History of the Jews in Bucharest

[1] Not much is known of Jews residing in Bucharest during the seventeenth century, except that they were engaged in commerce and in the manufacture and sale of liquor, while a few practiced medicine.

His son Constantine even renewed the privileges of the "ḥaham bashi" of Moldavia, recognizing the latter's authority over the Jews of Wallachia, and granting them the right to have a deputy at Bucharest (1764).

Encouraged by the attitude of their prince, the populace heaped indignities upon the Jews; so that Moruzi found himself obliged — for a consideration in money — to direct the authorities to defend them: he even had to condemn to the bastinado and to exile a Christian tailor who had forcibly baptized a Jewish child.

Constantine Hangerli (1797–99) treated the Jews somewhat better; giving them a tract of land on which to erect distilleries, granting privileges to artisans, and exempting them from taxation.

[1] In spite of the obstacles put in the way of the Jews at Bucharest, the artisan class especially developed during the eighteenth century; its members often occupied exceptional positions, owing to their skill and the services which they rendered to the princes, the boyars, and even the people.

In 1787 he gave way to a Christian; but six years later the position was again held by a Jew, Eleazar, who bore the title of "jeva-hirji-pasha" (grand provost of jewelers).

Certain Jews attached to the court obtained privileges and were exempt from taxes; and they acquired influence with the princes, the high dignitaries, and the boyars.

The Jews were accused of espionage and of ritual murder; and on April 8, 1801, the rabble, aided by some soldiers, pretending to possess orders from the authorities, fell upon them, maltreated them, pillaged their houses, and massacred 128.

[1] The Jews had hardly recovered from this terrible blow, when they were obliged to leave Bucharest hastily, together with the rest of the population, on account of the invasion of Pasvan Oglu, the rebel pasha of Rustchuk (1802).

When they returned to their homes the specter of ritual murder again confronted them, so that Constantine Ypsilanti was obliged to request the metropolitan to instruct the priests to proclaim from their pulpits the falsehood of the accusation, which had been spread by persons whose only purposes were riot and pillage (1804).

The well-to-do families removed to Transylvania; and the less fortunate ones who remained behind were subjected to heavy taxes, in which, however, they were not treated differently from the Christian merchants.

The Jews lived in continual fear of being accused of ritual murder, and finally, in order to extort money from them, their provost was imprisoned, and his office given to a German Catholic.

A fresh and violent outbreak of the plague furnished a pretext to Caradja, who accused the Jews of living in filth and of thus spreading the pestilence.

On March 7, 1822, the Turkish soldiers, after a quarrel, charged upon the people, killed and wounded fifteen Christians and sixty Jews and Armenians, and looted the shops.

[1] In the second year of the reign of Gregory Ghika (1822–28) a fire destroyed the Jewish synagogue and one hundred and fifty houses inhabited mainly by Jews, many of whom lost all their possessions.

The plague again offered an opportunity for extortion; the Jews, being declared infected, were driven from the city, and allowed to return only on payment of a sum of money.

[1] The communal quarrels in the mean time continued among the followers of the German and the Portuguese ritual, and among the native Russian, Austrian, and Prussian Jews, not abating even after the reorganization of the community, which was granted by the authorities in 1832.

Rabbis were installed and deposed by the different parties, thus causing embarrassment to the government, the all-powerful consuls, and the boyars, each of whom had a favorite Jew.

The banker Hillel Manoaḥ [he; ro] on being knighted, was made a member of the commission appointed by the prince in 1847 to aid the suffering Jews, and in the following year he was elected to the municipal council.

[1] The Sephardim, who are called "Spaniards" in Rumania, were at first united with the rest of the Jews; but as early as 1818 they built their own synagogue and were subsequently recruited in numbers by Turkish immigrants.

All the educational and philanthropic institutions and agencies have been supported solely by societies or committees appointed for raising funds, since the salt-tax, which was a profitable source of income, was abolished.