Organization: Penn State University
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 01:15:26 EDT
From: <PXP111@psuvm.psu.edu>  Andronikos Romanos
Newsgroups: soc.culture.greek,soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Shaw and HBM-KELLY INC. are very "selective".

Suspiciously... "omitted" information by the triplet:  Shaw-Mutlu-Kelly
is presented here over the Jewish issue. As in a number of other occasi-
ons I already established, Rhodes,  (much alike Constantinople, Thessa-
loniki, Athens, and the.. island of Patras and Argos!)  adds to the far
different picture presented by  THE  DISTORTER  and the Turkish-Jewish-
Greek-Latin "picture" appears completely different.

< The above new "islands" are no joke! It took me five postings to con-
  vince at least Kelly that these are not islands! Mutlu typically con-
  tinued insulting me but who cares?    I mean... this is Mutlu we are
  talking about :-)  >

Contents here: < 1. Prologue               >
               < 2. Historical Background  >
               < 3. Rhodes, The Island     >
               < 4. Rhodes, Before 1522    >
                 5. Traces of Jewish Life
                 6. The War of 148O and its Aftermath
                 7. Legal Status of Jews under Islamic Rule

From the book "THE JEWS OF RHODES" by Marc D.Angel and forwarded by the
Haham Rev.Dr.Solomon Gaon (New York 1978).

                                  -1-
Prologue: My father's parents emigrated from the Island of Rhodes early
          in the 20th century, and settled in Seattle, Washington...  I
was born in 1945. As I grew up in Congregation Ezra Bessaroth,  I could
not help but feel that I had roots on that distant Mediterranean island.
I was born in Seatle, my parents were born in Seattle;  and yet we were
shaped and influenced by the history of the Jews in Rhodes.  The desire
to search out my grandparents' past -indeed my own past- lingered in my
mind for many years...
When I finally began this voyage into history  as a doctoral student at
Yeshiva  University's  Bernard Revel Graduate School,  I found very few
lights to guide me. The community was relativily small,  even if it was
important out of proportion to its size.  Few scholars had  dealt  with
the Jews of Rhodes...
During my trip in the summer of 1974,  I visited the city of Rhodes for
the first time  in my life.  This was the climax of my research.  There
are no archives, no documents, no books to speak of.   There are hardly
any Jews left, since the Nazis had destroyed the community in 1944.  As
I walked through the winding narrow streets of the old  Jewish quarter,
I could not help  but think  that these were the same streets, the same
drab buildings,  the same shocks of green vines  dangling over the gray
walls,  the same blue sea seen through the openings  in the great walls
which surround the old city,  the same air,  odors and colors that were
experienced over the centuries by the Jews of Rhodes. In a certain way,
I had found the past, my past.
Affixed to the wall at the entrance of the Kahal Shalom Synagogue  is a
plaque with the family names of all the Jews of Rhodes who had been de-
stroyed by the Nazis.  My eye caught the name "Angel"  immediately, in-
stinctively.   An uncle, an aunt, maybe some cousins I could never have
known-their lives were aborted and converted into a name on a plaque.
As I boarded the plane leaving Rhodes,  I realized  that I found what I
had come to find.  The cycle  of the history  of the Jews of Rhodes had
been completed.But traveling to Israel and then back to the United Sta-
tes,  I realized clearly that the Jewish people has its own way of con-
tinuing to live.
Based on the available sources,  I have tried  to present as thorough a
picture of the life of the Jews of Rhodes as is possible. This book re-
presents one step forward in the understanding of the Sephardim of Rho-
des,and, indeed, of the Ottoman Empire. Much more work in this area re-
mains to be done.  In presenting this book to the public, I have relied
on the saying of Rabbi Tarfon: "It is not incumbent upon you to comple-
te the work, but neither are you free to evade it."

                                  -2-

ages 1-2: "Historical Background"
        Although the community has vanished,  like so many other Jewish
        communities,  the Sephardim of Rhodes  merit  study for several
reasons...  Even though most of them lived in poverty and generally mi-
serable conditions over the centuries,  the Jews of Rhodes  managed  to
sing of faith, love, beauty.
As the community was relatively small (around 5000 souls at its height)
many individuals were related by blood or marriage.  Thus  the communi-
ty's members had strong feelings of belonging and an unusual loyalty to
each other. The Jews of Rhodes are known in Judeo-Spanish as "Rhodesli-
es" (Jews from Rhodes),  but the term  carries with it a recognition of
the uniqueness of the community.  The Rhodeslies,  as we shall see, in-
deed formed a distinctive society of their own.

                                  -3-

Page 2: "Rhodes, The Island"
     The Aegean Sea, like the rest of the Mediterranean, is dotted with
numerous islands.  Lying about twelve miles off the south-western coast
of  Asia Minor, Rhodes is about 600 miles from Istanbul, 360 miles from
Alexandria, 270 miles from Athens,  3OO miles from Famagusta  (Cyprus),
200 miles from Candia (Crete) and 1,400 miles from Marseilles.
Its excellent location made the island  the target of many battles  and
wars over the centuries.  In the 16th century, Comte de Breves remarked
that the power which controlled Rhodes would have  "domination over all
the other islands and the admiralty of the whole  Mediterranean."   Al-
phonse de Lamartine,who passed through Rhodes in 1832 on his way to the
Holy Land, summarized its advantages as follows:"Any European power who
was master of [Rhodes] would hold at once the key of the Archipelago,of
Greece,of Smyrna,of the Dardannelles... of the Seas of Egypt and Syria.
I do not know in the world a  better maritime military position a finer
climate, or a more prolific soil."

                                  -4-
Page 3-5: "Rhodes, Before 1522"
     Various traditions and legends describe the  origin of human civi-
lization on Rhodes.  Whether Hellenic or Judaic,  they  all reflect the
antiquity of its population.
According to Biblical tradition, the inhabitants of Rhodes derived from
Rodanim,son of Javan, son of Japheth, son of Noah, who lived in the se-
cond generation after the great deluge.  The Greek poet Pindar (born c.
516  B.C.E.)  reported  a tradition that the island's first inhabitants
were the children of the sun,  descended from the union of the sun god,
Helios, with the nymph Rhodon, whose name was given to the island.  One
of her seven sons became the father of Camiros, lalysos and Lindos, who
gave their names to cities of the island. At some unknown point,a group
known as the Telchines came from Crete to  settle in Rhodes and eventu-
ally gained control of it.  Famed for their wisdom, these early inhabi-
tants of Rhodes are said to have divided the year into seasons  and in-
vented the science of navigation...
Since the sun god was the favorite deity of the Rhodians,another tradi-
tion has it that the island's name was derived from "Rhodos," the Greek
word for the rose, which was one of Helios'emblems.

         <Stuff on eight centuries of Greek History deleted>

But in 225 B.C.E., an arthquake destroyed the city and the Colossus.The
Rhodians rebuilt their city  - without the Colossus -  in a short time.
Soon, however, the growing power of Rome began to threaten the island's
maritime supremacy and independence. In 164 B.C.E., the island recogni-
zed the necessity of giving in to Rome.  Accepted as an ally with local
autonomy, Rhodes  became part of the Roman Empire.  When the Empire was
divided in 395 C.E, the island was assigned to the Eastern Roman or By-
zantine Empire.  The expanding forces of  Islam  took control of Rhodes
(c. 773 C.E.).  At that time, according to an often repeated tradition,
the remains of the  Colossus were  sold  to a  Syrian Jew who used nine
hundred camels to remove them.  But the Rhodian outpost proved too dif-
ficult to protect, and the Moslems withdrew after about eight years...
In 1307, the Byzantine government gave the island to the Knights of St.
John of Jerusalem to defend against potential attack by the Turks.  The
Knights of St. John,  also known as the Hospitallers,  were a religious
military Order  founded in the 11th century.  They began as a religious
fraternity  which operated  a hospital for s ick pilgrims in Jerusalem.
After the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099,  the hospital expanded
its work there,  and founded hostels in Provencal and Italian cities on
the route to the Holy Land.
With the fall of Acre  to the Moslems  in 1291,  however,  the Crusader
principalities came to an end.  Leaving Jerusalem, the Hospitallers re-
established themselves on Cyprus. By 1309 they had acquired Rhodes whe-
re they remained until the Turks drove them out in 1523.
When the Hospitallers arrived in Rhodes,  they had to battle  the local
Byzantine authorities who  resisted the Order's takeover of the island.
Although the Order was victorious and its possession of Rhodes was con-
firmed by Pope Clement V,  the City  did not surrender to the Grand Ma-
ster of the Order, Fulk de Villaret, until August, 1309.
To this day, the walled city of Rhodes reflects the Knights' two-centu-
ry occupation of the island.  Its extraordinary fortifications, the Ci-
tadel of the Knights, the great Hospital (now a museum), the reconstru-
cted Palace of the Grand Master, the medieval buildings and streets are
still visible reminders of the Order's rule.

                                  -5-

Pages 6-10: "Traces of Jewish Life"
      Although Jews  may  have lived in Rhodes in antiquity, we have no
precise information concerning their first settlement there. The earli-
est indication of a Jewish community on the island is found in the  1st
Book of Maccabees (15:22)...
Another indication of a  Jewish community  in Rhodes dates to the first
quarter of the first century B.C.E. when Apollonius Molon taught philo-
sophy and rhetoric there...
During the following centuries we find only  vague and limited referen-
ces to Jewish life in Rhodes.  Herod, the governor of Judea  landed in
Rhodes around 43 C.E.  on his way from Alexandria to Rome.  Paul passed
through the city on his way from Miletus to Jerusalem (Acts 21:1).
Jewish merchants were in Rhodes during the seventh century.
The first specific information about the Rhodian Jewish community dates
from the second half of the 12th century,when Benjamin of Tudela,Spain,
the most famous medieval Jewish traveler,journeyed throughout the Medi-
terranean world.  Benjamin wrote a concise and lucid description of his
observations, including a comment about his visit to Rhodes,   where he
found a community of about 400 Jews led by Rabbis Hananel and Eliah.
Our knowledge of Jewish life  under the rule  of the Knights of St.John
is more extensive. When the Knights planned the city's layout, they de-
signated a quarter for the jews which extended from the southeast angle
of the wall surrounding the city to the port reserved for merchant ves-
sels. It is probable, of course, that Jews had lived in their own quar-
ter even prior to the arrival of the Knights. Jewish law would have di-
ctated such  an arrangement  since  Jews had to live within walking di-
stance of their synagogue.  It is not known whether the Knights simply
confirmed an older Jewish section or established a completely new site.
But under the Order's rule, Jews were restricted to living in their own
special quarter.  This section remained the  core of the Jewish quarter
through modern times.
Like their  coreligionists in other Christian domains Rhodian Jews were
subject to other forms of discrimination.  For example if a Jew touched
an article in the market place,he was compelled to buy it,because Chri-
stians considered an object  conitaminated once an infidel even touched
it.  But in general, the Knights  seem  to have treated the Jews fairly
well.  An Italian Jewish merchant  who traveled through Rhodes  in 1481
could say that the Jews of the city  " live there in perfect tranquili-
ty"...
Although there is  little evidence concerning Jewish occupations during
this period,  it is reasonable to  assume that Jews participated in the
economic vitality and trade of Rhodes. When the English traveler,  C.T.
Newton visited Rhodes in the mid-19th century,he saw in the Jewish qua-
rter a house dating fror the days of the Knights  and  described  it as
"probably the residence of some wealthy merchant,  as it still contains
a large room with a richly-carved ceiling." Prior to 1480 only one tra-
veler has left first-hand information about the Jews  in  Rhodes  under
the Knights.  An anonymous pilgrim from Cologne passed through the city
in  1472  and praised the beauty of its Jewesses as well as their skill
in making artides of silk.
With respect to religious life,  the Jews had a synagogue near the wall
of the city  and  presumably  also provided classes for their children.
There is evidence of a high level of Jewish scholarship in Rhodes. Rab-
bi Michael Balbo (b. 1411) of Candia (Crete) was a scholar and poet. He
wrote a  poem in honor  of Rabbi Ezra of Rhodes when the latter went to
Venice.  Balbo also engaged in philosophic debates with learned indivi-
duals and corresponded with Rabbi Yedidiah,  son of Yosef Rak of Rhodes
on the subject of the voices of the universe.  Although  we have no in-
formation about the lives and activities of these scholars of Rhodes,it
is  fair to assume  that they  exerted considerable  influence on their
small community.
Like Jews   t h r o u g h o u t   the Byzantine Empire the Jewish resi-
dents of Rhodes when the Order took the island were Greek-speaking and
generally had Greek family names.  Their  customs and liturgy were part
of the  Romaniot tradition  which had  developed  among the Jews of the
Eastern Roman Empire. Their liturgy was embodied in the Mahzor Romania,
or Romaniot Prayerbook,  which differed in many ways from the liturgies
of the Sephardim and Ashkenazim.
Rhodes Jews of a  later  period    b e l i e v e d   that  Sephardim as
well as Romaniots may have been   l i v i n g   on the island   w h e n
the Knights took possession of it. The French colonel, Bernard Rottiers
came to Ihodes in the early 19th century to study the island's histori-
cal monuments.  He employed a Jew named Boghore (Bohor) as an assistant
and even attended the circumcision ceremony of his son.At the ceremony,
he heard a rabbi of the city  lecture  on the instability of human life
and the vicissitudes of the Jews of Rhodes.  The  rabbi  claimed that a
number of Jews had  Fled  Spanish persecutions in Tarragona and came to
Rhodes in  1 2 8 0.

                                  -6-

Pages 10-13: "The War of 148O and its Aftermath"
     It was said that Mehmet II, ruler of the mighty Ottoman Empire set
for himself two great tasks upon becoming Sultan:  the conquest of Con-
stantinople and the destruction of the Order oF Rhodes.
The Order was a  source  of great irritation to the Turks.  Maintaining
Rhodes as a Christian stronghold,  the Knights engaged in bold maritime
activities and  challenged Ottoman hegemony in the Eastern Mediterrane-
an.
The hostility between the  Turks and Knights  often  led to cruelty and
bloodshed. In June,1458, for example, a galley belonging to the Knights
had captured three Turkish ships and brought the captives to Rhodes.
Robert of San Severino, then in Rhodes, recounted:
  "And as soon as they arrived, the captured Turks, two hundred and fi-
   fty in number,were to be cut to pieces or impaled,  as is the custom
   to do to them  when they are taken by the Knights of Rhodes. Because
   they do the  same  and  worse to the Knights when they happen to get
   hold of them."
In 1453,  the Sultan  succeeded in taking  Constantinople.  But only in
1480 did he finally prepare to attack Rhodes.  Spies  informed him that
the Knights could be defeated,that their defenses were not as strong as
generally believed. Massive Turkish forces launched their siege in May,
1480. Early in the battle the Turks  directed their heaviest attack ag-
ainst the southern perimeter of Rhodes. This section, enclosing the Je-
wish quarter, was the most lightly fortified area of the city. For five
weeks the Turks bombarded the Jewish quarter,  pouring in  thousands of
stones and cannon balls.The continuous barrage opened large breaches in
the Rhodians' defense.
Materials from  demolished Jewish homes were used to fortify the walls.
A travel account by Mashullam provides first-hand information about the
Jews of Rhodes in this troubled time.  The son of a  wealthy gem dealer
in Florence, Italy, Meshullam traveled to the Orient in connection with
his father's gem trade, passing through Egypt,Jerusalem,Damascus, Crete
as well as Rhodes.
Meshullam  arrived in Rhodes  for the first time on  May 30, 1481  less
than a year  after the Turkish siege of the city had ended.  Describing
the effects of the Turkish attacks, he noted:
  "And I saw how the Turks destroyed  [the city] completely and especi-
   ally the Jewish quarter and the left side,  for that was the site of
   the battle.  They  cast down all the houses of Messer Leon of Rhodes
   and of Rabbi Azariah the doctor and other houses,  and the wall near
   the synagogue fell."
In 1487,  Rabbi Obadiah of Bertinoro noted that the Turks had destroyed
  "all the houses of the Jews".
In spite of the Turks' greater numbers and their relentless attacks,the
Rhodians  withstood  the siege.  Although the invaders managed to fight
their way into the Jewish quarter, they were defeated decisively.  Soon
after a frantic retreat from the Jewish quarter, the Turks left the is-
land altogether.  Throughout the siege of 1480,  all  the  residents of
Rhodes, including Jews,  f o u g h t   v a l i a n t l y.   Indeed, the
Grand Master of the Knights   c o m m e n d e  d   the Jewish contribu-
tion to the victory. Jewish women as well as men were praised for their
efforts in the war.
The Rhodians  believed that their victory over the Turks was a  miracu-
lous event reflecting  Divine  intervention:  Just as they had appeared
ready to vanquish the Rhodians, the Turks fled in terror.  Jews as well
as Christians   s h a r e d  the feeling that the victory was an act of
God. Meshullam reported the Jewish version of the battle:
  "And one day,  according to their words, more than ten thousand Turks
   climbed the wall and cast the Grand Master from the wall. God confu-
   sed them so that they struct their own brothers and relatives. Their
   hearts became faint. And God was an aid for [the Rhodians]...   They
   built two churches  in the low parts  of the said wall one on either
   side of the synagogue, where the miracle had occurred for them.  The
   Greeks wanted the Grand Master  to remove  the said synagogue but he
   paid them no heed, because the Guardian of Israel neither sleeps nor
   slumbers."
Rabbi Obadiahof Bertinoro  left an account which differs in certain de-
taiLs:
  "The Jews told me that the Turks entered the city and began to attact
   the people, and the land was defeated before them.  They reached the
   entrance of the synagogue and there did God confound them.  And won-
   der of wonders they saw in this.  They rushed away  of their own ac-
   cord, and fled and ran, and would  kill one another by sword.  They
   stumbled but no one was chasing them.  And since this miracle occur-
   red at the synagogue the Grand Master  seized it  in these times and
   built upon it a large church as a memorial;  and to the Jews he gave
   another building in its place.  And when I was in Rhodes he designa-
   ted for them  one hundred  ducats  from the city's revenues to build
   and decorate the new synagogue.
It is probable that at the time of Meshullam's visit,  the Grand Master
had  allowed  the Jews to keep their original place of worship.  But at
some point  before Obadiah's arrival six years later,  the Grand Master
was apparently persuaded to convert the synagogue into a church. Having
made that decision, he tried to assuage the Jews by giving them another
building together with funds to repair and beautify it.
In the aftermath of the war of 148O all Rhodians, Jews and non-Jews al-
ike, suffered serious hardships.  Felix Fabri, a Christian pilgrim, vi-
sited Rhodes shortly after the Turkish withdrawal from the island.   He
commented that the city had been severely damaged, streets were full of
stones  and  cannon balls.  Merchandise in stores was expensive because
Turkish plundering had caused supply shortages.  Diffcult conditions on
the island led some of the inhabitants to seek other places to live.
When  Fabri's ship  left Rhodes, its  passengers  included  some of the
Knights of St. John as well as "some Jews who had fought bravely during
the siege."
Postwar life in Rhodes is described in the travel account of Rabbi Oba-
diah of Bertinoro, who visited the island for six weeks en route to the
Holy Land, where he became the Chief Rabbi of Palestinian Jewry. Arriv-
ing in Rhodes on November 17, l487,  Obadiah was given a warm reception
by the "notables of the Jewish community of Rhodes".  One of his fellow
passengers aboard ship was the brother of Nathan, the doctor, a leading
member of the Rhodes' Jewish community.The Jews of Rhodes were generous
in providing good accommodations for Obadiah  and his coreligionists on
the ship.
Describing the Jewish quarter, Obadiah noted that its houses were still
in poor condition due to the war of 1480.  Countless  stones  from  the
Turkish bombardment still cluttered the streets.  But  impressed by the
strength of the city's construction,Obadiah wrote: "Whoever has not se-
en Rhodes and its high walls, fortresses and tortuous paths has not se-
en a fortress in his life."
Obadiah found only twenty-two Jewish families living in Rhodes,all poor
The Jews consumed no meat or wine, since they had no skehitah  ( ritual
slaughter) and they did not make their own wine. Their scrupulous reli-
gious observance led them to abstain from  - all wine produced by non -
Jews.
But despite their poverty,the Jews of Rhodes constituted a noble group.
Obadiah remarked that he had never seen their equals anywhere. He found
them handsome, intelligent, cultured and well-mannered people who hono-
red their fellow humans. They were humble and gentle with their langua-
ge. Even  the hard-working laborers dressed neatly.  All were clean and
appeared as children of a king.  Obadiah added that there were no women
in all the earth  more  beautiful  than the women of Rhodes.  Moreover,
their beauty was matched by their industry.  He made  mention of Jewish
tanners,  and indicated that Jewish women did handiwork for the Knights
to help support their families.  " The nobles of the land hold the Jews
in high esteem, often coming to their houses to chat with the women who
are working there."
A non-Jewish traveler,Canon Pietro Casola,passed through Rhodes in 1494
and observed that  "there are many and rich Jews, and they carry on the
silk industry."
Whether the number of Jews in Rhodes  increased  substantially from the
time of Obadiah's visit or Casola  exaggerated  their number  cannot be
definitely ascertained. But it is possible that exiles from the Spanish
expulsion of 1492  did find  their way to Rhodes so that by the time of
Casola's observation, the Jewish community may have been larger than at
the time of Obadiah's stay...
<Expulsion of Jews from Spain/Turks conquer Rhodes in 1522 etc follow.>

                                  -7-

Pages 27-28: "Legal Status of Jews under Islamic Rule"
     Islamic law allowed full civil rights and privileges   o n l y  to
Moslems.  Non-Moslems were viewed as belonging to two categories.
--> Idolaters  -those who did not possess divinely revealed Scriptures-
    were forced to accept Islam or face death.
--> People of scriptures  -e.g. Jews and Christians-  were tolerated as
    infidels and were termed "dhimmis",  or protected people.  Although
    there were times when dhimmis were subjected to  forced  conversion
    to Islam their religious autonomy was generally accepted and prote-
    cted.
In order to  understand the history of the Jews of Rhodes  ( and indeed
that of all, Jewish communities under Islamic rule), it is necessary to
understand the status of dhimmis.
"Protected"  people   l e g a l ly   had   n o    r i g h t s   in  the
State at all, but were permitted to exist only on the payment of a spe-
cial tribute. The Koran states:
  "Fight against such of those to whom the Scriptures were given as be-
   lieve neither in Allah nor the Last Day,who do not forbid what Allah
   and his apostle have forbidden,  and  do not embrace the true faith,
   until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued (9:29)."
Once they paid this tribute,  however,  they  were to be protected from
harm. A document dating to the second century of Islam, and ascribed to
the Caliph Omar indicates that Moslems should  "do battle to guard them
(khimmis) and put no burden on them greater than they can bear,  provi-
ded they pay what is due from them to the Moslems...."
In practical terms, dhimmis were granted certain basic freedoms.  They
could own property,  and could practice their religion freely  although
they were not permitted to build new houses of worship. This restricti-
on was often disregarded by Moslem rulers,  and yet it always constitu-
ted a menace for dhimmis, since an inrolerant ruler  or a fanatical mob
might destroy the buildings in a moment of religious passion.
They were subject to various   l e ga l   d i s a b i l i t i e s . For
example, the evidence of a dhimmi was not accepted against the evidence
of a Moslem. A Moslem could NOT be put to death for murdering a dhimmi.
Dhimmis were  NOT  allowed to ride horseback or to carry weapons.  Even
their right to travel freely was periodically restricted. For instance,
the 16th century traveler, Carlier de Pinon, noted his ship was delayed
in its departure from Rhodes because the  Rhodian Jews  on board had to
be examined to determine whether they had proper exit permits. Non-Mos-
lems were also restricted from holding government posts, although exce-
ptions were made depending on local situations and attitudes.
Another   a n n o y i n g   restriction was the  requirement that non-
Moslems wear distinctive clothing. The requirements varied in different
places and periods. Professor S.D.Goitein has noted:
 "The yellow badge for Jews was known in Muslim countries many centuri-
   es before it was introduced into Christian Europe."
A 17th-century observer remarked:
 "The Jews in Turkey dress like the Turks except that they may not wear
  green, nor a white turban, nor a red jacket. They are usually dressed
  in violet  but  they  are obliged to wear a violet bonnet made in the
  shape of and the same height as a hat and those who have the means to
  own a turban wear it round the base of their bonnet.   They must also
  wear socks and violet slippers."
In general,these official descriminatory policies were designed to iso-
late and humiliate non-Moslems,  to  remind  them constantly that their
lives depended on the mercy of the Moslem rulers...