[ EDITORIALS AND LAWS] Imperial Decree concerning Jews without a fixed surname and first name Placard in plano (60 x 44 cm) Printed in Parma, Imperial Printing Office, for the former Imperial Department of Taro, 1808. (Freckles). On July 20, 1808, in order to force Jews to adopt a surname, Napoleon signed a decree concerning Jews. Article 3 specifies that Jews may not adopt as family names names taken from the Old Testament. This prohibition corresponds to Napoleon's declared desire to assimilate Jews. Key words: judaica, jewish, jewish, rabbis, jewish, torah, hebrew, hebraica, judaism, synagogue, zionism, pessah, pessach, haggada, haggadah, hagada, hagadah, passover, menora, menorah, hannuka, hannuca, hannucca, hannuccah, torah, juden, israelite, israelite, israel, antisemitism, antisemitism, dreyfus, meguila, sepharade, sefarad, ketubah