Montefiore, Sir Moses Haim

Sir Moses Haim Montefiore (mŏn´tĬfēô´rē), 1784–1885, British-Jewish philanthropist, b. Italy. He married a Rothschild and became affiliated with the family's banking business. He accumulated a fortune on the London stock exchange and retired (1826) from business to devote himself to philanthropy and to the securing of political and civil emancipation for Jews in England. He was knighted (1837) while serving as sheriff of London. In 1846, he was made a baronet. As president (1835–74) of the Board of Deputies of British Jews he worked to alleviate discriminatory practices against Jews in Europe and the Middle East. He founded a hospital and girls' school in Jerusalem in 1855 and was influential in stimulating the rise of Jewish nationalism, the forerunner of modern political Zionism. The Diaries of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore appeared in 1890.

See biographies by L. Wolf (1884), E. Wolbe (1909), P. Goodman (1925), and A. Green (2010).

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Publication information: Article title: Montefiore, Sir Moses Haim. Encyclopedia title: The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. © 2012 The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. Used with the permission of Columbia University Press. All Rights Reserved. Publisher: The Columbia University Press. Place of publication: Not available. Publication year: 2013.

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