Angel, Shemayahu

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ANGEL, SHEMAYAHU

ANGEL, SHEMAYAHU (1810–1874), Turkish banker, merchant, and philanthropist. Angel provided generous support for the Jews of Syria and other Jewish communities throughout the Levant. He was born in Rosetta, Egypt, and settled in Damascus in 1832 after Muhammad ʿAli's occupation of Syria. There he used his wealth, reputation, and influence with the Ottoman authorities to help the local Jewish community, which suffered from the 1840 *Damascus Affair and the 1860 Druze revolt. Angel provided material assistance for the Ottoman troops engaged in suppressing the revolt and successfully extricated many Jews from alleged involvement in the uprising. Sultan Abdül Aziz decorated him and a guard of honor was present at his funeral. Angel's writings include "Les Biens de Mainmorte de la Communauté Israélite," in: Hamenorah, 4, no. 5 (May 1926), 133–44.

bibliography:

M. Franco, Essai sur l'histoire des Israélites de l'Empire Ottoman (1897), 209–10.

[Joachim O. Ronall]