Sir Moses Montefiore

Sir Moses Montefiore (1784–1885) was a British financier and philanthropist. Born in Livorno and raised in London, he made a fortune as one of the few Jewish brokers licensed in the City and became the brother-in-law of Nathan Mayer Rothschild. He retired young to devote himself to public causes, served as Sheriff of London, was knighted by Queen Victoria and led the Board of Deputies of British Jews. He traveled to Damascus, Rome, Russia and Morocco to intercede for persecuted Jewish communities, visited the Holy Land seven times and built the first Jewish neighborhood outside the walls of Jerusalem. He lived to be a hundred.