The Jews in Malta

Published on 10/04/2011

1492 is also the date of the expulsion of the Jews from the territories of the Crown of Spain, of which Malta was a part at the time.

Map of Southern Europe

Since 1242, Jewish communities fleeing persecution had come to settle in Malta (Mdeina and Birgù) and in Gozo (Rabat). These three communities, approximately 2.94% of the population, were protected by law against the temptation of abuse. The Jews were recognized as citizens but did not have the right to participate in the affairs of the City. They had their own butcher shops, their synagogues and their cemeteries, and gathered of their own accord wherever they wished, provided it was not near a church.

They were, for the most part, merchants, brokers, pawnbrokers, and small craftsmen such as blacksmiths and candle makers. But while at that time the majority of the population was illiterate, the Jews were educated and often highly cultivated, and among them were notaries and especially physicians whose renown extended as far as Southern Italy.

The living conditions of the Jews were undoubtedly not ideal in Malta – and even less so in Gozo – but they were enviable compared to those of their coreligionists elsewhere. The King of Sicily, overlord of Malta, protected them because they were, for the Treasury, a source of considerable revenue; they paid a tithe to the Church and to the notables on feast days, and had to seek general pardon for their faults by means of hard cash. The discord, and sometimes the strong tensions between them and the Maltese, stemmed mainly from the fact that they were exempt from Militia service, from the maintenance of the ramparts, and from coastal guard duty because they were distrusted, given their contacts with the Muslims of North Africa. They were made to compensate for these exemptions through water supply duties, and the provision of tools and materials.

They were required to wear on their clothing the "rotella," a round piece of red fabric as an identifying sign; and while it sometimes happened that some of them were harassed during Holy Week, a period of great emotional fervor among the Maltese, or if a few were dragged onto church benches to hear a sermon by force, no pogrom was reported.

As in all territories of the Crown of Spain, these Jews were first encouraged to convert, to avoid exile. Few of them accepted and, in that case, they changed their first and last names and settled in Sicily; conversely, converts from Sicily came to reside in Malta in order to avoid the contempt of their former coreligionists. In March, when King Ferdinand signed the decree, they had to sell their property in the shortest possible time – extended by two additional months in Malta compared to elsewhere. And in September, they departed, taking with them money, jewelry, books and religious objects, donkeys and mules. From the money they left behind in Malta, Fort St Ange was restored. Some headed toward North Africa, others found refuge in Albania and Bulgaria.

After 1492, the only Jews in Malta had become slaves captured by pirates; they were protected by law against any brutality and mingled only with Muslim slaves.

The memory of this Jewish community can be found in place names such as the Tal-Lhudi Field, the Qbur Il-Lhud Cemetery, a Lhudi postern gate, and Lhud meant Jew. Their names can also be found in several notarial acts where Latin, Sicilian and Maltese are intermingled. Several physicians left their names in the archives, such as Abram Safardi, Xmun Il-Malti, Rafel Cheti, etc. From this period also come a few tales with the theme of the Jew Barabas and the hidden treasure.

It can be stated that the Jewish community had no influence on the Maltese, as they lived side by side trying to tolerate each other, but without mingling. There were no mixed marriages. If a Jew converted, he was rejected by his own people, and if a Christian renounced his faith for Judaism, he faced the death penalty.

This very particular ethnic group inspired Christopher Marlowe, in 1590, to write a literary work under the title "The Jew of Malta," which, in turn, inspired William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice."

Article published in the Gazette of the "Friends of Malta" Association
and also available at: http://sefarad.org/sefarad/sefarad.php/id/16/

Published with the kind permission of Aurore VERIÉ


  1. Economic life in Malta in the 18th century, Aurore Verié
  2. Foreigners in Malta (late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries), Anne Brogini
  3. The Maltese language, a linguistic crossroads, Martine VANHOVE
  4. The Jews in Malta, Aurore Verié
  5. The French in Algeria from 1830 to today (excerpts), Jeannine VERDES-LEROUX
  6. The emigration of Maltese in Algeria in the nineteenth century, Marc DONATO
  7. Malta in "A Winter in Egypt" (excerpts), Eugène Poitou
  8. The Maltese in Tunisia before the Protectorate (excerpts), Andrea L. SMITH
  9. The population of Malta in the seventeenth century, a reflection of modernity (excerpts), Anne Brogini
  10. The fear of the French Revolution in Malta, Frans CIAPPARA
  11. The Siege of Malta by Napoleon Bonaparte (excerpts)
  12. Malte, frontière de chrétienté (1530-1670), de Anne BROGINI
  13. L'esclavage au quotidien à Malte au xvie siècle, de Anne BROGINI
  14. Noblesse maltaise et généalogie, de Loïck PORTELLI
  15. Some Disreputable Maltese, by Loïck PORTELLI