Damascus Affair refers to an 1840 *ritual murder accusation in Syria, then under the rule of Muhammad Ali of *Egypt. The disappearance of an Italian monk and his Muslim servant was blamed on Jews due to Christian and Muslim hostility. On the basis of false accusations and the encouragement of the French consul, Egyptian governor Sherif Padia arrested and tortured a number of Jews, including community notables, some of whom died. The “Damascus Affair” outraged Jews worldwide and several governments, including that of *Austria-Hungary, attempted to intervene. French and English Jews sent a delegation (including Sir Moses *Montefiore) to Muhammad Ali that successfully led to the release and exoneration of the nine surviving prisoners. The delegation next traveled to the *Ottoman ruler, Sultan Majid, in Istanbul, who declared the blood libel accusation absurd. This event played a role in the eventual creation of the *Alliance Isráelite Universelle in *France and a heightened Jewish recognition of the need for international cooperation. A recent analysis is J. Frankel, The Damascus Affair, “Ritual Murder,” Politics, and the Jews in 1840 (1997).

KATE FRIEDMAN

Dance: Hebrew Bible: See BIBLE: MUSIC AND DANCE

Dance: Pre- and Post-State Israel. Between the first Jewish immigration waves in 1882 and 1920, there was no artistic dance company in the *Yishuv, the Jewish settlement in *Palestine, nor any aspirations to have one. The pioneers rejected classical ballet, the only artistic dance form historically practiced in Europe, as outdated and elitist.