Moses Montefiore

Sir
Moses Montefiore
Bt FRS
Portrait, 1881
President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews
In office
1835–1838
Preceded byMoses Mocatta
Succeeded byDavid Salmons
Personal details
Born(1784-10-24)24 October 1784
Livorno, Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Died28 July 1885(1885-07-28) (aged 100)
Ramsgate, Kent, England
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1812; died 1862)​
Parent(s)Joseph Elias Montefiore
Rachel Mocatta
RelativesAbraham Mocatta (maternal grandfather)
Joshua Montefiore (paternal uncle)
Levy Barent Cohen (father-in-law)
OccupationBanker
Signature

Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, FRS (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London. Born to an Italian Sephardic Jewish family based in London, after he achieved success, he donated large sums of money to promote industry, business, economic development, education and health among the Jewish community in the Levant. He founded Mishkenot Sha'ananim in 1860, the first Jewish settlement outside the Old City of Jerusalem.

As President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, he corresponded with Charles Henry Churchill, the British consul in Damascus, in 1841–42; his contributions are seen as pivotal to the development of Proto-Zionism.[1][2] Queen Victoria's chaplain, Norman Macleod said of Montefiore: "No man living has done so much for his brethren in Palestine as Sir Moses Montefiore".[3][4] He stated in an interview in the 1860s that "Palestine must belong to the Jews".[5][6]

  1. ^ Adler, Joseph (1997). Restoring the Jews to their homeland: nineteen centuries in the quest for Zion. J. Aronson. pp. 150–6. ISBN 1-56821-978-4. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  2. ^ Wolf, Lucien (1919). "Notes on the Diplomatic History of the Jewish Question with texts of protocols, treaty stipulations and other public acts and official documents". The Jewish Historical Society of England.
  3. ^ Macleod, N. (1867). Good Words. Strahan & Co. London. p. 72. Retrieved 16 November 2022. No man living has done so much for his brethren in Palestine as Sir Moses Montefiore....
  4. ^ Creation of Israel. "Israel and You" (C) 2013 All Rights Reserved. 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2022. The modern legal attempts to establish a national homeland for the Jewish people began in 1839 with a petition by Sir Moses Montefiore to the Khedive of Egypt, for a Jewish homeland in the region of Palestine.
  5. ^ Penslar, D. (2023). Zionism - An Emotional State. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-7611-4. Retrieved 1 March 2024. Palestine must belong to the Jews
  6. ^ Wolf, L. (1884). The Life of Sir Moses Montefiore. Cambridge University Press. p. 276. ISBN 978-1-108-03668-9. Retrieved 4 March 2024. When questioned on the subject some years ago, he answered,"...Palestine must belong to the Jews..."