Zalkind Hourwitz (1751–1812) was a Polish

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

from

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

living in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

then

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, active in the political discussions of the French Revolution.''Encyclopaedia Judaica'', 2007, Vol 9, p. 569, Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik His essay, ''Vindication of the Jews'', was one of three winning essays answering the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in the city of Metz's question : "Are there means for making the Jews happier and more useful in France?"

Pierre Birnbaum Pierre Birnbaum (1940, Lourdes) is a French historian and sociologist.. Bibliography *1977: ''Les Sommets de l’État. Essai sur l'élite du pouvoir en France'', Paris, Éditions du Seuil, . *1979: . *1982: ''La Logique de l’État'', Fayar ...

, ''Est-il des moyens de rendre les Juifs plus utiles et plus heureux ?'', Le Seuil, 2017, ()
présentation on ligne
From the essay:

The means of making the Jews happy and useful? This is it: stop making them unhappy and useless. Give them, or rather return to them the right of citizens, which you've denied them against all divine and human laws and against your own interests, like a man who thoughtlessly cripples himself.

In ''Vindication of the Jews'', Hourwitz demands the full privileges of citizenship, including land ownership, occupational freedom and education. However, as a follower of the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

ideals, he also criticises the power which Jewish leaders have in the community and demands "rabbis and leaders must be severely forbidden from claiming the least authority over their co-religionists outside the synagogue."

Timeline of Hourwitz in the Revolution

*August 1788—Hourwitz, along with Claude Antoine Thiery and Abbe Gregoire, wins the Metz Royal Society contest *March 1789—Publication of ''Vindication of the Jews'' *May 1789—Hourwitz appointed Secretaire-interprete of the

Bibliothèque du Roi A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...

*September 1789--''

Journal de Paris The (1777–1840) was the first daily French newspaper.(7 October 2014)The first French daily: Journal de Paris History of JournalismAndrews, ElizabethBetween Auteurs and Abonnés: Reading the Journal de Paris, 1787–1789 ''Journal of the Weste ...

'' includes a long review of ''Vindication of the Jews'' *October 1789—Hourwitz donates a quarter of his net salary to the Revolution *February 1790—Commune of Paris unanimously adopts resolution demanding the National Assembly acknowledge Jews as citizens *June 1790—Hourwitz appears before the National Assembly as part of "a delegation of foreigners" *October 1792—Hourwitz is dismissed from his position at Bibliothèque Nationale along with 11 others *January 1793—Hourwitz publicly states that he is against the execution of the king *December 1793- January 1794—Hourwitz appears before the revolutionary committee of the Reunion section *April 1794—Hourwitz demands from Saint-Just an "explanation" for the decree forbidding foreigners from residing in Paris or in ports.

References

1751 births 1812 deaths {{Poland-writer-stub