Safed History
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== Post-Middle Ages == | == Post-Middle Ages == | ||
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− | + | === Immigrants from Eastern Europe === | |
− | + | Tzfat’s Jewish “Golden Age” ended with a [[Safed 1759 Earthquake|1759 earthquake]] which toppled much of the local economy as well as the physical structure of the city. Ashkanazi Jews, beginning with the Lithuanian students of the Vilna Gaon and supplemented by Hassidic followers of the Ba’al Shem Tov augmented the existing community of Sephradi (Mediterranean and North African) Jews but famines, epidemics, a [[Safed 1837 Earthquake|1837 earthquake]] and Druze and Arab pogroms once again decimated the Jewish population. The Jewish and Arab population numbers remained fairly equal until World War I when European donations dried up. Many Jews left Tzfat at this time. Some moved to other areas in Israel but others emigrated to America, Australia and South America. When the British routed the Turks during World War I and imposed the British Mandate in Israel, the Jews of Tzfat welcomed them, believing that they would support the Jews’ dream of self-rule. British policy turned decidedly pro-Arab, however, and contributed to the deterioration of Jewish-Arab relations in Tzfat. | |
− | When the British routed the Turks during World War I and imposed the British Mandate in Israel, the Jews of Tzfat welcomed them, believing that they would support the Jews’ dream of self-rule. British policy turned decidedly pro-Arab, however, and contributed to the deterioration of Jewish-Arab relations in Tzfat. | + | |
+ | [[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Ottoman Rule of Safed 1760 to 1918|Later Ottoman Era of Safed]]''' | ||
[[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[British Rule of Safed 1918 to 1948|British Rule of Safed]]''' | [[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[British Rule of Safed 1918 to 1948|British Rule of Safed]]''' | ||
=== Arab Riots === | === Arab Riots === | ||
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A watershed event in Jewish-Arab relations occurred in 1929. Arabs throughout the country rioted, convinced that the growing Jewish population was intent on removing them from their lands. In Safed, the Arabs rioted for three days, killing 18 people, wounding many more and burning down a large part of the [[Old City Safed|Jewish Quarter]]. Witness reported that the British soldiers looked on impassively, only protecting Jewish lives after the initial rioting subsided. These riots occurred during the same period as the riots in Hebron. Unlike the survivors of the Hebron massacre who escaped to Jerusalem, the Jews of Tsfat had nowhere to go. They rebuilt their homes and began to drill in self-defense skills. | A watershed event in Jewish-Arab relations occurred in 1929. Arabs throughout the country rioted, convinced that the growing Jewish population was intent on removing them from their lands. In Safed, the Arabs rioted for three days, killing 18 people, wounding many more and burning down a large part of the [[Old City Safed|Jewish Quarter]]. Witness reported that the British soldiers looked on impassively, only protecting Jewish lives after the initial rioting subsided. These riots occurred during the same period as the riots in Hebron. Unlike the survivors of the Hebron massacre who escaped to Jerusalem, the Jews of Tsfat had nowhere to go. They rebuilt their homes and began to drill in self-defense skills. | ||
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[[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Safed War of Independence|Safed During the War of Independence]]''' | [[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Safed War of Independence|Safed During the War of Independence]]''' | ||
− | == | + | == Tzfat Today == |
− | In the years following the establishment of the State of Israel, Tzfat absorbed thousands of immigrants, most of whom were refugees from their native countries. Many Hungarian, Polish and Romanian Jews from Eastern Europe settled in Tzfat, among them a | + | |
+ | In the years following the establishment of the State of Israel, Tzfat absorbed thousands of immigrants, most of whom were refugees from their native countries. Many Hungarian, Polish and Romanian Jews from Eastern Europe settled in Tzfat, among them a sizeable number of Holocaust survivors. The immigrant waves also included large numbers of Moroccan and Tunisian Jewish refugees. In the 1980s Safed became a [[Ethiopian Absorption Safed|center of absorption]] for Ethiopian immigrants. In 1990 thousands of Russian Jews arrived in Safed to make their home | ||
in the area. | in the area. | ||