On This Day in Jewish History: October 30, 1910

https://www.instagram.com/p/CG-u6CArHv2/

.

,#onthisday, a pogrom known as the Shiraz Blood Libel leads to 12 Jews being killed, 50 more injured, and 6,000 were robbed of all their possessions by a mob seeking vengeance for the baseless charge that the Jews had ritually murdered a Muslim girl.

.

The day prior, a Muslim merchant entered the homes of two chief rabbis in Shiraz claiming that his daughter had disappeared in the Jewish quarter and must have been killed for her blood.

.

Despite the rabbis’ protests against the accusation, the merchant and his escorts threatened to attack the Jewish quarter if the young girl wasn’t found.

.

The riot was initiated after a child’s body was found near a Jewish cemetery in Shiraz. While the body was ultimately identified as belonging to a Jewish boy who had been buried there and dug up, this information was not made public until it was too late.

.

A chain of thieves formed along the streets of Shiraz, and in an assembly line format, the valuable belongings of residents in the Jewish quarter were removed from their houses and passed along.

.

Every one of the approximately 260 Jewish households was looted. The items that were too large or dispensable were destroyed, along with many of the houses themselves.

.

Shiraz’s governor attempted to stop the violence by ordering his soldiers to control the mob, but his soldiers, given their Muslim fealty, ultimately were the first to attack the Jewish quarter.

.

Those who fled sought out sanctuary at the homes of Muslim friends, in government facilities, and in religious buildings.

.

The end of the pogrom was marked by the complete destruction of the Jewish quarter.

.

The Alliance Israélite Universelle, an international organization with a mission to protect the human rights of Jews, led relief efforts.

.

Local Muslims and the governor of Shiraz also assisted with recovery.

.

Blood libel pogroms were prominent for European Jews under Christian control for over 1,000 years – the root of the insidious charge itself being England circa 1255.

.

Shiraz, 1910 was one of the few instances of the charge cropping up in a Muslim-majority nation.

.

✍: ,@madelynilana

.

,#judaism,#jewish,#jewishhistory,#onthisday,#shiraz,#bloodlibel

.

Text Source:

https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-1910-a-pogrom-in-shiraz-iran-1.5195383