The position of Jews in Serbia and Romania in 1867. according to British diplomatic sources

Abstract

U ovom radu se komparativno posmatraju okolnosti života jevrejske zajednice u Rumuniji i Srbiji. Uprkos nesrazmernomj veličini jevrejske zajedenice, autori prate povezanost ovih kneževina po pitanju rešavanja jevrejskog pitanja, odnosno intenzivne aktivnosti britanske diplomatije da bude medijator u rešavanju ovog pitanja. Osnov za komparaciju autori vide u povezanosti odnosa britanskih diplomata prema Srbiji i Rumuniji, odnosno smanjenju pritiska na srpsku vladu i kneza Mihaila nakon što su se u Rumuniji intenzivirali progoni Jevreja u toku leta 1867. godine. Autori posebnu pažnju posvećuju društvenopolitičkom kontestu budući da su obe države u periodu 1866−1867 prolazile kroz turbulentan period: u Bukureštu je 1866. godine donet ustav koji je imao diskriminatorske odredbe prema Jevrejima, dok su u Srbiji i dalje važilizakoni prema Jevrejima koji su im ograničavali privredne aktivnosti, u Srbiji je početkom 1867. došlo do predaje gradova srpskim vlastima. Sudeći po britanskimizvorima izThe National Archives (TNA) Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva koji su korišćeni kao osnova ovog rada, događaji koji su se odigrali u Srbiji i Rumuniji bili su važni Ministarstvu spoljnih poslova Velike Britanije, kao i najvažnijim jevrejskim organizacijama i pojedincima. Udruženim snagama oni su pokušali da ublaže diskriminišući položaj Jevreja u Srbiji i Rumuniji što je fokus ovog rada.This paper compares the life circumstances of the Jewish community in Romania and Serbia. Despite the disproportionate size of the Jewish community, the authors follow the connection of these principalities in terms of solving the Jewish question, that is, the intensive activities of British diplomacy to mediate in solving this issue. The authors see the basis for the comparison in the connection between the relations of British diplomats towards Serbia and Romania, that is, the reduction of pressure on the Serbian government and Prince Mihailo after the persecution of Jews intensified in Romania in the summer of 1867.The authors pay special attention to the socio-political context since both countries were going through a turbulent period in the period 1866-1867: in Bucharest, in 1866, a constitution was passed that had discriminatory provisions against Jews, while in Serbia, laws against Jews that restricted their economic activities were still valid, in Serbia, in early 1867, cities were handed over to the Serbian authorities. Judging by the British sourcesfrom The National Archives (TNA) of the United Kingdom used as the basis of this work, the events that took place in Serbia and Romania were important to the Foreign Office of Great Britain, as well as to the most important Jewish organizations and individuals. With joint forces, they tried to alleviate the discriminatory position of Jews in Serbia and Romania, which is the focus of this work