NAPOLEON BONAPARTE (1769‒1821) issued in 1799 a summons to the Asiatic and African Jews to march under his banner, promising “to give them the Holy Land,” and “to restore ancient _Jerusalem_ to its pristine splendour” (Appendix xl). One hardly knows whether this was to be taken quite seriously. The Jews in _Jerusalem_ appear either not to have put much trust in Bonaparte’s flattering words, or to have been utterly ignorant of the proclamation. The question was so important, and so much confusion prevailed regarding it, that the appeal, being vague in its terms, could not lead to any practical action. Some historians suppose that this proclamation was only a trick which Bonaparte played with the intention of winning over to his cause the Jewish minister of the Pasha of Acre, Haim Mu’allim Farhi (1750?‒1820), the soul of the defence of that important sea-fortress. This supposition, however, is based on no evidence. It is pure speculation, and is highly improbable. No Jew seriously believed in the success of Bonaparte’s ambitious design or in the possibility of his victory, and no attention was paid to his promises. On the other hand, it would not have been impossible to suppose that Bonaparte’s plan might succeed after he had conquered Syria and carried the war into the heart of Turkey. He would then perhaps have assigned a share in his government to members of the Jewish nation upon whom the French could rely. Bonaparte’s idea was simple and his intentions were sincere. He regarded the Jews――particularly those living in Asia and Africa――as a nation, and as having indisputable historical claims on the Holy Land and _Jerusalem_. He was sure that they would help him and hail his victory as a happy triumph¹ if they knew that their national ideal was to be realized and “ancient _Jerusalem_” to be restored to its “pristine splendour.” Was this not the same policy which he applied in later years in his relations with the small nationalities in Europe? ¹ In an Order, in which he confirms the prerogatives of the Monks of the Mount _Sinai_ convent, he refers to the Jews. AU CAIRE, le 29 frimaire au 7 (19 décembre, 1798). Bonaparte, général en chef, voulant favoriser le convent du mont _Sinai_: ... 2º Par respect pour _Moise_ et le nation juive, dont la cosmogonie nous retrace les âgres les plus reculés; ... Bonaparte. (_Correspondance inédite officielle et confidentielle de Napoléon Bonaparte_ ... Egypte. Tome Deuxième. Paris ... M.DCCC.XIX. _p._ 179.)