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also constitute a tmnsft-r of the victim to strangers. If lie be sold to his own kin. tlioufrh all otiii-r conditions exist, till' crime is incomplete, there being no

sepanition from "his brethren " (Siinh. H.ji;). These four conditions must follow one another in Where a sinale condition the order lieredesiL'nated. is lackinjr, or where the seiiuence is changed, there can be no conviction. Each step in tlii' crime must be attested by at least two qualilicd i)(isons the lubbinic legal ma.xim in this respect being. "Wherever the Bible sjiys, "One And it matters is found.' it means by witnesses." not whether one set of witnesses is able to testify to the whole aggregation of circumstances, or each circunistauce be witnessed by a dilTerent set. so long as the details in the case are corroborated by the testimony of (|Ualili(d eye-witnesses. (4) When a legal number of qualified eye-witnesses testify to all the various steps in the case, and the culprit and the victim are, of legal capacity, and no mitigating circumstances are iiresented by which, as iji all capital the defense, then the coirt cas<'S. must consist of twenty- three qualified membii-s— sliall adjudg<' th<> culi)rit guilty of Abduction, the penalty for which is death by strangulation, t^ee Misluiah .Sudi. . (.i./; tieni. //'. fi.V/ and Hfi; Mek., Jlislipalim Neziivin, ^ "> Sifre, Deiit. 2T3; JIaimouides, "(lenebah," i.. 1-6; "Senutg,'' Prohi;

—

bition, 134.

S. JI.

ABD-TTL-HAMID sulliui:

iMirnSipi

','•,'.

II.: Tliirly-fourth Ottoman 1S4'.!; siccee(h-d his brother.

.MuradV.. Aug. ;tl. ls7(i. The Turkish .lews rightly i-egard his riMgnas the inauguration and guaranty of Ihcir prosperous condition in the Turkish empire. ul-I.Iamid always showed the greatest solicilude for their welfare; and he was the first Turkish sovereign to grant them (Miuality before the law with (In ascending their Mohaiiunedan fellow citizens. the tlirone he ordered the payment of ri'gularsidaries giving them by that to the chief rabl)is of Turkey means the position of ollicials of state and initiated llie practise of sending to the chiif rabbi of Constanliiiople every Passover the sum of H.tMIO

Abd

—

—

francs for disttnbntion among the poor Jewish famiWhen, in IHHl, the Crelies of the Ttirkish capital. tan goveriunent refused to allow Jews to lake pari ill

till'

municipal

eli'Ctions,

Abd uMlamid annulled

the elections and sharply admonished the authorities for their infringeniiiit of the rights of the Jews. When, by the terrible conllagralion that occurred in till- Jewish quarter, Ilaskini, in lHs->. si.x thou sand .levvish families of Coiistanliiiople were lift without shelter, Abd id Ilaiuid did everything in his

power

Abdon

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

47

to relieve their distress.

In

IXH:!,

when

the

sultan conferred the order of the Osinanie on the chief rabbi of Constantinople, Moses Levy, lie expressed his sympathy for the Jews ami his reproliatitiii of the persecutions endurid by them in many European countries. "As fur nie." he sjiid. "I am very much satistied with the Jewish ofiicials for llieir activity and /.eal; and I will in the future increase Ihcir number," As a result of this promise

theentrv of Jews to ofHciiil life in Turkey is now less than formerly. The Council of Stale in<luilis one Jewish niember, Rehar EtTemli .slikena/i; in the diplomatic service there are about liflein Jewish eliancillors, consuls, ami vice (onsiils. represinling Turkey abroad; at home a few Jews are at the head of provincial governinenis; while seviral have been honored with the title of pasha a title thai until lately was never bestowed upon Jews. IJiiite recently ihe sultan showed his kindly feelings lowjird his Hebrew subjects by permitting dilliciilt'

Abd-ul-Mejid

persecuted Rumanian Jews to settle in Asia Minor, granting them land and jiecuuiary aid. Bini.iOGRAPllv: BuUelin isst,

[>art

-i ;

ile

('Alliance IitraflUr

Archive* InraHiten. Sept.

UnirmtUr.

'M, ISUO, pp. I.

ABD-TTL-MALIK.

See

Abd

aw-Klu. Bii.

ai.-5I.lik.

ABD-UL-MEJID:

Sultan of Turkey. 1n;)9-61, owe their deliverance from the unremitting outrages and exces.ses of the janizaries to Sultan .Mahmoud II., they are equally indebted to Abdul Mejid for their recent political .standing. In fact, as nii/d-s, or subjects, the Israelites now enjoy all the privileges and lilierties conceded If the

Jews

of Turki'V

by the "Ottoman Charters." known under Ihe names of " IlatliSherif of (Jul llane" (Xov. 3, isyj) and " Ilatti-IIumavoun " (reaii at the Sublime Porte on Feb. 18. l-Slli), the former of which was confirmed by the gnuul viziers Kiza Pasha (1843) and Rescind "Paslia (1840), Since the promulgation of the first of these cliartci-s the testimony of Jews has been accepted in the courts of law; torture has been abolished; the Jews are no longer subjected to wilful confiscations, and those persons against whom they have cause for complaint are punished, if convicted, without re,irard to their rank or their dignity. The .second charter, which in a measure was promis<>d to Albert Cohn at the audience accoriled him by the sultan on Aug. 20, to the Christians

18r)4, liesides reassuring Ihe Jews of their right to personal liberty and the security of their pcissessions, contains the following new dispositiiais in their favor; In common with all other subjects, they receive equality liefore tin- law as well as in taxation; admission to public ollices and to military sirvice; religious liberty and unrestricted public instruction; revision of privileges and immunities of iionMussulnian communities; a guaranty of their iiiiniiinities and of purely spiritual privileges; jusi represi'ntation of their communities in provincial and common councils and in the supreme courts of justici-; and, lastly, the confirmation of the civil jurisiiiclion exercised in certain cases by the Council of Patriarchs

in

non-Mussulman communilies. should be adiled that, owing

It

to the dilllcnllies

in the applicatiim of a reform in llie military service, the clause referring lo this .service was revokeil.

Provisionally the system of lepliu-emeiit or subsliwhich still exists, was admittid. Instead of the old kliiirnitj (poll-tax) which look tin' place of mililary service, the tudil y nfkniith (ixemption lax) was siibstiluli'd. from whi<-h only the nonMohammedan inhabitanls of Constantinople were exempt. Acceding lo the request presented by the ambassadors of the European powers and by NuIhaiiielde Pnthschild. concernini; the charire of ritual murder |iindiii:: against the Jews of I>aniascus and Ihe island nf UlioiUs. the sultan exhibited his re gard for justice by issuing a firman, .Inly "JT, 1N4(I, wherebv lie ordired a revision of the latter of llies*trials, 'riiis revision established Ihe iniiiM'eiicf of the accused. Moreover, al Ihe instance of Mos«'S Monlellore, who was received in audience Oil. '.'8, xi, another lirinan was promulgated wherein the sultan, besides reliesving to the .lews equality of rights and privileges, declared "thai a lh"riiui;'h examinaliMii of the religious books of the Hebrews his .1. 111. .11 r slraled the absolute prohibition of the i: human or aniinal IiIiumI in any of their n li ll follows from Ihisdefeiisi- lliat the cliarg. s iii.'.iinst them and their nligion an- nilumnles (Nov. (1. 1K40). Justice was also nocorrleil (May 11. 18fl(b to thorn Jews accused of having pillageil tin- Christian qiiartution,

.

'