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The Damascus Affair—1840 The Damascus Affair?18401 By Albert M. Hyamson, O.B.E., F.R.Hist.S. On the 5th February, 1840, Father Tommaso, an Italian friar of the Capuchin Order who had been resident formany years inDamascus, disappeared. His servant was never seen to also again. It had been Tommaso's practice vaccinate children? especially Jewish and Christian?and he was consequently on friendly terms with many Jewish families inDamascus. The friar and his servant were said to have been last seen in the Jewish quarter at about 11 a.m. affixing placards, announcing a forthcoming sale of goods. One of these placards, which itwas suggested had been removed and reaffixed, was found near the shop of a Jewish barber. A few days earlier, Tommaso and his servant had been involved in a quarrel with some Moslem Arabs, and one of them, a muleteer, had been heard to swear that Tommaso would die at his hands. As soon as the disappearance became known, another of this group of Arabs, a merchant, committed suicide. The Latins or Roman Catholics of the Ottoman Empire were at that time under the protection of France and it fell in ordinary course to the Consul of that power in Damascus, the Count de Ratti Menton, to investigate the disappearance. Menton unfortunately had very strong anti-Jewish prejudices. He was described by the Paris of The Times as an of atrocities and Correspondent" instigator arch-persecutor of the Jews, A Legitimatist of the oldest and worst school, an adherent of the imbecile and fanatical who their about the and party* by folly brought revolution, who, like his masters, has learned nothing and forgotten nothing He is represented a 2 moreover as person who has everywhere rendered himself obnoxious." Heine, who was at the time in Paris of the described him " correspondent Augsburgergeitung, as Formerly he was French consul in Sicily, but having twice been bankrupt, had to change his residence. Named consul at Tiflis, in Russia, he was recalled at the 3 insistent demand of the Russian Government." Before he had commenced any investigations he proposed to make, Ratti Menton seems to have decided that Tommaso and his servant had been murdered by Jews and that the murder had been committed for ritual purposes. Ratti Menton's first step was to have the Jewish barber arrested and tortured in order to get him to confess and, still better, to accuse some of the prominent lay and ecclesiastical Jews ofDamascus. To this end he secured the assistance of a couple of Arab criminals, in one case securing his release from prison, whom he used to persuade and threaten the barber and others to give evidence in support of his charges, and of some astrologers who managed to deduce from the stars that the were com? criminals certain named prominent members of the Damascus Jewish munity. Ratti Menton in these activities seems to have had the sympathy of most of the small European community?limited almost to the Consuls?of Damascus, to a large extent like himself imbued with Levantinism. Among these there was however one prominent exception, the Consul forAustria, G. G. Merllato. Tommaso was said to have been last seen at eleven in themorning in the Jewish Quarter. A Jewish witness, however, came forward to testify that he had seen him 1 read before the Jewish Historical Society of England on 4th August, 1940. 2 Paper The Times, 18th May, 1840, page 5. 3 H. Heine, Lutece, Paris, 1855, pp. 59, 60. 47 Jewish Historical Society of England is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to Transactions Jewish Historical Society of England ® www.jstor.org 48 THE DAMASCUS AFFAIR-184O on same as as elsewhere the afternoon of the day and others, Moslems well Jews, were to prepared support his testimony. Ratti Menton could, however, tolerate nothing thatwent contrary to his theory regarding the disappearance. The Governor of the City, Sherif Pasha, who was also an adopted son ofMehemet Ali, the ruler of Egypt, at the time in control of Syria also, was entirely under the influence of Ratti Menton just as Mehemet Ali himself rested largely on French support. Moreover Ratti Menton and Sherif were close friends. Ratti Menton had consequently little difficulty in getting the witness who had dared to give evidence contrary to his wishes bastinadoed. The poor wretch died under the punishment. The incident is described in a report, translated from the Hebrew, by a Jewish resident sent to Constantinople and forwarded by the heads of the Jewish community there to the leading Jews of England and the Continent. " a After this Jew who was free, presented himself before the Governor, stating that the calumny that we make use of blood for our Passover cakes, had been discussed before all the Powers, who, after consulting their Divines, had decreed the inadmissibility of such a calumny, and he added that it could not be other than that Christians had killed them, or that they had clandestinely absented themselves from the country, and that the Barber, in order to save himself from persecution, had stated that which was not true. Upon this the Governor replied that as he had said that the Christians had killed them, he must know who was the murderer, and in order that he should confess he was beaten an to such extreme that he expired under the blows." Another witness whose evidence confirmed that of this victim was similarly punished. A gatekeeper of the Jewish Quarter was also bastinadoed to death. The young barber under the pressure of torture and of Ratti Menton's agent provocateurbroke down and mentioned seven prominent Jewish merchants all ofwhom were arrested. One of them was David Harari who had sent a message by a Moslem servant to the barber shortly before Tommaso had disappeared. This servant was also arrested and bastinadoed and under torture more or less corroborated the barber's story, even going so far as to say that he had himself murdered the friar, acting under the orders of the Jews. One must mention at this point that a Moslem female slave of David Harari, despite torture and imprisonment, refused in response to both offer of bribe and threat, to inculpate her master. The seven prominent Jews, who included four members of the Harari family which is stillwell and honourably known in Egypt, were put to the torture. Two of them, one aged eighty, died under it and another embraced Islam and was released. The others steadfastly denied that they knew anything of the disappearance of Father Tommaso or were in any respect responsible for it. Another prominent Jew whose family is also well and honourably known in this country and in Egypt, Isaac Picciotto, was also arrested, but he was under Austrian protection. This arrest gave theAustrian Consul, who had hitherto watched the proceedings with ever increasing disgust and reprobation, an opportunity to intervene. He demanded the immediate release of his protege. This course the French Consul opposed to the utmost, but the Austrian demand could not be refused and Picciotto was thereupon released. The occasion for his arrest seems to have been a visit he paid to the barber in his prison to induce him to tell the truth as he knew it,whatever itmight be, certain that even if the friar had been murdered by a Jew itwas not for ritual purposes. The number of prisoners, seven, seems to have been a consequence of a mystic belief of Menton or his associates that it has some special religious virtue and therefore for a ritual THE DAMASCUS AFFAIR-184O 49 " " seven were was to some murder participants necessary. It also necessary get expert evidence that Christian blood was a requisite for the Jewish ritual. For this purpose three of the rabbis of Damascus were arrested and tortured. Further efforts in the same direction took the form of the arrest of 64 schoolboys?apparently the whole of the attendants at a Talmud Torah?and their imprisonment in the hope that their parents, overcome by the sufferings of their children, would confess and supply the required evidence. Apart from the children about seventy Jews were tortured to secure confessions or evidence. Sherif Pasha was entirely in the hands of Ratti Menton and was prepared, it would seem, to do anything that he wished. At his desire soldiers were sent to demolish houses of the Jews to secure evidence ofmurder. Hitherto since no bodies had been found there was no evidence at all that the friar and his servant were dead. The houses were demolished but nothing to assist the case was found. At length, however, some bones, afterwards certified by anatomists to be those of animals, a piece of cloth, and an old shoe, were found in a sewer in the Jewish Quarter, and this dis? covery was considered conclusive. Ratti Menton stepped from the role of prosecutor to that of judge. Since a French protege was concerned he was entitled to do so. He quickly found the Jewish prisoners guilty not only ofmurder but of murder for ritual purposes. The Governor ofDamascus as quickly confirmed the finding. Before the prisoners could be hanged, however, the confirmation ofMehemet Ali inAlexan? dria was required. The bones discovered in the sewer were buried with pomp in the chapel of the Capuchins and an inscription placed above them to the effect that they were the bones of Father Tommaso who had been murdered by Jews. In the meanwhile news of the charges and of their accompaniments began to reach Europe. The structure of the community of Damascus, as now, was on the basis of nationalities and in the East nationality is almost synonymous with religion.
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