L'Amico della Ragione ["The Friend of Reason": equal rights for Jews]

(ITALY).

Eredi di Giuseppe Rinaldi

Ferrara

1796

At the top of the broadside are emblazoned the mottos "Libert`a (Liberty) and Uguaglianza (Equality). In 1796 the French Republic granted equal rights to the Jews of Ferrara. (See Z. Szajkowski, Jews and the French Revolutions of 1789, 1830 and 1848 (1970), p. 910, no. 564.) This provoked a terrible backlash from conservative Catholic elements. Our broadside argues in favor of the emancipation of the Jews, providing an historical record of the Jews' service to humanity. Honorably mentioned are the famous Jew Montalto, who served as physician to Maria de Medici and the Norsa and Abarbanel Families of Ferrara, who were awarded titles of distinction.