Moses Montefiore, 1784-1885

Montefiore was an English entrepreneur and philanthropist who visited Ottoman Palestine seven times. Deeply affected religiously by his first visit, he financed Jewish land purchases, settlements, industry, education and health there and directed money bequeathed by American philanthropist Judah Touro for similar projects. Montefiore commissioned censuses of Palestine’s Jewish population in 1839, 1849, 1855, 1866 and 1875.

Photo: Public domain