Thursday, July 05, 2012

15 Tammuz in Jewish History--1838 Pogrom in Tzfat/Safed

Many people know that Safed became a major Jewish intellectual center in the 16th century. What was its subsequent history?
The 1838 Safed pogrom began on July 5, 1838 during the Druze revolt against the rule of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt. The Druze rebels descended on the Jewish quarter of Safed and, in scenes reminiscent of the Safed plunder four years earlier, spent three days attacking Jews, plundering their homes and desecrating their synagogues. Some Jews ended up leaving the town, moving south to Jerusalem. Among them was Israel Beck, whose printing press had been destroyed a second time by the ruffians.
Was that Palestine's only printing press in any language?

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