The Divergence of Judaism and Islam. Interdependence, Modernity, and Political Turmoil

Jewish Imperial Allegiance and the Greco-Ottoman War of 1897 · 49

1897, J. E. Blunt to British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The incident
has also been cited by Rena Molho, “The Zionist Movement in Thessaloniki,
1899–1919,” in I. K. Hassiotis, ed., The Jewish Communities of Southeastern Europe:
From the Fifteenth Century to the End of World War II (Thessaloniki, 1997), 330, and
K. E. Fleming, Greece: A Jewish History (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
2008), 57–58.

34. Acropolis , 2 May 1897.


35. In the collections of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, Série Grèce, IC 40,
    25 June 1897.


36. In fact, although none of the sources I have encountered from 1897 ac-
    knowledged this, the patterns created during this war were reminiscent of those
    developed in other conflicts, most notably the Greek War of Independence
    (1821–32). This instance of revolt against Ottoman rule also led to increased
    tensions between Ottoman Greeks and Jews, as Jews came to identify, and be
    identified, as the ultimate allies of the Ottoman Empire. For a useful review of
    these developments, see Lagos, “The Metaxas Dictatorship,” 68–84, and Flem-
    ing, Greece, 57–58, 62.


37. These were El Meseret, La Buena Esperansa, and El Nuvelista/Le Nouvelliste.
    The last of these sometimes also printed small pieces in French (in Latin charac-
    ters), although in 1897 its use of French was quite limited.


38. El Meseret, 22 January 1897.


39. El Meseret, 19 February 1897, emphasis mine.


40. Ibid.


41. Ibid.


42. In fact, this message merged almost seamlessly with the journal’s mis-
    sion, announced in its very first issue. There, its editor explained that he hoped
    the paper would serve as the “interpreter between the Jewish community and
    the Ottoman authorities.” El Meseret, 15 January 1897. The Ladino paper would
    soon include a page in Ottoman Turkish as well; its owner was a local Muslim,
    a fact constantly repeated in the paper to reinforce the Jewish-Muslim partner-
    ship present in the city.


43. El Meseret, 12 March 1897.


44. Indeed, wartime in Izmir had brought an uncomfortable situation for the
    local Jewish community. As it turns out, Greek citizens residing in Izmir, as well
    as local Ottoman Greek subjects, began to depart to fight on the side of Greece,
    reportedly accompanied by the “cries of massive crowds that had come out to
    support them” as they left. Nahum, Juifs de Smyrne, 21.


45. El Meseret, 30 April 1897.


46. La Buena Esperansa, 3 May 1897.


47. La Buena Esperansa, 7 May 1897.


48. See Sabah, 8 May 1897. Also recorded in (AIU) Série Turquie, IC 4, 17 May


49. I am grateful to Nazan Maksudyan for providing me with these issues of
    Sabah during the earliest stages of my research on this topic.


50. Sabah, 11 May 1897. Other Ottoman newspapers give different numbers: