After the successful conquest of Italy in 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte opened the ghettos and permitted the local Jews to settle anywhere on the Italian Peninsula. Along with French control, Napoleon brought with him the principles of the French Revolution: liberty, equality, and fraternity.
He then set his eyes on Egypt and the Middle East, which could provide France with a route to India.
In May 1798, Napoleon and his army set out from the port of Toulon, on France’s Mediterranean coast. His first stop was Malta, where he negotiated the island’s surrender after a single day of fighting. In Malta, Napoleon freed the slaves, among them Jews captured by Maltese pirates, and authorized the building of a synagogue.
From Malta, Napoleon invaded Egypt and quickly conquered Alexandria. A month later, in July 1798, the French army entered Cairo in a victory procession. Napoleon established an Egyptian Republic under French protection, where he imposed French laws as well as heavy taxes.
At the same time, he sought to build relationships with Egypt’s Muslim religious leaders. He met with them, assured them that they worshiped the same G‑d, and appointed prominent Muslim clerics to the Diwans, local high councils.
Despite Napoleon’s overtures, the Ottoman Empire declared a religious war on France, joining forces with Britain and Russia. The sultan called on every Muslim to fight the French and free Egypt from French rule.
When Napoleon realized that the Ottoman army was heading to Egypt, he decided to confront it. Thus, he led the French army into the Land of Israel, then part of the Ottoman Empire, hoping to conquer more territory and rout the Ottoman forces.
Fall of Jaffa
Like in other places he conquered, Napoleon presented himself as a friend to the local population, coming to free them from Ottoman oppression. Before his advance, he sent a letter to the rulers and residents of Gaza, Ramle, and Jaffa:
Be it known to you that we have come to this area in order to drive out the Mamelukes and the soldiers of El-Djezzar [the Ottoman-appointed governor of the province, stationed in Acre]. Why should Djezzar’s soldiers stay here and maltreat the districts of Jaffa and Gaza which have never before been subject to his rule?...
However we do not intend to hurt you, the inhabitants of these areas, in any way. Stay in your homes and in your district peacefully and without anxiety … We offer you … full safety and defence.1
Napoleon also promised not to interfere with Islamic rule and the work of the local Kadis, Muslim judges.
Nevertheless, local rulers were not convinced by Napoleon’s flowery promises and directed the local population to fight back.
Napoleon, famous for his military strategy, quickly conquered Gaza. The few Jews living there escaped to Jerusalem and Hebron.2 Next, he conquered Ramle, where he requisitioned the food supplies.
Moving north along the coast of the Mediterranean, he reached the walled city of Jaffa on March 3, 1799. The French army laid siege to Jaffa, which at the time was populated mostly by Muslims, with a sizable Christian minority. It is unclear whether any Jews lived there at that time.
After setting attack preparations in motion, Napoleon sent a French officer, accompanied by a trumpeter, to the city’s ruler, Aga Abdalla, with an offer of surrender. Not bound by the European warfare conventions, the Aga executed the two messengers and hung their heads on the city ramparts for the French to see.
Outraged at the injustice committed against their messengers, the French attacked immediately. Heavy artillery fire breached the city walls and the soldiers streamed inside. The French suffered heavy losses but eventually overpowered the defenders.
Though Napoleon had promised to protect the local population, his soldiers were bent on revenge. Eyewitness accounts describe horrible scenes.3 French soldiers massacred Jaffa’s residents, violated the women, and looted their homes. Blood flowed through the streets of Jaffa and the dead and dying lay everywhere. Among them were the wounded French soldiers, whose comrades apparently preferred to loot and pillage rather than take care of their own wounded.
Even the thousands of defenders who surrendered were massacred in cold blood in the coming days. Sources dispute the number of soldiers executed and the reasons for their execution. Napoleon himself later justified the massacre, claiming that these were the same Turkish troops he had defeated earlier in Egypt, who had been released on the promise not “to be found in arms against me for a year.”4
Those who survived the massacres fled to nearby towns. They spoke of the atrocities wherever they went, and the leaders and laymen in the Land of Israel only became more convinced that Napoleon’s words could not be trusted. They resolved to fight the French rather than surrender.
Letter to the Jews
One of Napoleon’s tactics throughout his campaigns was to bring the local population, and especially the local minorities, over to his side.
Among the minorities Napoleon had attempted to lure with grandiose promises were the Jews of the Land of Israel. Due to the volatile nature of the situation, Napoleon’s exact offers could not be made public at the time. Historians suggest that Napoleon clandestinely sent letters via messengers to heads of Jewish communities requesting their support. The original letters did not survive.
Over a century later, a German translation of one such letter was discovered in Vienna. Based on other contemporary materials, historians believe that the translation is reasonably accurate.
The letter addresses “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!” It then quotes the prophets Isaiah and Joel, who had prophesied about returning to Zion, and proclaims, “Arise then, with gladness, ye exiled!”
In the rest of the letter, Napoleon promises to help the Jews, “rightful heirs of Palestine,” 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,” and concludes:
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 G‑d in accordance with your faith, publicly and most probably forever.
In other words, in return for their cooperation and collaboration, Napoleon offered the Jews a Jewish state under French protection in the Land of Israel, which he expected to conquer with their help.
Jewish Response
It is unclear who Napoleon’s offer managed to reach. Among contemporary sources, an exaggerated report was printed in May 1799 in the official Parisian newspaper Moniteur. The article claimed that Napoleon “invites the Jews of Asia and Africa to join his army in order to re-establish ancient Jerusalem. He has already equipped many of them with weapons, and their battalions already menace Aleppo.”5 No such Jewish battalion is known to historians.
The Ottoman authorities also got wind of Napoleon’s offer to the Jews. The Ottoman chronicler, Ahmet Cevdet Pasha, wrote that in 1798, it was heard “from the mouth of a Jew” that, as "understood from a printed and published official declaration," Jews had been invited to agree on "establishing a Jewish government in Jerusalem."6 The identity of the Jew, and whether the information was shared willingly or under duress, is unknown.
It is possible that Napoleon had originally planned to circulate his letter more widely after conquering Jerusalem, which would have given his words more weight. The German version of the letter mentions Jerusalem as Napoleon’s headquarters – wishful thinking on his part that never materialized.
To this day, historians debate whether Napoleon truly intended to establish a Jewish state or whether the letter was a strategic move to gain Jewish support, with no intention of following through.
At the time, Jewish leaders who received the letter found themselves between a rock and a hard place. Napoleon’s offer was certainly tempting, but it was unclear whether he could be trusted, especially after the massacre that followed his promise of safety to Jaffa’s civilians.
The local Jews also had to consider the possibility that the Ottoman army would overcome the French, in which case anyone assisting Napoleon would be considered a traitor and executed. Collaborating with Napoleon was a very dangerous venture.
The Jewish community’s reaction was mixed. Some Jews saw Napoleon as a Divine messenger bringing the redemption. Historian Allen Hertz writes:
[I]n the week following the conquest of Jaffa (March 7, 1799), Napoleon had a talk with some Jews … [who] told Napoleon that he was seen as the savior of the Jewish People. In reply, Napoleon questioned them about the present situation of the Jews in the country, their expectations for the future, and some pertinent points of Jewish history.7
The vast majority of Jews in the Land of Israel, however, saw Napoleon as a threat. They refused to communicate with him and put their efforts into defending the Land from the French army.
In Jerusalem, which the French army did not reach, Rabbi Yom Tov Algazi, the Chief Sephardic Rabbi, took a public stance against Napoleon. He organized prayers at the Western Wall for the success of the Ottoman army. Together with Rabbi Mordechai Meyuchas, who later succeeded him as Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Algazi helped organize a Jewish contingent to reinforce Jerusalem’s defenses.8
Siege of Acre
The most effective Jewish defender was Rabbi Haim Farhi of Acre, chief advisor to local governor El-Djezzar. When Napoleon laid siege to the fortified city of Acre on March 19, 1799, Rabbi Farhi organized the local civilians in building fortifications.
While the soldiers were repelling the French attack, the civilians, following Rabbi Farhi’s instructions, constructed a second city wall inside Acre, invisible from the outside. Whenever the French soldiers managed to penetrate the outer wall, they found themselves trapped between the outer and inner walls, clear targets for the Ottoman archers.
Some historians suggest that Napoleon tried to contact Rabbi Farhi to win him over to his side.9 Perhaps the letter promising a Jewish state was intended to do precisely that. However, Rabbi Farhi remained loyal to the Ottoman Empire.
The siege continued for two months, with the French army making repeated attempts to storm Acre and experiencing heavy losses. El-Djezzar’s soldiers, who had heard about the massacre at Jaffa, fought fiercely, realizing that surrender was not an option. In addition, they were more afraid of El-Djezzar than of Napoleon. Cruel and ruthless, El-Djezzar did not hesitate to execute anyone he suspected of any sympathy for the French. To prevent betrayal among the Christians of Acre, El-Djezzar executed about 100 leading Christian citizens during the siege.10
The French soldiers, for their part, were not used to such powerful resistance. Their provisions, strength, and morale were depleted. In addition, they remained vulnerable to Muslim forces outside of Acre, whether reinforcements sent from Damascus or the local Bedouin tribes unhappy with the presence of the French army in their land.
To solve these problems, Napoleon decided to send part of his contingent to take control of the Galilee, where they could take advantage of the produce growing in the fields and orchards and purchase meat, milk, and cheese from local farmers. Units stationed in the Galilee could also repel attacks.
The Jews who lived in the Galilee were approached by the French soldiers looking to buy provisions, especially wine, which was not available from Muslims. It is likely that the Galilean Jews knew about Napoleon’s offer. However, as historian Nathan Schur wrote, “there seems to be no connection between Napoleon’s promises and the deeds of his soldiers. Thus it is hinted … that the soldiers behaved in a most unfriendly way to the Jews.”11
Professor Sherman Lieber explains that the local Jews refused to support Napoleon because they “feared the Muslims, expressed skepticism about Napoleon’s motives, and were revolted by the barbaric behavior of some French troops in the Galilee.”12
After two months of siege, Napoleon gave up and retreated back to Egypt. The campaign to conquer the Land of Israel was over, and Napoleon’s offer was now moot.
The Aftermath of Napoleon’s Campaign
After the French army left the area, the Ottoman authorities exacted revenge on anyone they suspected of collaborating with the enemy, whether they had solid evidence or not. Minorities were under particular suspicion.
Nathan Schur wrote that only British intervention “was able to save the Christians and Jews of Galilee from widespread massacres. Further, Djezzar did at least extort as much money as possible from both of these communities.”13
The Jews of Tiberias had to pay an enormous amount. El-Djezzar’s soldiers looted the Jewish quarter of Safed after the French army withdrew. Two Jewish students were executed. Mob violence erupted against Jews and Christians in all districts that had been occupied by the French.14
Thus, Napoleon failed completely to bring liberty, equality, and fraternity to the Jews of the Land of Israel.
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