Napoleon emancipated Jews in France and in territories conquered during the Napoleonic Wars, abolishing ghetto restrictions and lifting laws that limited Jewish rights to property, worship, and certain occupations. He also designated Judaism as an official religion of France in 1807, alongside Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. At the same time, the Infamous Decree of 1808 temporarily restricted Jewish money-lending and imposed requirements on Jewish migration and surnames.
What was the Infamous Decree of 1808 and how did it affect Jews?
The Décret Infâme, issued on the 17th of March 1808, imposed a ten-year ban on Jewish money-lending, declared debts with Jews annulled or reduced, and restricted where Jews could migrate. It also required Jews to adopt formal surnames and barred them from using city names or Hebrew Bible names. The financial damage was severe enough that the Jewish community nearly collapsed.
Did Napoleon issue a proclamation inviting Jews to rebuild Jerusalem?
A French newspaper, Gazette Nationale, reported on the 22nd of May 1799 that Napoleon had issued such a proclamation during the siege of Acre. Historians disagree about whether this reflected a genuine policy; Ronald Schechter believed the newspaper was reporting a rumour, and a detailed 1940 version discovered by historian Franz Kobler has been assessed as a forgery by several scholars, including Simon Schwarzfuchs in his 1979 book.
What was the Grand Sanhedrin and why did it alarm European rulers?
Napoleon convened the Grand Sanhedrin as a representative body of the Jewish community to serve as their formal interlocutor with the French government. Russian Emperor Alexander I denounced it and pressured the Russian Orthodox Church to protest, calling Napoleon "the Anti-Christ" and "the Enemy of God." The Holy Synod of Moscow proclaimed that Napoleon intended to found a new Hebrew Sanhedrin, the same council the Christian Bible identifies as having condemned Jesus.
How did Napoleon's Jewish policies affect Germany and Italy?
Napoleon permanently improved the condition of Jews in the Prussian Rhine provinces during his rule of that area, and German Jews historically regarded him as the major forerunner of Jewish emancipation in Germany. His consistory system served as a model for other German states until after his fall. Twentieth-century Italian author Primo Levi wrote that Italian Jews often gave their children the names Napoleone and Bonaparte to honour their historic liberator.
Who was Thomas Corbet and what role did he play in Napoleon's Jewish proclamation?
Thomas Corbet (1773-1804) was an Anglo-Irish Protestant member of the Society of United Irishmen who served in the French Army. In February 1799, he wrote a letter to the French Directory recommending that Napoleon call on the Jewish people to join the eastern conquest. Dr. Milka Levy-Rubin of the National Library of Israel attributed his motivation to Protestant Zionism rooted in premillennialist themes. Napoleon made his own proclamation three months after Corbet's letter.