Abdul Hamid II

(1842–1918)

   Sultan of the Ottoman Empire 1876–1909. The reign of Abdul Hamid II began with hopes for a liberal rule. The Jews received equal rights in 1876 and four Jews were elected to the first parliament (1877–8). However, Abdul quickly reversed his earlier stand and became a despotic monarch, whose reign was marked by repression and corruption.

   Though his attitude to Jews was generally benevolent, he strongly opposed all nationalist aspirations in the Empire. In Palestine he strengthened public security and administration. He settled loyal Moslem elements in the country, built roads and connected the Hedjaz railway with Haifa. Foreign purchases of land were severely restricted and buildings on land held by foreigners required a special permit from Constantinople. A Jew who wished to purchase land had to find a Turkish subject to be the buyer.

   After the pogroms in Russia in 1881, the sultan passed a law (1882) prohibiting the settlement of east European Jewry in Palestine. The law did not wholly stop further Jewish immigration, as corruption was prevalent and officials could be bribed.

   With the advent of political Zionism, the sultan’s attitude remained basically the same. Whereas he was eager to bolster his disintegrating empire with the financial aid offered by HERZL, he was opposed to establishing any kind of Jewish national entity in Palestine, as he feared that this would serve as a tool in the hands of the Great Powers. Herzl himself in 1896 received the Commander’s Cross of the Mejidiye Order, but his efforts to obtain a charter for Palestine did not bear fruit. In 1901, the sultan granted Herzl a private interview during which he bestowed further personal honours on him. He suggested that Herzl make concrete proposals for the improvement of Turkish finances. Herzl was unable to raise the capital, so nothing was achieved. In the same year restrictions were tightened in Palestine to prevent a further settlement of foreign nationals in the country.

   In 1902 Herzl was again invited to Constantinople, where it was proposed to settle Jews in various parts of the empire - except in Palestine - in return for financial aid. Herzl turned down this offer. In 1908 the revolution of the Young Turks against Abdul Hamid’s autocratic rule broke out. Eight months later the sultan was deposed.