Judah Alkalai

Judah Alkalai
Born1798
Sarajevo, Bosnia Eyalet,  Ottoman Empire
DiedSeptember 1, 1878(1878-09-01) (aged 80)
Jerusalem, Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire
Resting placeHar HaZeitim
Known forZionism
A portrait of the Rabbi Yehuda Alkalai and his wife Esther in 1874, before their immigration to Palestine
Yehuda Alakai's grave on the Mount of Olives

Judah ben Solomon Chai Alkalai (1798 – October 1878) was a Sephardic Jewish rabbi, and one of the influential precursors of modern Zionism along with the Prussian Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer.[1][2] Although he was a Sephardic Jew, he played an important role in a process widely attributed to the Ashkenazi Jews.[2] Alkalai became noted through his advocacy in favor of the restoration of the Jews to the Land of Israel. By reason of some of his projects, he may justly be regarded as one of the precursors of the modern Zionists such as Theodor Herzl.[1]

  1. ^ a b H. G. Enelow (1906). "Alkalai, Judah Ben Solomon Ḥai". Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  2. ^ a b Ami Isseroff. "Biography of Rabbi Yehudah Alkalai". Zionism and Israel Information Center. Retrieved 3 September 2015.