DIGNE

DIGNE (Heb. דּינייא), capital of the department of Basses-Alpes, S.E. France. By the end of the 13th century there was a sizable Jewish community there; the fact that in 1311 the market contained three kosher meat stalls is proof of its importance. Throughout the 14th century, the market stalls were the subject of frequent disputes, as were the Jews' right to use the municipal bath and their contribution to the municipal taxes. The Jews of Digne cultivated agricultural holdings around thetown. By 1468 there were only 20 Jewish families left there and their number continued to decrease. After the expulsion from Provence in 1498, some of the Jews of Digne found refuge in Comtat-Venaissin where the surname Digne was common. Digne's best-known scholar was R. Baruch who, in 1305, vigorously contradicted Isaac ha-Kohen of Manosque and was excommunicated by him. At the beginning of the 20th century, Joseph reinach represented Digne in the National Assembly. There is still a Rue de la Juiverie in Digne, but there are no Jewish inhabitants. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Gross, Gal Jud, 154–5; C. Arnaud, Essai sur … Juifs en Provence (1879), passim; F. Guichard, Essai … ville de Digne (1876), passim; E. Baratier, Démographie provençale du 13e au 16e siècle (1961), 72. (Bernhard Blumenkranz)