Патент толерантности австрийского императора Иосифа ІІ и галицийские евреи

Abstract

The article is devoted to the role of the Austrian emperor Josef II in relation to the Jews of Galicia. For this purpose the author describes the Jewish community of Galicia in the period studied and reviews the national position of Jews there. The role of the Patent of Tolerance in the history of the Jewish people in Galicia is treated as rather special. In author’s opinion, for the Jewry of Galicia, Josef ІІ was foremost a ruler who used Galicia and its population to test his socioeconomic and educational reforms. Such phenomena as the struggle of the local Jews for their rights is exactly dated to the period the Josef II ruling; in the first run, their drive for the civil equality of rights, and latter for public confession. Besides, the reforms of Josef ІІ laid the basis for a new internal Jewish discussion on the priority in their orientation either on religion or nationality.