Montefiore, Moses

Born October 24, 1784 in Livorno ( Italy ) in the Jewish ( Sephardic ) religious family of a wealthy businessman. After graduating from school, for some time he served in a wholesale company selling groceries. Subsequently, he moved to London , where he was successfully engaged in exchange activities, as a result of which he became one of the twelve “Jewish brokers” of the City of London. Together with his brother Abraham (1788-1824) he founded a banking house, which quickly gained a good reputation.

During the Napoleonic Wars, in 1809 , Montefiore volunteered for the National Guard, where he served as captain for 4 years. He had an impressive appearance, growth of about 1.90 m.

In 1812 he married Judit (Judith) Cohen (1784-1862), daughter of Levy Barent Cohen. Her sister, Henrietta (Hannah) (1791–1866), married Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1774–1836), to whom Montefiore provided brokerage services. Nathan Rothschild led a family banking business in the UK , and his wife’s two brothers were his business partners.

Montefiore was an innovator in his business activities. He acquired great fortune and fame by creating the first life insurance company in England (with the support of Nathan Rothschild) and the founding of the first street lighting company in Europe with gas lamps (in collaboration with the Imperial Continental Gas Association).

The work of Montefiore and his personal qualities won him universal respect in England and beyond. He enjoyed the support of the British government and the location of Queen Victoria.

Moses Montefiore's wife, Judit (1784–1862), was his soul mate and faithful assistant. She accompanied her husband on most trips, kept a diary during their first trip to Palestine, and described the second in Notes from a Private Diary (1844). In memory of Judith Montefiore, Sir Moses founded the Judith Lady Montefiore College in Ramsgate.

Montefiore's centenary was celebrated as a national event in Britain, the Jewish communities of Palestine , and Jews throughout Eastern Europe and the Middle East .

Moses Montefiore died on July 28, 1885 in Ramsgate (England) at the age of 100. He had no children.

In 1824, Montefiore left the business and completely engaged in social and philanthropic activities. Little is known about his social and political life in Victorian England. Montefiore's civic and public reputation is noted by Charles Dickens in his diaries, in George Eliot's personal notes, and in James Joyce 's novel Ulysses . It is known about his contacts with non-conformists and social reformists of Victorian England. Montefiore has been active in improving the lives of various minorities in the Middle East and elsewhere.

As a member of the Sephardic Jewish Community Council in London , he invested heavily and energy in improving Jewish schooling, founded a hospital and a society to help poor Jewish brides, and donated 13 houses to the community.

In the 1830s, Montefiore actively participated in the struggle for the right of Jews to be elected to parliament and to be appointed to public office without taking the oath of "true Christian faith."

Montefiore’s influence and prestige in England increased significantly due to his role in the struggle to abolish slavery in the British colonies. In 1835 , together with the Rothschilds , he provided the British government with a large loan to compensate losses to plantation owners in connection with the destruction of slavery.

In 1837, he was elected Sheriff of London and the county of Middlesex (where he actually abolished the death penalty), became the first Jew to receive membership in the Royal Society of London , and was elevated to the knighthood by Queen Victoria . In 1846, he was granted the title of baronet , and in 1847 he was elected sheriff of Kent .

From the late 1830s, Montefiore became the recognized leader of English Jewry. He was president of the Council of Deputies of British Jews for 39 years, from 1835 to 1874 - a record long term in the organization’s history.

Until his death, he was engaged in philanthropy and the protection of Jews around the world - victims of libelous libel , persecution and lawlessness. He played a significant role in ending the Damascus affair ( 1840 ), saving the libel victims in Morocco ( 1864 ), facilitating the fate of the persecuted Jews of Corfu , Romania ( 1867 ), the Ionian Islands and other places. Using his extensive diplomatic ties, he also tried to prevent or stop Jewish pogroms in Beirut , Rhodes , Tisaeslar and other places.

Less successful were his attempts to improve the situation of Romanian ( 1847 ) and Russian Jews. Montefiore visited Russia twice (in 1846 and 1872 ), where he was awarded all sorts of honors (in particular, he was received by Nicholas I and Alexander II ) and received a number of promises from the authorities on the Jewish question, which, however, remained unfulfilled. Montefiore stood up for the Jews of Russia during the Kutaisi affair , in connection with which he expressed his readiness to come back to Petersburg , despite his old age.

Often, Montefiore donated large sums to entire Jewish communities in distress (for example, in 1859 the community of Morocco ; in 1872 the community of Persia ). Montefiore also advocated for other persecuted nationalities. So, Montefiore responded to the massacre of Christians by the Druze rebels in Syria by the initiative to create an Anglo-Syrian fund to help victims. He also organized substantial assistance to Jews suffering from hunger and epidemics during the Crimean War .

In 1858 he traveled to Rome , trying to free the young Edgardo Mortar , secretly baptized by a Catholic servant and kidnapped by his parents on the orders of Pius IX .

Helping Palestine Jews

Montefiore played an important role in improving the economic situation of Jewish settlers in Palestine . Montefiore visited the country seven times (in 1827, 1839, 1849, 1855, 1857, 1866 and 1875). After the first trip, he began to strictly observe Jewish traditions, so much so that he traveled with a personal “ sheikhet ” (a reznik, who knows how to slaughter poultry and cattle according to Jewish law, so that the meat meets the requirements of kosher ). From the second trip, along with donations to Jews living there in dire need, he strove to create permanent sources of income for them and reduce their dependence on donations from abroad.

In 1839, on the initiative of Montefiore, a census of the Jewish population of the country began and the foundations of a productive economic activity of the Jews began to be laid; land was leased for Jewish settlements, Jews were trained in agricultural work on a citrus plantation purchased for them near Jaffa .

Montefiore’s special concern was the improvement of the economic situation and sanitary conditions of the Jewish population of Jerusalem : on his initiative and with his assistance, a pharmacy and a clinic were opened in the city, to which he sent Dr. S. Frenkel, the first certified doctor in the country, in 1843 ; the first Jewish quarter was erected outside the walls of the Old City - Mishkenot-Shaananim ( 1860 ; later, the Yeemin-Moshe quarter and a number of others bearing his name were built with funds from the Montefiore Foundation); a printing house was organized, where he sent a printing press from London; a weaving factory was created and equipped with equipment; built a windmill ("Montefiore mill"); the country's first craft school for girls and much more has been opened. Montefiore also intended to create a water supply system for the capital and lay the Jerusalem-Jaffa railway, but these plans were not implemented. Montefiore showed deep interest in the holy sites of Palestine; thanks to him, the tomb of Rachel was put in order and the Western Wall in Jerusalem was strengthened. He also managed to get the Sultan Firman to protect the rights of Jews in the country, in particular, their national-religious autonomy. Secretary of Montefiore E. Löve (1809–1888), who usually accompanied him on trips to Palestine, kept diaries of these trips.

Montefiore's life was closely intertwined with the city of Ramsgate ( Kent ) in the southeast of England. Back in the 1830s, he and his wife Judit bought there a suburban house on the eastern cliff, in Victorian Jewish style. He took a large part in the affairs of Ramsgate, one of the counties bears his name.

Montefiore's 99th and 100th anniversary was celebrated magnificently in the city, and all local charities and churches paid tribute to him.

In his house, he founded and financed the Sephardic yeshiva (Jewish religious school), named after Judit after her death in 1862. In the basement of the house, he built a beautiful Italian-style synagogue. Near the house is the grave of his wife; later he himself was buried there.

Attempts by developers to demolish their graves to clear a place for commercial buildings were thwarted , and the grave was saved.

• Montefiore named the medical center in the Bronx ( New York ). In the east wing on the second floor is a bust of Moses Montefiore.
• Montefiore is named after one of the districts of Jerusalem , “Zichron Moshe” (“Memory of Moshe”), at the entrance of which there is a memorial plaque that tells about the merits of Moshe Montefiore.
• Montefiori is the name given to streets in many Israeli cities.
• Banknotes in denominations of denomination of 10 pounds and then 1 shekel with a portrait of Moses Montefiore were in circulation in Israel in the 1970s ( 1 shekel note 1975 ).
• Sir Moses Montefiore was a prototype of the character of Will Thomas 's novel “Some Danger Involved.”

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  Banknote of 10 lira, issued in 1973, dedicated to Montefiore

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  1 Shekel banknote of 1978 issue dedicated to Montefiore

Montefiore is famous for its wit. Such a story is told about him. At a gala dinner, he found himself sitting next to an anti-Semitic aristocrat. He told Montefiore that he had recently returned from a trip to Japan , which is noteworthy for the absence of “pigs and Jews” there. Montefiore immediately replied: "In this case, you and I need to go there to make up for both." A similar story is told about Israel Zangville ^[1] .

In 1873, one newspaper mistakenly printed his obituary. In response, he wrote to the editor: “Thank you Lord, I’m still able to hear such rumors about myself and read it with my own eyes without glasses.”

• Montefiore, Moses // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Montefiore, Moses (Moses) // Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron . - SPb. , 1908-1913.
• Montefiore Moses, sir - article from the Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia
• Encyclopedia Judaica, ed. Rabbi dr Raphael Posner, Keter Publishing House Jerusalem LTD, 1982

• Website of the Montefiore Endowment at Ramsgate
• The Sir Moses Montefiore & Lady Judith Montefiore Heritage Site
• Diaries of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore: part 1 (link unavailable) , part2 (link unavailable)