Overview
The Damascus Affair began when a Capuchin friar and his servant disappeared and local Jews were accused of ritual murder. Authorities used imprisonment and torture to obtain confessions, while European diplomats and newspapers transformed the case into an international controversy. Jewish leaders from Britain, France, Austria, and the Ottoman world organized petitions and diplomatic missions. Moses Montefiore and Adolphe Crémieux traveled to seek the prisoners’ release. The affair exposed the continuing power of the blood libel while encouraging new forms of transnational Jewish political organization, journalism, and communal advocacy.
