A Handwritten letter that was sent by the leaders of the Jewish community of Bacău, Romania describing the difficult situation of the community and pleading with the addressee, British Parliament member Francis Goldsmid, to act on their behalf at "the conference in the capital city of London". Hand-signed by the leaders of the community. Bacău, March 2, 1871. Hebrew.
The letter describes the difficult situation of the community in the late 19th century, after the ascension of King Carol I in 1866. Carol I promised the Powers of the world to grant the Jews of his country equal rights; however, subsequent to a wave of anti-Semitic riots across Romania, he went back on his promise, revoked the Jews' citizenship, forbade them to lease lands and imposed heavy taxes.
The leaders of the community write: "Until when will the heart of our dear and pleasant older brothers not ache, when will they consider our pains and troubles by the savage wolved who devour us … We are not permitted by the ruler to buy houses and estates nor to trade, and taxes […] are exacted upon us endlessly, we are tired of enduring them. They have skinned us. We have been left in the deepest poverty… please awaken! the heart of our dear older brothers to plead for our mercy before the members of the conference in the capital city of London [presumably, the Anglo-Jewish Association] … and your deeds will be told forever".
Stamped at the bottom with the official stamp of the community; signed by the leaders of the community (some are signed twice – in Hebrew and in Latin characters).
The addressee, Francis Goldsmid (1808-1878), was a lawyer and a Jewish member of the British Parliament, one of the founders of the Anglo-Jewish Association. Goldsmid used his power and status to influence the British policy in favor of the Jews and led to several important discussions in the British Parliament about the situation of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. In 1872, about a year after the present letter was sent, he established the Rumanian Committee of the Anglo-Jewish Association and headed it. As a result of his actions, Britain declared at the Berlin Congress (1878) that it will not acknowledge Romania as an independent state until it grants its Jews equal rights.
[1] folded sheet (one written page), approx. 29.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, creases and fold lines. Tears to edges and fold lines.