Portuguese Proceedings of Congregation Mickveh Israel of Philad'a
Philanthropic Resolution
[Judaica]. (Mikveh Israel). [Philanthropic Circular]. Philadelphia: Portuguese Congregation of Mickveh Israel of Philad’a, Synagogue Chambers, Dec.25th, 1859.
8vo.; one leaf folded to make four pages; printed on pages one and three.
A circular signed in print by fifteen members of the Portuguese Congregation—but not addressed by hand in the space provided—announcing a resolution to allocate funds for Jewish refugees from Morocco. In part:
Resolved: That in view of the appeals from our Jewish Brethren for aid, to alleviate the distresses of those who fled from the brutality of the lawless Moorish Kabyles, to seek protection at Gibraltar, this Congregation do appropriate one hundred dollars for their relief, and that a Committee of three be appointed, with power to add to their number, to take the necessary steps to collect funds to relieve the appalling destitution of the Refugees from Morocco, now sheltered at Gibraltar.
…[we feel] assured that our appeal to you will receive your charitable consideration, and
prompt you to aid us in affording that substantial relief which the unfortunate necessities
of the case demand, and thereby prove another evidence of the characteristic liberality of
the American people.
The interior page prints the resolutions of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, “received through Sir Moses Montefiore, their President,” and extracts from letters written about the refugees in Gibraltar, excerpted from a circular of the Board of Delegates of American Israelites. These extracts include information on the ministrations of the people and government of Gibraltar, and on the staggering inadequacy of their supplies:
There are Fifteen Thousand Jews in Teuton alone, who will fly any where to escape from the violence of the tribes, and the majority will probably come here…in a case of such widely spread distress, it is our duty to receive contributions from all whose philanthropy shall induce them to proffer assistance. An earnest appeal to the humane and benevolent, is just now a pressing necessity… A war in Morocco, it should be born in mind is a double calamity to the Jews of that empire… The Tangier population of Christians and Jews, with the exception of about 400 to 500 who took shelter under the Spanish flag, and were conveyed to Tarifa and Algesiras, and [are] also here. Gibraltar is over-crowded, and rooms are unattainable either for love or money. The refugees are encamped on the Isthmus which goes under the denomination of the Neutral Ground, or North Front, in Tents, provided by his Excellency Lieutenant General, Sir W.J. Codrington, K.C.B. who acted in a manner which makes us feel the blessings of true Christian Charity…
The author of this unsigned letter concludes with a paragraph acknowledging the unselfish aid given by the gentile population of Gibraltar:
I cannot omit mentioning here, how handsomely the Right Rev. Dr. Scandella, the Roman Catholic Vicar Apostolic of this church, gave refuge for that evening to about 150 of these, providing them every thing at hand making them as comfortable as could be imagined under the circumstances, and thus making the poor recipients of that hospitality forget that they were coming in the midst of a people unknown to them, so great was the sympathy and compassion shown by the prelate, for the strangers of a different nation and creed. Many others found temporary refuge on that dismal evening, with every immediate assistance in the houses of several individuals, also Christians, and the most part were conveyed to the building of the principal Synagogue, where they were equally taken care of.
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