Bonaparte, Général en Chef [Napoleon Bonaparte]

(FRENCH JUDAICA)

Jaffa

1799

After the conquest of Egypt, Napoleon’s army advanced into Palestine. On March 7, 1799, Jaffa surrendered after a four-day siege. Napoleon’s forces remained in Palestine until June of that year. They suffered a serious setback at Acre, where the city’s defenders, supported by British warships, withstood the French siege. By June, Napoleon’s army, plague-ridden and badly beaten, moved back to Egypt. In May 1799, during Napoleon’s campaign in Palestine, the European newspapers reported that Napoleon issued a manifesto in Palestine promising the Jews their return to their homeland. Today, scholars question whether there was ever such a such a manifesto. See EJ, Vol. XII, cols. 823-5. This letter addressed to Chief of Ordinance, Daure, concerns provisions for Napoleon’s army, including meat and oil. It is dated “Jaffa, le 7 Prairial, an 7.” The dating is in accordance with the French Revolutionary Calendar, which though instituted on October 24, 1793, actually begins a year earlier with the dawn of the Republican Era on September 22, 1793. Thus “an 7” (Year 7) is equivalent to the year 1799. The month of “Prairial” starts May 20 or 21, thus “le 7 Prairial” is equivalent to May 27 or May 28. LETTER FROM END OF NAPOLEON’S CAMPAIGN IN PALESTINE