300 Rabbis from England and France Escape Persecution by Pope Innocent III and Emigrate to Jerusalem
With the development of transportation routes from Europe during the crusades, and the rising persecution of Jewish communities in the Diaspora due to the newly found Inquisition, hopes of redemption stirred.
This caused an increasing number of Jews seeking to make Aliyah, or immigration to the Homeland.
Manuscripts from this period indicate that 300 Rabbis from France and England arrived together in 1211 CE, some settling in Akko and others later in Jerusalem.
Following their expulsion from France in 1236 CE, Jews settled in Haifa, Caesarea, and Tyre, with Akko benefiting from several waves of Aliyah, becoming the wealthiest Jewish community.
Overview
Rabbi Samuel Ben Samson in his Itinerary:
“We arrived at Jerusalem by the Western end of the city rending our garments on beholding it, as it has been ordained we should do’ (a sign of mourning for the destruction of the Temple).”
“On the Sabbath day we recited the Afternoon Prayer on the spot where the uncircumcised had time and again set up a sanctuary… The Ishmaelites venerate this spot. Only the foundations [of the Temple] remain now in existence, but the place where the Ark stood is still to be seen.”
Jacob De Haas, History of Palestine: The Last Two Thousand Years, p. 267./Ben Gurion, the Jews in Their Land, p217
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