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1819 August 31, HAIM FARHI (Acre, Eretz Israel)
Was murdered on the command of Abdullah Pasha. Farhi was the head of an important banking family, which had been influential in helping Abdullah come to power. Farhi had previously narrowly escaped death at the hands of Abdullah's predecessor, Ahmad al-Jazzar Pasha. During Napoleon's siege of Acre in 1799, Farhi refused Napoleon's offer of a promised Jewish independence and defended the city. Farhi was warned that his former backer had a change of heart but he refused to flee, fearing a backlash against the Jews in the Galilee. He was noted for his generous philanthropy, especially in Acre and Damascus.
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