Nadene Goldfoot
"Hard as the world is to explain with the Almighty, it is harder yet without the Holy One."
“Jewish history is never simply about the Jews, but always about their relationship with the rest of society.”
― Moses Montefiore: Jewish Liberator, Imperial Hero
"Truer words were never spoke", I think as I read this saying of his. He was one of those Jewish men in our history that boggles our minds as to how he achieved what he had done.
Born in 1784 in Italy from a Jewish dynasty that started in Italy, Moses managed to become a philanthropist rivaling that of Rothschild. He amassed a comfortable fortune as a broker through close collaboration with Nathan Mayer Rothschild, and was able to retire from business at the age of 40.
In 1837 at the age of 53 he was the sheriff of London and the 1st Jew in modern times to be knighted. This is amazing because Jews had been thrown out of England in 1290 and were not allowed back in until 1655; 139 years after Jews had been in the country.
Moses Montefiore was a religious man, being described as being profoundly pious. I have found that true Christians have more respect for religious Jews. Probably the same goes for Muslims as well.
Moses became famous throughout the Jewish world by his mission to the Levant (Middle East) with Isaac-Jacob Adolphe Crémieux (French:30 April 1796 – 10 February 1880) was a French lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Justice under the Second Republic (1848) and Government of National Defense (1870–1871). He was a staunch defender of the rights of the Jews of France
in 1840 at the time of the well known DAMASCUS AFFAIR whereby Jews in Syria were accused of murdering a Christian. This wrongful attack on Jews refers to the arrest of thirteen notable members of the Jewish community of Damascus who were accused of murdering a Christian monk for ritual purposes. It was the old blood libel.
This incident, which illustrates the tensions that existed between the Jewish and Christian populations of Syria, was notable for being an exception to the rule of Jewish-Muslim relations which during the Tanzimat era in the Ottoman Empire (1839–1920) were generally much better than Christian-Muslim relations due particularly to the economic ascendancy afforded to the Christian community with the relaxation and eventual elimination of the dhimmi status rules in the 1850s. (Both Jews and Christians were considered to be dhimmis (2nd class citizens who had many restrictions put upon them.) While occasional outbreaks of anti-Jewish violence erupted during this time, far more serious outbreaks of violence occurred between Muslims and Christians and Christians and Druze
"For the Jews, the Damascus affair launched modern Jewish politics on an international scale, and for American Jews it represented their first effort at creating a distinctive political agenda. Just as the United States had used this affair to proclaim its presence on the global scale, so too did American Jews, in their newspapers and at mass meetings, announce to their coreligionists in France and England that they too ought to be thought of players in global Jewish diplomacy."
According to Johannes Valentin Schwarz, the events also encouraged the growth of a modern Jewish press. "As a result, a sense of solidarity was evoked among the Jewish communities of Europe they had never experienced before. Thus, the Damascus Affair gave birth to modern Jewish press especially in Western Europe, such as to the long-lived papers Les Archives Israélites de France (1840-1935) in Paris or The Jewish Chronicle .
The affair drew widespread international attention which resulted in negotiations conducted in Alexandria from August 4 until August 28. The aftermath secured the unconditional release and recognition of innocence for the nine prisoners remaining alive and the issuing of a firman (edict) intended to halt the spread of blood libel accusations in the Ottoman Empire.
From then on and to the end of his amazingly long life of living until he was 101 years old, he enjoyed an unparalleled status with a good untarnished reputation.
He interceded personally in behalf of the Jews of Russia in 1846. He did this again in 1872 . He did the same thing for Jews in Morocco in 1863 and in Romania in 1867. He helped the kidnapped E. Mortara in Italy in 1858. These journeys were being regarded almost as official missions in behalf of the British government.
Moses went to Palestine on 7 occasions, the last visit at the age of 90. Besides his other benefactions there, worked to improve the status of the Jews and to organize the 1st agricultural settlements. This man was always doing mitzvot.
Moses was president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews from 1838 to 1874 in which capacity he strenuously opposed religious Reform tendencies which had taken place in Germany. He spent most of his later years in a country seat at RAMGATE where he built a synagogue and established a college in memory of his wife, Judith (1784-1862) at age 78.
Moses's career exemplified Jewish beneficence at the finest and established the 19th century pilanthroe predominance of Western European Jewry.
Resource:
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia; Montefiore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus_affair
Messages from a Syrian Jew Trapped in Egypt, by Nadene Goldfoot; Damascus Affair mentioned
Update: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4838207/jewish/19-Facts-You-Should-Know-About-Sephardic-Jewry.htm#utm_medium=email&utm_source=1_chabad.org_magazine_en&utm_campaign=en&utm_content=content
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| Sir Moses Montefiore b: 1784 Livorno (Leghorn) Tuscany, Italy d: -1885 England |
“Jewish history is never simply about the Jews, but always about their relationship with the rest of society.”
― Moses Montefiore: Jewish Liberator, Imperial Hero
"Truer words were never spoke", I think as I read this saying of his. He was one of those Jewish men in our history that boggles our minds as to how he achieved what he had done.
Born in 1784 in Italy from a Jewish dynasty that started in Italy, Moses managed to become a philanthropist rivaling that of Rothschild. He amassed a comfortable fortune as a broker through close collaboration with Nathan Mayer Rothschild, and was able to retire from business at the age of 40.
Rothschild & Co is a multinational investment bank and financial services company, and the flagship of the Rothschild banking group controlled by the French and British branches of the Rothschild family.
The banking business of the firm covers the areas of investment banking, restructuring, corporate banking, private equity, asset management, and private banking. It is also known to serve as the advisor and lender to governments and major corporations. In addition, the firm has its own investment account in private equity.
Rothschild's financial advisory division is known to serve British nobility, including the British Royal Family. Past chairman Sir Evelyn Rothschild is the personal financial advisor of Queen Elizabeth II, and she knighted him in 1989 for his services to banking and finance.
In 1837 at the age of 53 he was the sheriff of London and the 1st Jew in modern times to be knighted. This is amazing because Jews had been thrown out of England in 1290 and were not allowed back in until 1655; 139 years after Jews had been in the country.
Moses Montefiore was a religious man, being described as being profoundly pious. I have found that true Christians have more respect for religious Jews. Probably the same goes for Muslims as well.
 |
| Jewish prisoner preparing his defence, a Capuchin (Franciscan Friar) distant in the doorway. Painting by Moritz Daniel Oppenheim. |
On February 5, 1840, Father Thomas, a French citizen and a Franciscan Capuchin friar from the Island of Sardinia, and his Greek servant, Ibrahim Amarah, disappeared, never to be seen again.
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in 1840 at the time of the well known DAMASCUS AFFAIR whereby Jews in Syria were accused of murdering a Christian. This wrongful attack on Jews refers to the arrest of thirteen notable members of the Jewish community of Damascus who were accused of murdering a Christian monk for ritual purposes. It was the old blood libel.
This incident, which illustrates the tensions that existed between the Jewish and Christian populations of Syria, was notable for being an exception to the rule of Jewish-Muslim relations which during the Tanzimat era in the Ottoman Empire (1839–1920) were generally much better than Christian-Muslim relations due particularly to the economic ascendancy afforded to the Christian community with the relaxation and eventual elimination of the dhimmi status rules in the 1850s. (Both Jews and Christians were considered to be dhimmis (2nd class citizens who had many restrictions put upon them.) While occasional outbreaks of anti-Jewish violence erupted during this time, far more serious outbreaks of violence occurred between Muslims and Christians and Christians and Druze
"For the Jews, the Damascus affair launched modern Jewish politics on an international scale, and for American Jews it represented their first effort at creating a distinctive political agenda. Just as the United States had used this affair to proclaim its presence on the global scale, so too did American Jews, in their newspapers and at mass meetings, announce to their coreligionists in France and England that they too ought to be thought of players in global Jewish diplomacy."
According to Johannes Valentin Schwarz, the events also encouraged the growth of a modern Jewish press. "As a result, a sense of solidarity was evoked among the Jewish communities of Europe they had never experienced before. Thus, the Damascus Affair gave birth to modern Jewish press especially in Western Europe, such as to the long-lived papers Les Archives Israélites de France (1840-1935) in Paris or The Jewish Chronicle .
The affair drew widespread international attention which resulted in negotiations conducted in Alexandria from August 4 until August 28. The aftermath secured the unconditional release and recognition of innocence for the nine prisoners remaining alive and the issuing of a firman (edict) intended to halt the spread of blood libel accusations in the Ottoman Empire.
From then on and to the end of his amazingly long life of living until he was 101 years old, he enjoyed an unparalleled status with a good untarnished reputation.
He interceded personally in behalf of the Jews of Russia in 1846. He did this again in 1872 . He did the same thing for Jews in Morocco in 1863 and in Romania in 1867. He helped the kidnapped E. Mortara in Italy in 1858. These journeys were being regarded almost as official missions in behalf of the British government.
Moses went to Palestine on 7 occasions, the last visit at the age of 90. Besides his other benefactions there, worked to improve the status of the Jews and to organize the 1st agricultural settlements. This man was always doing mitzvot.
 |
| Ramgate, England |
Moses was president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews from 1838 to 1874 in which capacity he strenuously opposed religious Reform tendencies which had taken place in Germany. He spent most of his later years in a country seat at RAMGATE where he built a synagogue and established a college in memory of his wife, Judith (1784-1862) at age 78.
Moses's career exemplified Jewish beneficence at the finest and established the 19th century pilanthroe predominance of Western European Jewry.
Resource:
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia; Montefiore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus_affair
Messages from a Syrian Jew Trapped in Egypt, by Nadene Goldfoot; Damascus Affair mentioned
Update: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4838207/jewish/19-Facts-You-Should-Know-About-Sephardic-Jewry.htm#utm_medium=email&utm_source=1_chabad.org_magazine_en&utm_campaign=en&utm_content=content
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