Tale of David Reubeni: A Would Be Messiah

The Messiah by Marek Halter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Throughout history the Jews have been downtrodden and persecuted. At times someone would arise offering the hope of salvation and a return of the Jews to their ancient land.

One such figure was David Reubeni. This account is a novelized account of his travels to Europe. Starting with His landing
In Venice where he is welcomed by the Jewish community, yet the Jewish leadership is rather weary of him and rather distrustful. One particular opponent is Giacobo Mantino, who fears David Reubeni will spark antisemitic outrage. Various priest and Christian clergy are ready to support Mantino and bring down Reubeni. David's main objective is to raise a Jewish army to redeem Israel. First he approached the Pope who is very supportive of the idea. Yet unable to assist directly. From there David goes to Portugal where the ruler there is rather supportive. The success is so great that Diego Pires decides to stop being a Christian and embrace his Jewish roots. This causes the ruler of Portugal to mistrust David and accuse him of proselytizing. Bear in mind this is taking place during the inquisition. Driven from Pprtugal David goes to France, gets captured by pirates and eventually he goes back to Rome. In the end the inquisition catches up with Diego and David...... Read the book to catch news of their ultimate fate.

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