Jewish Imperial Allegiance and the Greco-Ottoman War of 1897 · 35warned the parents of these troublemakers to see that they quit their vio-
lent ways and thus avoid punishment by the authorities. It is noteworthy,
however, that the fights occurring between Salonican Greek and Jewish
youths only made the news when journalists or other communal figures
decided it was time to intervene. Since such battles were disagreeable to
Jewish leaders, they would either work to halt them or keep silent. The
approach Salonica’s Jewish journalists took to the rock fights illustrates
their conscious use of the tactics of interventionism and silence, alter-
nately, when faced with what they felt were the unacceptable actions of
members of their own community.
The case of these urban battles is important for another reason as well:
it offers an example of how intercommunal relations in the city were not
as idyllic as Le Journal de Salonique and La Epoka would claim two months
later, as they referenced the harmonious atmosphere of Salonica during
the Greco-Ottoman War. In other words, despite the surface of calm and
apparent cooperation between all groups in the city during the conflict
of 1897, relations between certain groups of Jews and Greeks in the city
remained embattled.^31
While both papers hinted only obliquely at the question of how many
people took part in the rock fights or of how large an audience came to
watch them each Saturday, both clarified that they considered the specta-
tors of these rows guilty as well. Still, their reports concentrated their at-
tention mostly on the Greek and Jewish rock throwers themselves, point-
ing out their youth, their lack of education, and their low social station,
all factors which suggested that the unfortunate pattern might still be
“corrected.”
Yet, on 28 April 1897, some ten days after war with Greece was de-
clared, an incident occurred that greatly upset those in charge of the
Jewish community of Salonica. This event seems to have involved large
numbers of Jews hailing from a wide variety of backgrounds and ages,
making it more disturbing than the routine rock fights that journalists as-
cribed to a group of lower-class Jewish and Greek youths. What is more,
it occurred in a central location in the town, under the eyes of many,
including foreign observers.
That day, as a trainload of wounded Greek prisoners returning from
the battlefield passed through Salonica, local Muslims and Jews report-
edly gathered at the train station and began taunting the train’s passen-
gers. The Greek minister of foreign affairs later reported to the French