The Jew in the Turkish Revolution

Julius T. Loeb, “The Jew in the Turkish Revolution,” Birmingham Age-Herald (Birmingham, AL), Sept. 5, 1909. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038485/1909-09-05/ed-1/seq-29/ 

THE JEW IN THE TURKISH REVOLUTION

By Rabbi Julius T. Loeb

    In the notable events that the historian is now to record of the wonderful transformation in the Ottoman empire the Jew will figure prominently. From the facts now revealed it is clearly shown that the Jews in Turkey not only did their part in aiding the constitutionalists to bring about the desired end, but that they were actually the leading spirit in the entire movement for liberty and progress. 

    Throughout the 40 years of the Young Turks’ peaceful struggle for free government the Jews proved to be their warmest supporters and friendliest allies; but the noblest example of the patriotic devotion was exhibited by the Jews during the critical days of the reactionary upheaval of April last. 

    Great was the consternation in the Turkish capital when the first news was circulated of the dastardly attempt by the reactionaries to overthrow the constitution, when a sudden uprising took place by the soldiers in the Yildiz kiosk, who murdered their officers and placed themselves under command of fanatical and cruel reactionary chiefs.

    From secret hiding there came forth like the fiends of Sheol, enemies of light, to destroy the newly established order, and to reinstate the rule of old despotism in its stead. The constitution was declared void and nil; all the plans for modern improvement were barred, and cast down were the liberty-loving citizens who had labored and struggled for their political freedom and civic righteousness, as was guaranteed by the constitution twice granted and withdrawn. The counter revolution that came so unexpectedly had, with one blow, swept down all hopeful anticipations for peace and progress. 

    A brutal soldiery paraded the streets of Constantinople, goaded on by the dictates of bribed hirelings and minions of despotism. There seemed to have been nothing to do save to yield up the long-cherished cause of liberty as a cause that is perfectly hopeless. There was none so bold as to offer resistance; none so brave as to utter a single word in the sight of such tremendous odds. The president with some of the best known members of the Turkish parliament, fled for their lives; one of the best parliament leaders was cruelly murdered in the open street and the rest of the people’s representatives were utterly dumfounded, benumbed with fear, knowing not what course to pursue. 

    In the height of this great confusion that ensured, in the midst of this dark pandemonium of a religio-political upheaval, there arose one man who dared open his mouth and speak “the word in due season”—the word which rekindled the spirit of liberty in the hearts of a despondent citizenship. The man so bold and heroic was Nissim Efendi Mazliach, the Jewish deputy from Smyrna, who upon receiving the evil tidings hastened to the capital, entered the deputy chamber, took the floor of parliament, and in a fiery speech after the manner of Patrick Henry, raised his voice high against the treachery of the reactionary elements. Fearlessly, and with absolutely no regard for the dangers to which he had personally exposed himself this Jewish patriot stood up for the rights of the people and openly arraigned those mad fanatics and bribed hirelings who were responsible for the outrages. He even dared to publicly accuse the Sultan Abdul Hamid of teachery to the constitution, which accusation subsequently proved true. 

    The military uprisings of April 13 the orator branded as high treason against the best interests of the Turkish empire. He therefore demanded that parliament declare the capital in possession of the Young Turks—the only party that would insure the people’s rights with the safety of the constitution. He concluded by saying that those who had instigated the conspiracy must pay the penalty of their vile acts; that the people of Turkey having once tasted of freedom’s reign would never again bow their heads before old tyranny; that those who caused the confusion should be quickly swept away by the storm of public indignation. His speech was a masterpiece. It created such a tremendous impression upon the hearers that friends of liberty by the thousands immediately gathered around the patriotic leader, resolved to stand for their rights, to flight for liberty, to conquer or die in the attempt.

    At this very moment when Deputy Mazliach had thundered away in his trumpet-tongued eloquence, stirring the people to action at the Turkish capital, another Jew by the name of Emanuel Efendi Carasso, one of the principal leaders among the Young Turks, was on his way to Salonica, the stronghold of Turkish revolution. Arrived at the place, this heroic leader immediately sounded the alarm and started up the movement which brought the gallant army from Salonica to Constantinople, and compelled the deposition of Abdul Hamid. Already on the first day of his arrival at Salonica, Mr. Carasso addressed a number of meetings that were attended by not less than 30,000 citizens. And by so doing he raised the standard of liberty in the land and called for an army of volunteers to more onward toward the Turkish capital. It was not yet definitely known whether or not the regular army of Salonica would consent to undertake the march upon the capital, so Mr. Carasso merely called for volunteers to organize themselves into a military force and proceed to defend the threatened constitution. Jews were first to respond to this call, and they came by the thousands from Salonica, Adrianople, Monastir and other places—all supplied with arms, offering their services, their lives and their material substances in the cause of liberty. With unsurpassable energy and zeal Jews have thrown themselves into this fight, which was to determine their lot and their future destiny. 

    A special Jewish battalion, headed by an able Jewish captain, was added to the Constitutionalist forces, beside the many of the Hebrew race who were strwn [sic] here and there in the ranks of the Bulgars, Greeks and Turks, all of whom had subsequently gathered under the banner of liberty. Other leaders of the Young Turks followed Mr. Carasso to Salonica, and with him as chief speaker and adviser they held their important deliberations, as a result of whoch [sic] Mr. Carasso went to negotiate with the commanding officers and generals of the regular army. He himself started off first with a regiment of soldiers, and was followed by the long lines of officers and men consisting of 25,000 strong. The triumph achieved by these military forces was reported through the various newspaper dispatches. Under the leadership of this Mr. Carasso, the Jewish-Turkish patriot, took place the belligerence of Constantinople, while he, in his own person, had conducted the negotiations that went on daily between the citizens and the army officers before the latter proceeded to bombard the barracks at the Turkish capital. Mr. Carasso also was one of the members of the commission that elected the new sultan and went to inform Abdul Hamid that he was no longer the ruler of the Turkish empire. 

    The Jews of Constantinople did not take such active part in the revolutionary movement as did their brethren from the provinces, evidently because of the fact that the capital city offered no opportunity for any practical work in this direction. The struggle for liberty had to be organized at some distance from the capital. Salonica was thus chosen as headquarters for the Turkish revolutionists. There the committee of Young Turks held their frequent conferences, and there they met with the best sympathy and support of the citizens.

    Salonica is a city with about a hundred and thirty thousand inhabitants, of whom over one-half are Spanish-Portugese [sic] Jews (Sephardim), descendants of those who were banished from Spain in the year 1492. The rest of the city’s population is composed of Bulgarians, Greeks and Jews of modern caste, also those known as “Denmes,” renegade Jews, who in the latter half of the seventeenth century, under the rule of Mohammed IV, had embraced the Mussulman faith, by reason of the penalty imposed upon them for the turbulent conditions that were then caused in Turkey through the agitation of Sabbathai-Zebi, the false Messiah. And some of these are survived to the present day as a special caste. It is said that many of them fill high and responsible positions in the Turkish government. Djevid Bey, the recently elected minister of finance in Turkey, is likewise one of that class. Now this situation will explain the reason that the Young Turk leaders had succeeded in organizing and carrying on the revolution from Salonica without hinderance or stay. 

    Though the Jews in the Turkish capital had no opportunity to personally enlist in the patriotic ranks, yet even here they were first to appear on the scene, in order to befriend and to welcome the incoming soldiers from Salonica on their entering the city. The Jewish organization known as “Maccabeans” had raised funds and purchased biscuits, tea and various other refreshments with which they treated the incoming soldiers. They also provided with food and tobacco those soldiers who were stationed by the Young Turks to patrol the streets and guard against any possible disorder. 

    The patriotic conduct of the Jews called forth salvos of applause from all around. The soldiers of Salonica earnestly declared that the Jews were the most loyal citizens in the empire, while the officers expressed their hope that the time may not be distant when they shall have Jewish colleagues even in the main staff of the army. 

    During the exciting days of the reactionary uprising, and while the fate of the new regime was, as it were, hanging on a thread, and the outside world had with extreme anxiety awaited the clash between the two opposing armies in and around Constantinople—shocking tales of all kinds were circulated among the Palestine population and these tales accompanied by reports of disturbances from various districts in Turkey, especially the report of the great slaughter that the fierce Curds had perpetrated upon Armenians in Adana, which, of course, was instigated by elements antagonistic to the new regime—all of these things produced a horrifying effect upon the people of Palestine. But the committee of Young Turks of that jurisdiction proved themselves alive to the situation, and they quickly adopted the necessary measures to cope with the powerful enemy. They immediately took hold of all the telegraph offices in Palestine, and placed their own trusty men in charge of them; they took the strictest precautions everywhere to guard against disorder among the populace, and they instituted public demonstrations in every town and country, with a view to re-establishing the confidence of the people in the effective leadership of the Young Turks, and to re-awaken in their breasts the former enthusiasm for the constitution, which may have suffered a relapse by reason of the reactionary movement. In all these demonstrations and necessary precautions Jews had figured prominently. Not a single step was made by the committee except with the aid and co-operation of Jewish compatriots. In Jaffa, Jerusalem, and various other places Jewish military organizations were formed, and, supplied with arms, they stood ready, if needs be, to fight for their beloved fatherland, and to carry the movement for liberty to ultimate success. 

    The constitution in Turkey gives the Jews the fullest measure of human liberty, as well as the rights of citizenship. And the Jews deserved this important privilege by virtue of their honest labors for the progress of the country’s cause, and by being the first to shed their blood in defense of this, their own dear fatherland. 

    Since the constitution was instituted under the new Turkish regime not less than four Jewish representatives were sent to parliament, and many offices, great and small, are appointed daily to persons of the Jewish faith.

    The traditional friendship that existed between the Jews and the Mussulmans during the many centuries of the past has thus been intensified and rendered into a bond of constancy and endurance. Both the Jews and the Turks are now entering their constitutional career under most congenial and promising circumstances. We may now safely indulge the hope that the time of unrest and religious animosity in the Holy Land is past, and the Palestinian population, i. e., the professors of three dominating religions, may now look forward to a new period of peace and of union and progress. 

(To be Continued.)