The San Francisco call. [volume], July 03, 1898, Page 25, Image 25

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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"REVENGE AND RECOMPENSE IS MINE."
: V If 'FTER four hundred years Is
'■'•.•■-'.' l\ rael's day of reckoning with
: / \ Spain, its arch enem£ has
■'•jLx. corvn - Israel has suffered long
and" patiently, has cherished a
hope!..- almost against hope, that Borne
day her bitter wrongs, Inflicted by pow
. ••"Wrtul; overbearing, cruel Spain shall be
avenged. The day is ri' h al hand. nay.
jit is even come. Once proud Spain
-,:' kneels .at the feet of the Jewish money
kin*;-- for .the means to carry on the war
against a powerful enemy. The de
/-Jicendants'.of.'lha' ancient race, whose
ancestors have been robbed and mal
treated by her, have no ear for the
■ '■.pleadings of their tormentor, no com-
Ibn for her sufferings, no Lelp to
extend- to.' her. They turn a deaf ear
to, all her entreaties. Israel's day of
reckoning and of vengea c has come
at last. Spain shall drink th,e bitter
cup to ..the very dregs before the cruel
wrong she has In 2 on the peo
ple who wore her own Bhall be avenged.
The Jews of every country, every na
tionality and every clime arc- ranged
upon one si > of the presert conflict,
but not on the ,■:<'.•■• of Spain.- Their
hearts, their swords, their wealth, their
sympathies and prayers are with the
Un ted States. The flower of Judah has
enlisted among the lirsit volunteers un
der the Stars and Stripes.
From San Francisco aior.e 109 stal
wart Jewish youths went to the front
with the First Regiment, a number far
in excess of their proportion to the
general population. A similar quota
may be found in he other arms of the
service. The daughters of Esrael are
among the most feager workers under
the Red Cross, le<: by their ra.bbis. The
aged orthodox Israelites, those "f the
Old School, who hail f- m Russia, Rou
mania and Eastern and Southeastern
Europe, are too old and feeble to take
up arms, but they offer up their con
tributions, whatever little they can
■pare, U-r the comfort of those who
have gone to the front, and their
prayers morning and evening for the
success of our arms and our victory
over Spain. They still have faith in
the . I prayer and believe that
theso United States have been chosen
by the Lord as his especial instrument
to avenge the wrongs of his chosen peo
ple v >on Spain. : .
When Spain found that the United
States would no longer tolerate her in
human acts at our very door, and the
Yankees might fight, her fin;
agents approached the Rothschilds and
Bassoons, the money kings, to negotiate
terms for a loan. The financiers
not be induced to float a loan foi
upon any term?. -No. security Spain of
fered would they a< <•. pt, neither her
mines, lands nor future revenues suf
ficed as pledges. The monarchs of
finance simply shrugged their shoul
ders, but remained obdurate, while
Spanish securities went lower and low
er on 'change.
Quite a different scene was enacted
this side of the Atlantic. When Presi
dent McKinley saw that war was in
evitable his trusted friend, Senator
lianna. went to New York to see the
Seligmans, the great financiers. The
Seligmans had lots of money for Uncle
Bam, which he could have as long as
he wanted it, upon his own terms; no
security required, except his evidence
of indebtedness. And, in case their re
sources should become exhausted, to
provide for possible contingencies, the
Seligmans cabled to their banking
bouses In London, Paris, Frankfort and
other money centers, and the reply
from each source was that all the
money the United States should need
would be furnished on call at an inter
est to be named by the Government.
Thus the United States was enabled to
equip an army, buy battle-ships, move
Its troops, procure everything needed
or desired, and send millions with every
expedition, knowing that as many more
millions were in reserve, while Spain
could not raise enough money to repair
her old ships and make them at least
Beaworthy.
Th^» Jewish youth of N»w York form
ed one reg'ment and fully equipped it;
Chicago furnished another regiment of
bright, intelligent, patriotic young
Jews, most of whom abandoned lucra
tive business or positions to take up
arms for the country. Six hundred
young Russians from New Jersey, who
had seen service under the Czar of Rus
sia formed a cavalry regiment, and
were mustered in. The National Coun
cil of Jewish women held meetings In
1 Philadelphia and Baltimore and effect
j ed an organization to give practical aid
to the Government.
The American Patriotic League of
Russian Jews organized in Cincinnati
on May 15, elected Rev. Dr. Isaac Wise,
the jrrea* Jewish savant, its president,
Issued an appeal to all Israelites, urg
ing them to organize in every city and
community, raise funds, equip sol
diers, buy a battle-ship, present it to
the Government, and aid the Govern
ment in every way in its present strug
gle for human rights and human lib
erty.
"We have left the country of our
birth," the appeal says, "because we
hate tyranny, have come to this coun
try because we love liberty. Let us give
lasting testimony to this country how
her adopted children value the privilege
of living under the protection of the
stars and stripes."
The best' example of the intense
i hatred against Spain harbored by the
1 old and orthodox Jew can be daily seen
in the city of New York, in front of the
offices of the four Jewish newspapers,
where crowds of these people congre
gate, eagerly scanning the bulletins
WHAT THE CARTOONISTS
THINK OF THE WAR.
THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JULY 3, 1898.
and giving expression to their feelings
of joy over any ad\*antage reported in
favor of this country by their violent
gesticulations, shaking of their bodies
and the curses they utter against Spain,
the "accursed," as they designate it.
The intensity of that feeling can be un
derstood om.. by those who have
learned through tradition and had im
planted in their youthful hearts a re
cital of the atrocities inflicted upon
their kin by the cruel, inhuman Span
iard.
After the destruction of the second
temple, the fall of the Jewish empire,
the children of Israel became dismem
bered, lost their nationality and went
forth homeless wanderers among the
savage tribes of Asia Minor, the north
coast of Africa and wherever they
found a foothold or temporary abiding
place. Their natural trend was toward
Spain, where many thousands of their
brethren had settled many years be
fore the destruction of the temple,
founded colonies and prospered in all
their pursuits. Many thousands of the
nomads, in course of time, reached the
shores of Spain, where they found rest
from their years of wandering. They
brought some civilization with them,
had laws and maintained order. A
thrifty, industrial, peace-loving people,
they prospered and gained in influence
until they controlled the principal in
dustries of the land inhabited by an in
dolent race. The sanitary and marriage
laws which the Jews held sacred as
God-given, divine institutions, were
conducive of making theirs a healthy,
sturdy race. In the knowledge of ag
ricultural pursuits they w\?re in ad
vance of the Spanish primitive peasant,
whom they naturally outstripped.
To fully appreciate the intense hatred
of Jews against Spain, which has been
nursed and has surviv d centuries, it
is necessary to know the history of the
Jews in Spain, as it has been handed
down through books and tradition from
one generation to the other among the
children of Israel The chapter opens
in a halo of glory, made more radiant
by the sunshine of peace and pros
perity, but closes with the recital of
perfidy, tyranny, wholesale murder, pil
lage and rapine at the hands of in
furiated mobs.
The fancied security of the Jews in
Spain was of short duration. Just as
they had reached the very zenith of
influence and prosperity the storm of
spoliation and persecution, whioh had
devastated the Jewish quarters of
France and Germany, broke over Spain,
the stronghold of Jews of all Europe.
That persecution changed the history
of the Jews and turned the fortunes
of Spain. Until that period Spain had
been mistress of the world, on land
and sea. The Mediterranean was to
her as an inland" lake, her fleet cover
ing and traversing it from end to end.
All other countries were more or less
dependent upon Spain in their foreign
trade relations. While thus intoxi
cated by her own glory and power,
slowly but surely she encompassed her
own downfall. It was near the close
of the fourteenth century that fanat
icism, bigotry, hatred and religious
frenzy got the better of toleration and
judgment.
It arose in Seville. The new mon
arch, Henry 111, a feeble boy of 11,
treated the matter with indifference,
until it became too late to stem the
wild current. On March 15, 1391. Mar
tinez deliberately incited the mob to
riot and violence against the Jews. The
passion of the multitude had become
Inflamed and broke out in a wild up
roar. The Jewish quarter was pillaged
and many of its inhabitants met in
stant death. The Governor, unable to
restrain the m b, sent messengers to
the King for assistance. \Y hen the mil
itary arrived the knights, nobles and
the better classes of Christians took
sides with the Jews in an effort to sup
press mob violence. By their com
bined efforts they succeeded in quelling
the riots, but not until many Jews had
been killed and much property looted
or destroyed.
Three months later, June 6, 1391, the
rabble again attacked and set fire to
the Jewish quarter, resuming its "holy"
massacre with increased fury. Of a
community of 7000 families, estimated
at about 30,000 souls, 4000 were killed
outright, women and children were sold
into Mohammeian slavery and the rest
permitted themselves to be baptized to
escape death or a worse fate. The syn
agogues were converted into churches,
and the once wealthy and important
Jewish community of Seville was a
thing of the past.
The horrible scenes enacted at Seville
were the beginning of the period of
carnage which spread to all cities of
Spain and over the entire peninsula,
growing in fury as it progressed, until
every Jew had been either murdered,
baptized or banished, and Spain was at
the mercy of the lawless, bloodthirsty
mob. The craving for plunder and the
worst animal passions drew to the
rioters' ranks the very worst elements
from all classes, who masqueraded un
der religious fervor, while the persecu
tion swept like a raging torrent over
Spain, leaving death and devastation
in its path. Riot and rebellion were
rampant throughout the kingdom.
Armed mobs patrolled the streets, defy
ing the authorities. Men took to arms
for the lust of spoils, murder and ra
pine. They lost all human feelings
and turned to vultures.
The rioters, steadily augmented In
number, and crazed from excesses, at
tacked Cordova, the parent community
of the peninsula, murdering all Jews
who refused baptism. Toledo, the cap
ital, contained the largest community.
Here the mob rose on June 20, a Jewish
fast day, and slaughtered the steadfast
adherents to the ancient faith. At the
approach of the merciless mob, when
escape seemed impossible, many of the
most prominent Jews put to death
mothers, wives, daughters and sisters
to save them from the worse fate of
falling into the hands of the inhuman
rioters, and killed themselves. Seventy
communities were made the victims of
that terrible violence, which traveled
like the black scourge. At Ascalona
not a single Jew remained alive. Three
weeks after the outbreak at Toledo the
inhabitants of Valencia ros? agafcist
the Jews. Of the 5000 Jews in that city
not one remained. About 250 were mur
dered at the first attack, some fled
and all the rest embraced Christianity.
Throughout the kingdom the Jews were
attacked with fire and sword.
On August 5, the massacre of the
Jews began in Barcelona, the proudest
home of Jewish intelligence and wealth.
The great fortunes which the Jews of
that place had acquired by their ex
tensive maritime commerce excited the
envy of the rabble. In the first on
slaught nearly 2500 victims fell. A
large portion of the Jewish .commun
ity found shelter in the citadel, where
they were defended by the Governor
of the town and the nobility. The rab
ble attacked the stronghold in superior
numbers and' set fire to the building.
The Jews saw that there was no chance
for escape and that their presence en
dangered the lives of their protectors.
The braver ones went forth to meet
their persecutors In the open and they
fell in honorable combat. The remain
der either put an end to their misera
ble existence, or were put to death, as
soon as the rabble laid hands upon
them. Eleven thousand Jews were
baptized in Barcelona on that occa
sion; few escaped, but not one Jew re
mained in Barcelona. In Catalonia
and in Aragon the wealthy Jews were
spared, having secured protection in
exchange for their fortunes.
The closing scene in this dreadful
drama, marking a dark page in the his
tory of civilization, came in 1492, when
the sovereigns of Spain issued an edict
expelling all Jews from CasUie. Ara
gon, Sicily and Sardinia, and that if
one were found within the proscribed
territory after four months from that
day he should be put to death without
trial. They were not allowed to take
with them any gold, silver, money, or
forbidden articles of export, which
was equal to sending them forth desti
tute and penniless from the land in
which their forefathers had dwelt for
fifteen centuries, toward whose great
ness, wealth and culture they had so
largely contributed.
An immense sum wc.s offered the
crown to recall the cruel edict, and the
King was about to yield, when Tor
quemada again interfered, threatened
and cajoled, until he carried his point,
against the earnest advice of the
King's councilors. The Jews could not
realize on their lands, houses, goods
and chattels. They could not take any
with them, owing to the restrictions,
nor could they obtain any bills of ex
change, as all the commerce was in the
hands of Marranos, who would not
risk being seen peaking to a Jew or
having any business with him.
A palatial residence was bartered
away for an ass and a magnificent
country seat was exchanged for a bolt
of cloth or linen. Torquemada forbade
all Christians to have intercourse with
the Jews under penalty of excommun
ication. The Jews made ready to go,
knowing that to linger meant certain
death. Over 300.000 Jews, who had re
fused baptism, left Spain one day to
become homeless wanderers of the
globe, not knowing whither they were
going, nor *Lat fate awaited them,
carrying with them memories of grief
and misery, torture and persecution.
Professor Graetz, the eminent histor
ian, writes of the expulsion of the Jews
from Spain and its consequence in the
following words: "The expulsion of the
Jews from the Pyrenean Peninsula, un
wise as it was inhuman, forms in.vari
ous ways a well marked turning point
In the general -history 'of. ,..=J£wisn
race. It involved no* only- -the;, exiles, •'•.:
but the -whole .'Jeiyj&h^pebpje,.- in'. <ar*'
reaching and mostly "■djsas'trou.&.-ejons'e- :
quences. The glory- of the,- Jew.was-exy
tinguished, theii\'pnd«;"htfnVble&-. their
center displaced, the" "s.t'rQrig.'.-'- pillar
against which' they- had. hitherto leaned .
broken. The. grief- c.aused-15-y ••th'-is 1 .
event was shared by j.ewao'f. ey.e'ry
country -which, had -news - : of", .ft," ..-Tjbey
all felt as if '-the ;; temple had Vß^elj de- : . -,'
stroye'd for a' third ""time;.. risaf-itn^on-s;. •
of Zion'had far atliird.time, .b^e^-'-cqn-; •
demned to exile .a.nd".niiser.y.v.^V.he.fhe'r. .
from fancy or pride-., it. rvvas- supposed -., •
that the Spanish,- the :Seirhar&ic>Je>ys;. •
were the posterity "of t-he : :nobie.s-.t-tFit)ei' i
and included- among' tHem xbese'e&d&itfS- " .
in a direct line." fjoW -living..;.; David:
hence the Jews looked -upon- -them;,
kind of Jewish not/iltt-'y"... : , -new "
these exalted ones' had; been-.'/viaitgd- fitf"
the severest affliction. ■''•■"'.'•'•••.••'-.,'!• v.. :.': .' *
"The remnant wandered '■.ibou't-' -Jike.. ■
specters, hunted rom one : "c6iiTit : iry-'.t'6 .
another, and. pfijjces "among ■.Jew's,. -It-hiay .-.
were compelled to" knock, as' beggars, at"
the doors of their breth'refi. Shinty .
millions of ducats wh-k-tv, at : .'.th.:e •■lpwe'st
computation^ the Spanish; ■Jew:s' : -.po.ST,
sessed oh their expulsion.;, had:, melted. .
away in their hands'," arid. •they ■• \y ere
thus left denuded *>-f •ev£rythi..ng ; 'in : .'a;
hostile world,, which- valued' "the. 'J^vs •
at their moneys worth .only. - ' pa : lf a .
century after, the banishment- 'of;'.. .the .
Jews from Spain. th : e- . fugitive? :'. ■ \\:eF.e •
still on their travels'; -.here': 'a..g roup, •'
there a family, or s< lita.ry stragglers... :
"It was a kind of e'xodu'. pn.-'a-'sipaU
scale, moving eastward cntefly,:to..Tu"r-.
key, as if the Jews- 'w'epe-- to. approach •' "
their original, homo. ' -But 'theirv'yery; .
wanderings, until they :agtii.n-. reached.- •
secure dwelling places, in. kiiji'e'as-^
ure were settled, weTe.-. heartren'di-n'g, '
through the- calamities . of- : . evgry. . de-.'
scription, the hurhiUatiohs.-.t'he '•■ -eo,n.-.- .
tamely, sufferings .worse. thari*» death;- ;•.
that they encountered!"'. ■■'•■'.'■.■•.•.■•"..'••'■:
The story, of Israel's sufferings at. the °'
hands of cruel, .'inhuman ...s;p..aiir..".wf ll •
never be forgotten -by /children,
Israel. It is among' its. cherished 'y-ef
saddest traditions. ..The Je w,. will' ever
remember Spain: he' imbibes-- '-Jhev ha- v
tred at .mother's breast ;..T ; hp'ugh';it -.'
has never been -written, 'the': rn'o.ther .
teaches it to her .child, from iip lo'lear'.
Listen to the-luliaioV of mothers • in, .
Israel, as you enter"theirhom.es;;. ■
the Baltic to' the" Mediterranean., from . •
the Atlantic to the Behng.;S.ea',.' in' .the
twilight of the waning, holy .Sabbath-.;
you will hear the- orthodox. : .'.]paoth«f '
chant in soft and plaintive tones to h-er-"'"
offspring of Israel's departed glory. anii .
the coming of the Messiah- to lead -them. •
back to the promised-la.nd...Slip-sTngs
the unwritten verses -.'•in the;- . Jewish
jargon— the refrain of every: stanza 13. = '
"Accursed Spain." . ' : ; "... ■■' .' ;' .'..- ,
. . TC>. M IMETRQ." . '
Silver money 250.' years o'.ldis'BtiH in •
circulation in some parts.'of. -Spa-ih.'. ; : ' : "
25