Page 7 - FINAL catalogue.cdr

history

the beginnings - 1522

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Rhodes was home to Jews as far back as ancient times, according to a 2 c. BCE account in the Book
of Maccabees, concerning relations between the island community and the central administration of
the Roman Empire. Not long afterwards, in 87 BCE, the Rhodes orator, Apollonius the Mollon,
upheld the views of the stoic philosopher Poseidonius, and expressed a negative attitude to Jews,
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albeit without singling out the Jews of the island in particular. In the 7 c., CE Theophrastus
mentioned the commercial activities of the Jews of Rhodes in his Chronicle.
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The next clear reference to the Jews of Rhodes was made by the 12 c. traveller, Rabbi Benjamin of
Tudela, who found a community of about 400 people living there under the leadership of Rabbis
Hananel and Elia. In 1280 a small group of Jews from Tarragona in the Iberian Peninsula took refuge
on the island.
In 1309 the governance of Rhodes passed to the Knights of the Order of St. John. The exclusively
Jewish neighbourhood called Juderia, Juifrie, Giudecha or Ovriaki, located in the Eastern part of the
walled city dates back to that time. Generally speaking, the Jews of the island were on good terms
with the Venetians, although this did not mean they were exempted from restrictions. The Jews were
known for their high level of education. The Jewish population of Rhodes, like that of the whole of
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the Byzantine Empire prior to 16 c., was made up of Romaniote Jews. They had adopted Greek as
their language, had hellenised their names and had assimilated many features of local tradition in
their everyday lives. But they still retained their Jewish identity, using Hebrew as their language of
worship and adhering to the Romaniote ritual recorded in the Mahzor Romania prayer book.

In 1480 under Mehmet II, the Ottoman Turks besieged Rhodes but failed to conquer it. The Jews
fought side by side with the Knights of St. John, demonstrating amazing readiness to make personal
sacrifices. It is said that they even gave stones from their own homes to strengthen the city walls. The
next 41 years were difficult for all the people of Rhodes, including the Jewish community.
Travellers' accounts tell us that the Jewish population size was greatly reduced and the community
was struggling to survive.

Relations between the Order and the Jews of Rhodes deteriorated between at the end of the 15th c.
Decrees were issued obliging the Jews to either embrace Christianity or leave the island. The
repercussions of the ruthless Spanish Inquisition, which was merciless in its hounding of the Jews of
Western Europe, reached Rhodes. Many of the Jews of the island eventually left for Nice in France,
only to return later as captives, after having suffered continual hardship and misfortune.

Η εβραϊκή συνοικία Η μεσαιωνική πόλη
της Ρόδου, η της Ρόδου στις
Τζουδερία, στη αρχές του 16ου αι.,
σημερινή εποχή. χαρακτικό του Α.
The Jewish quarter Gabriel.
of Rhodes, the The medieval city
Juderia, of Rhodes, early
in modern 16th c., etching by
times. A. Gabriel.