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Haim Farhi (Template:Lang-he, also Chaim, Farkhi, also known as Haim "El Muallim" (lit. "The Teacher"), 1760 - 21 August 1819) was the Jewish adviser for the rulers of the Galilee in the days of the Ottoman Empire, and during Napoleon's travels in south west of the Levant.
He was a central figure in the pilgrimage of the students of the Baal Shem Tov, in 1777, and their absorption in the Galilee, and also in repelling Napoleon's siege of the city of Acre in 1799. Prime Minister, Financial Vizier and de facto ruler of Acre and its region from 1795 to 1819. He was assassinated in August that year.
Historical background
After the Ottoman empire's conquest of the Levant from the Mamluks in the year 1516, Galilee became part of the empire. Still, the central Turkish rule was weak. Throughout the empire, which ruled over vast areas in Turkey, Asia, North Africa, the Balkans and Europe, came many local rulers, who created a near-autonomous rule, who had a weak connection with the central government in Istanbul.
The central rule at northern Israel was supposed to come from Damascus, where the governor of Damascus would be the person responsible in from of the throne in Turkey. During the 18th century rose a strong local leader by the name of Dhaher al-Omar, who cut ties with the empire. This leader was defeated at 1775 by the Turkish officer Ahmad al-Jazar, and the Turkish re-established their control over the north of the land.
In the days of Dhaher al-Omar and Ahmad al-Jazar, the Galilee was being resettled by Jews. Daher invited Rabbi Chaim Abulafia of İzmir to return to his homeland and resettle Tiberias.
An existence of a strong local ruling, which enforced and prevented road robbery, as in the days of Dahar and Al-Jazar, turned the Galilee to a center of attraction for many - Arabs from Syria and Lebanon, and also Jews from the east and the west.
Al-Jazar's advisor
[[Image:Phelipoux.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The remains of the internal fortification line erected by Farhi and De-Phelipoux within the walls of Acre, during Napoleons siege, May, 1799.
Haim Farhi was born to a respected Jewish family in Damascus, and some say he was related to the royal house of David. For many years, the family's members, among them Shaul Farhi, Farhi's father, worked as the treasurers of the Damascus district. It is also possible that they were used to mediate between the Jewish community and the law. It is known that they tried to alleviate the burden of the taxes on the Jews of Safed. Haim Farhi was the banker of the ruler of Damascus. He gained a lot of influence with the Turkish government, and became the adviser for the ruler of Acre, Ahmad Al-Jazar. Al-Jazar recognized his advisor's talents and acted upon his advice. In addition, he also relieved taxation of the Jewish community on Farhi's request.
Notwithstanding this, Al-Jazar was a violent and cruel individual who's title "Al-Jazar" means "The Butcher". In violent attacks he would find pretext and do harm to his Jewish advisor and as a result he had pierced his eye and cut off the edge of his nose. A famous illustration of those days shows Al-Jazar sitting in Justice in front of his Jewish adviser who is wearing an eye patch.
In the days of Al-Jazar, in the year 1799, Napoleon tried to conquer the Land of Israel. His journeys in the land started in February 1799 when Napoleon and his army arrived from the south, captured Jaffa and massacred 2000 Turkish prisoners within it. They then moved north, captured Haifa and the Jezreel Valley and lay siege upon Acre. Al-Jazar's troops lasted the siege for a month and a half and refused to surrender. These soldiers used the help of English sailors who were under the command of Admiral Sidney Smith. Also, they used an artillery expert by the name of Antoine DePhelipoux.
The mind behind the defense of Acre was Farhi. As the adviser and right hand man of Al-Jazar, Farhi had a direct hand at the way the war was run. Farhi and Dephelipoux fought against Napoleon a war full of cruelty and trickery. At its peak, the siege as managed to breach the wall and with many casualties Napoleon's soldiers had tried entering into the city only to discover that within the weeks since the siege has started, Farhi and DePhelipoux have built a second wall, several Feet into the city where Al-Jazar's garden was. The construction of the second wall made Napoleon and his men realize that they will probably not be able to take over the city. The siege was removed and Napoleon returned on his way to Egypt. Some say that Napoleon's statement during the war; saying that if he were to succeed and conquer the land it would be returned to the Jews, was meant to capture Farhi’s attention and make him support Napoleon.
His demise and murder
After the death of Al-Jazar in 1804, the role of ruler of the Galilee was given to his son Sulayman. Sulayman ruled over the region until his death in 1819, when he bequeathed the power to his adopted son Abdullah.
Sulayman continued working with Farhi and utilized him in the same way as his father did, however his adopted son, Abdullah, had made a decision to get rid of Farhi. Farhi got word of the decision but did not escape as he feared for the Jews of the kingdom.
On 21 August 1819, soldiers appeared at Farhi's residence in Acre, announced that he is a traitor and killed him on the spot by strangling him. His house was ransacked by the soldiers and his family wasn't allowed to bury his body. His family escaped to Damascus but his wife was unable to withstand the hardship of the journey and died along the way in Safed.
The vendetta
When word arrived in Damascus about Farhi's death, his brothers; Solomon, Refael and Moshe swore to avenge his killing. They went on to hire Turkish officers in Damascus and Aleppo and requested a fatwa from the Grand Mufti of Constantinople, the supreme religious authority of the Ottoman Empire, that Abdullah was to be killed.
In April, 1821, the Farhi brothers arrived with a large army to the Land of Israel. They conquered the Galilee defeating Abdullah's armies that came along their way and appointing new rulers to take his place in each region they conquered. When they finally reached Acre, they kept it under siege for 14 months. During the siege, the eldest brother, Solomon, was poisoned by emissaries of Abdullah and the brothers grew despair of the siege and went back with their troops to Damascus.
His legacy
Farhi's residency still stands today in Acre, but it is not open for visitors. In Acre there is a central city square at the old city in his name. Farhi will be remembered as a contributor to the pilgrimage of the students of the Baal Shem Tov, in the year 1777, and their absorption in the Galilee. This pilgrimage is considered an important milestone in the Jewish resettlement in the Galilee.
References
- Avraham Yeari, "Memories of the land of Israel" (זכרונות ארץ ישראל), published by the department of youth matters of the Zionist Histadrut, 1947.
External links
- FARHI Family History
- Haim "El Muallim" Farhi
- Les Farhi de Damas
- Portrait of Haim Farhi
- Haim Genealogy