Sol Hachuel

Who was Sol Hachuel?

Sol Hachuel was a Jewish heroine, who was publicly beheaded when she was 17 years old. She was executed for alleged apostasy from Islam—apparently without ever having converted to Islam. She once said:

Hachuel's sacrifice served as an inspiration to painters and writers. One of the most detailed accounts, based on interviews with eyewitnesses, was written by Eugenio Maria Romero. His book El Martirio de la Jóven Hachuel, ó, La Heroina Hebrea was first published in 1837, and republished in 1838. Hachuel's story was also the subject of a song by Françoise Atlan on the CD Romances Sefardies.

In 1860 the French artist Alfred Dehodencq, inspired by the life and death of Hachuel, painted "Execution of a Moroccan Jewess".