The Safi Affair of 1863 was an instance of
antisemitic
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
persecution based on an accusation of
Jewish ritual murder in the city of
Safi in the
Sultanate of Morocco Sultanate of Morocco may refer to:
* Alawi Sultanate, the sultanate period of Morocco under the current reigning dynasty
* List of rulers of Morocco, including the sultans from various dynasties
* History of Morocco
The history of human habita ...
.
Blood libel
A fourteen-year-old Jewish boy named Jacob Benyuda, and another Jew named Elias Benillouz
were accused by the Spanish vice-consul in Safi of poisoning a retired Spanish tax collector, who they worked for as domestic servants, in conspiracy with other Jews. Both of the accused were executed after confessions were extracted through torture.
Two other Jews were arrested and tortured in connection to the extracted confessions, one of whom was executed.
The Jews of Safi appealed to the ''Makhzan'', the local governor, without success, then turning to foreign Jewish organizations.
The incident attracted international press attention, and the influential British-Jewish banker and philanthropist
Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, Philanthropy, philanthropist and Sheriffs of the City of London, Sheriff of London. Born to an History ...
traveled to Morocco to intercede on behalf of Safi's Jews.
Montefiore secured the release of two Jews held over the affair, as well as two Jews imprisoned over a separate matter.
Montefiore had an audience with
Sultan Muhammad IV, who subsequently issued a royal ''dahir'' (decree) on February 5, 1864, ordering his "servitors, governors, cadis, and other factionaries to treat with utmost benevolence the Israelites who are under the protection of our Empire".
However, Montefiore was unsuccessful in achieving formal legal equality for Morocco's Jews,
such as the abolition of their
Dhimmi
' ( ', , collectively ''/'' "the people of the covenant") or () is a historical term for non-Muslims living in an Islamic state with legal protection. The word literally means "protected person", referring to the state's obligation under ''s ...
status.
According to historian
Georges Bensoussan
Georges Bensoussan (born 17 February 1952) is a French historian. Bensoussan was born in Morocco. He is the editor of the '' Revue d'histoire de la Shoah'' ("Shoah History Review"). He won the Memory of the Shoah Prize from the Jacob Buchman Found ...
, the intervention of Montefiore may have intensified resentment of Jews in Morocco. The French consul in
Mogador (Essaouira today) claimed in February 2024 that Montefiore's visit "risks
dover-exciting Muslim fanaticism and provoking acts of violence", while Arab chroniclers saw the intervention of a foreign Jew as an act of insubordination and evidence of a "world-wide 'Jewish conspiracy'".
See also
*
History of the Jews in Morocco
The history of the Jews in Morocco goes back to ancient times. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community, with the oldest irrefutable evidence of Judaism in Morocco dating back to the Roman period. After the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, ...
*
Antisemitism in Morocco
*
Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, Philanthropy, philanthropist and Sheriffs of the City of London, Sheriff of London. Born to an History ...
*
Blood libel
Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mu ...
References
{{Africa topic, History of the Jews in
Blood libel
Antisemitism in Morocco