Visme, de [Jacques Francois Laurent]. Rapport fait au nom du Comité des Domaines, le 20 Juillet 1790, sur le droit de protection, levé sur les Juifs, par M. de Visme, Député du Vermandois et Décret rendu sur ce rapport

(FRENCH JUDAICA)

L’Imprimerie Nationale

Paris

(1790)

An Important Milestone in the Emancipation of the Jews of Alsace-Lorraine “The National Assembly hereby abolishes the annual tax of 20,000 livres levied on the Jews of Metz (Lorraine).” (p. 15) On p.7 there is some discussion as to when the first Jews arrived in Metz. The Jews contend that they were already living there when the city came under French domination in 1552. The merchants of Metz give the year 1567 as the date of the arrival of the first four Jewish families. The truth is, although Metz enjoyed a rich Jewish history under Germanic rule before its possession by France, that glorious history came to an end in 1365 when the Jews were summarily expelled. See JE, Vol. VIII, p.522. See aslo Szajkowski, The Emancipation of the Jews During the French Revolution (1970), 236 (p. 881)