days) |
Target | Jews |
Attack type | Pogrom |
Perpetrators | Arabs and Druze |
Accounts of the month-long event tell of large-scale looting,[6] as well as killing and raping of Jews and the destruction of homes and synagogues by Druze and Muslims.[7] Many Torah scrolls were desecrated[3] and many Jews were left severely wounded.[8][9] The event has been described as a pogrom or "pogrom-like" by some authors.[10][11] Hundreds fled the town, seeking refuge in the open countryside or neighbouring villages. Lebanese Druze troops quelled the rioting under the orders of Ibrahim Pasha following the intervention of foreign consuls. The instigators were arrested and later executed in Acre.