Jevreji u Nišu

Abstract

Zahvaljujući svom geografskom položaju, Niš je od postanka bio važna raskrsnica puteva koji spajaju Zapad sa Istokom i važna vojna baza. U Godišnjaku grada Niša iz godine 1938, piše o Jevrejima da su oni stanovnici Niša još iz doba Rimljana, ali se za njihovu crkvenu opštinu zna tek od 1695. godine, kada su u grad u većem broju stigli "Sefardini". Prvi pisani dokument o Jevrejima u Nišu je iz 1651. godine. Reč je o nestanku Jakova, trgovca vunom iz Niša. Dva svedoka su potvrdila da je Jakov ubijen u blizini Aladža-Hisara (Kruševca) i da mu je leš bačen u Moravu. Rabin Avraham Hananja, koji je tada boravio u Beogradu i kome je predmet upućen, došao je do zaključka da su svedočenja prihvatljiva, te je Jakova proglasio mrtvim, a njegovu vezanicu ("aguna") udovicom. U članku se govori i o Nišu posle 1878. godine kada je oslobođen, potom o Jevrejima u Prokuplju, o društvu "Zion".

Due to its geographical location, Niš has been an important crossroads of roads connecting the West end the East and an important military base. In the Yearbook of the City of Niš from 1938, it says that Jews are inhabitants of Niš from the Romans time, but their church municipality has only been known since 1695 when the "Sephardi" arrived in the city in large numbers. The first written document on the Jews in Niš is from 1651. Two witnesses, who confirmed that Jacob was killed near Aladža-Hisar (Kruševac) and his body was thrown at Morava river, reported the disappearance of Jacob, a wool merchant from Niš. Rabbi Avraham Hananja, who in that time was in Belgrade and to whom the case was referred, came to the conclusion that the testimonies were admissible, and Jacob was declared dead and his wife ("aguna") widowed. The article also discusses Niš after 1878 when it was liberated, and the Jews in Prokuplje, and the "Zion" society.