Editing Hebron (section)

===Early Ottoman period===
[[File:The town of Hebron. Coloured lithograph by Louis Haghe after Wellcome V0049466.jpg|thumb|right|Hebron in 1839, after a drawing by [[David Roberts (painter)|David Roberts]], in ''[[The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia]]'']]

The expansion of the [[Ottoman Empire]] along the southern Mediterranean coast under sultan [[Selim I]] coincided with the establishment of [[Spanish Inquisition|Inquisition]] commissions by the [[Catholic Monarchs]] in Spain in 1478, which ended centuries of the Iberian ''convivencia'' (coexistence). The ensuing [[Alhambra Decree|expulsions of the Jews]] drove many [[Sephardi Jews]] into the Ottoman provinces, and a slow influx of Jews to the Holy Land took place, with  notable Sephardi [[Kabbalah|kabbalists]] settling in Hebron.{{sfn|Green|2007|pp=xv–xix}} Over the following two centuries, there was a significant migration of Bedouin tribal groups from the Arabian Peninsula into Palestine. Many settled in three separate villages in the Wādī al-Khalīl, and their descendants later formed the majority of Hebron.<ref name="Büssow 2011 195">{{harvnb|Büssow|2011|p=195}}.</ref>

The Jewish community fluctuated between 8–10 families throughout the 16th century, and suffered from severe financial straits in the first half of the century.<ref>{{harvnb|David|2010|p=24}}. ''Tahrir'' registers document 20 households in 1538/9, 8 in 1553/4, 11 in 1562 and 1596/7. Gil however suggests the ''tahrir'' records of the Jewish population may be understated.</ref> In 1540, renowned [[kabbalist]] [[Malkiel Ashkenazi]] bought a courtyard from the small [[Karaite Judaism|Karaite]] community, in which he established the Sephardic [[Abraham Avinu Synagogue]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schwarz|1850|p=397}}</ref> In 1659, Abraham Pereyra of Amsterdam founded the ''Hesed Le'Abraham [[yeshiva]]'' in Hebron, which attracted many students.<ref>{{harvnb|Perera|1996|p=104}}.</ref> In the early 18th century, the Jewish community suffered from heavy debts, almost quadrupling from 1717 to 1729,<ref>{{harvnb|Barnay|1992|pp=89–90}} gives the figures of 12,000 quadrupling to 46,000 [[Kuruş]].</ref> and were "almost crushed" from the extortion practiced by the Turkish pashas. In 1773 or 1775, a substantial amount of money was extorted from the Jewish community after a false allegation that the son of a local [[sheikh]] was murdered  and thrown into a cesspit.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}> [[Meshulach|Emissaries]] from the community were frequently sent overseas to [[Halukka|solicit funds]].<ref>{{harvnb|Marcus|1996|p=85}}. In 1770, they received financial assistance from North American Jews, which amounted in excess of £100.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Van Luit|2009|p=42}}. In 1803, the rabbis and elders of the Jewish community were imprisoned after failing to pay their debts. In 1807, the community did succeed in purchasing a 5-[[dunam]] (5,000 m<sup>2</sup>) plot where Hebron's wholesale market stands today.</ref> During the Ottoman period, the dilapidated patriarchs' tombs were restored to a semblance of  dignity.<ref>{{harvnb|Conder|1830|p=198}}.</ref> [[Ali Bey el Abbassi|Ali Bey]], in Muslim disguise, was one of the few Westerners to gain access.  In 1807 he reported that the sepulchres were covered with carpets of green silk embroidered in gold and those of the wives were covered in red silk.The sultans of Constantinople furnished these carpets, which were renewed from time to time. Ali Bey counted nine, one over the other, on the sepulchre of Abraham.<ref>{{harvnb|Conder|1830|p=198}}. The source was a manuscript, ''The Travels of Ali Bey'', vol. ii, pp. 232–33.</ref> Hebron also became known  for its glass production, based on Bedouin trade networks that brought up minerals from the Dead Sea. The industry is mentioned in travel literature in 19th century written by [[Western culture|Western]] travelers to Palestine. [[Ulrich Jasper Seetzen]] noted during his travels in Palestine in 1808–09 that 150 persons were employed in the glass industry in Hebron,<ref>{{harvnb|Schölch|1993|p=161}}.</ref> based on 26 [[kiln]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Büssow|2011|p=198}}</ref> In 1833, a report on the town  in the weekly paper of the London-based [[Religious Tract Society]] wrote that Hebron had numerous well-provisioned shops and  produced glass lamps which were exported to [[Egypt]].<ref>{{harvnb|WV|1833|p=436}}.</ref> Early 19th-century travelers also noted Hebron's flourishing agriculture. It was a major exporter of ''dibse'', grape sugar,<ref>{{harvnb|Shaw|1808|p=144}}</ref> from the famous Dabookeh grapestock characteristic of Hebron.<ref>{{harvnb|Finn|1868|p=39}}.</ref>
[[File:Frith, Francis (1822-1898) - Views in the Holy Land - n. 428 - Hebron. Northern Half of the City - recto.jpg|thumb|Northern Hebron in the mid-19th century (1850s)]]

An [[1834 Arab revolt in Palestine|Arab peasants' revolt]] broke out in April 1834 when [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt]] announced he would recruit troops from the local Muslim population.<ref>{{harvnb|Krämer|2011|p=68}}</ref> Hebron, headed by its [[nāẓir|nazir]] Abd ar-Rahman Amr, declined to supply its quota of conscripts for the army and suffered badly from the Egyptian campaign to crush the uprising. The town was invested and, when its defenses fell on August 4, it was sacked by Ibrahim Pasha's army.<ref>{{harvnb|Kimmerling|Migdal|2003|pp=6–11, esp. p. 8}}</ref><ref name="Robinson 88">{{harvnb|Robinson|Smith|1856|p=88}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Schwarz|1850|p=403}}.</ref> An estimated 500 Muslims from Hebron were killed in the attack and some 750 were conscripted. 120 youths were abducted and put at the disposal of Egyptian army officers. Most of the Muslim population managed to flee beforehand to the hills. Many Jews fled to Jerusalem, but during the general pillage of the town [[1834 Hebron massacre|at least five were killed]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schwarz|1850|pp=398–99}}.</ref>
In 1838, the total population was estimated at 10,000.<ref name="Robinson 88"/> When the government of Ibrahim Pasha fell in 1841, the local clan leader Abd ar-Rahman Amr once again resumed the reins of power as the Sheik of Hebron. Due to his extortionate demands for cash from the local population, most of the Jewish population fled to Jerusalem.<ref>{{harvnb|Schwarz|1850|pp=398–400}}</ref> In 1846, the Ottoman Governor-in-chief of Jerusalem (''serasker''), [[Kıbrıslı Mehmed Emin Pasha]], waged a campaign to subdue rebellious sheiks in the Hebron area, and while doing so, allowed his troops to sack the town. Though it was widely rumored that he secretly protected Abd ar-Rahman,<ref>{{harvnb|Finn|1878|pp=287ff}}.</ref> the latter was deported together with other local leaders (such as Muslih al-'Azza of [[Bayt Jibrin]]), but he managed to return to the area in 1848.<ref>{{harvnb|Schölch|1993|pp=234–35}}.</ref>

According to Hillel Cohen, the attacks on Jews in this particular period are an exception that proves the rule, that one of the easiest place for Jews to live in the world were in the various countries of the Ottoman Empire. In the mid-eighteenth century, [[Abraham Gershon of Kitov|rabbi Abraham Gershon]] of [[Kuty|Kitov]] wrote from Hebron that:"the gentiles here very much love the Jews. When there is a ''brit milah'' (circumcision ceremony) or any other celebration, their most important men come at night and rejoice with the Jews and clap hands and dance with the Jews, just like the Jews'."{{sfn|Cohen|2015|p=15}}