SIR MOSES MONTEFIORE & A PLACE NAMED MISHKANOT SHA'ANANIM

Sir Moses Montefiore (1784-1885) was a sephardic Jew born in Livorno, Italy, who later settled in London. A giant of a man, both in compassion & physic, measuring 1.9 m (6'.3"in) in height.Through investments in the British stockmarket & other business ventures he aquired a massive fortune & retired at the age of 40 in 1824. The rest of his life was dedicated to helping & defending his Jewish bretheren throughout the world. An observant Jew, who when asked by an admirer " What is your financial worth ? Give me a figure" ! He responded as follows :

" Your search is misguided. I am not in my portfolio or statement bottom line. I am in the orphan's classroom, the widow's oven, the pauper's palm, the yeshivot, synagogues & fledgling villages in the Holyland, this is where I have emptied my pockets. Travel the earth & tally those transactions, that is my worth."

Montefiore was given 101 years of life & visited the Holyland 7 times, making his last visit at 91 years of age. His defence of fellow Jews was legendary as illustrated by the ensuing episode. Whilst on a visit to the Emperor of Austria an anti-semitic imperial minister gave an account of his travels to equatorial Africa. Turning towards Montefiori, the minister commented that he hadn't seen one pig or Jew there, to which Montefiore replied :

" In that case it would be advisable that Your Excellency & I go there."

During the mid 19th century Jerusalem's old city was bursting at the seams due to overcrowding. Sanitary conditions were abysmal & desease was rampant, consequently, there was a critical need for additional housing . Judah Touro (1775-1854), a wealthy and benevolent Jew from New Orleans died and chose Montefiore to be the executor of his esatate. Montefiore used monies from the estate to build the first "modern" Jewish settlement outside the city walls in 1860. He named it Mishkenot Sha'ananim, translated as "dwellings of tranquility". The name coming from Isiah 32:18 : " and my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and sure dwellings, and in quite resting places." The new settlement also included a windmill to provide power for the grinding of wheat with the intent of providing cheap flour for the poor. Though the quality of these new buildings far exceeded those that existed in the Old City & in addition housed a water cistern, ritual bath & an oven, people were reluctant to move. This due to the hostile natural enviroment & rampant Bedouin banditry. Also, the Jerusalem winds were not strong enough to power the windmill & the grains of wheat proved to be hardier than those of Europe. This coupled with the advent of the new steam technology resulted in the closing down of the mill. In response to this dilema, Montefiore offered payment to those who were prepared to live in the new settlement. The first responders chose to inhabit the premises during the day but returned to the protection of the Old City at night. Once they had acclimatized to their new enviroment the nightly returns to the Old City ceased.

Between the War of Independence in 1948 and the Six day War in 1967 Mishkenot Sha'ananim bordered on no-mans land & was continuously subjected to sniper attacks by the Jordanian army who occupied the Old city. This situation resulted in the compound again being vacated. After the 1967 Six day War, the compound was secured & is today a guest house for visiting academics & the home of the Jerusalem Music Centre which was inaugerated by the world famous cellist, Pablo Casals.

Ron Traub : (Tour Guide & Architect). Website : rontraub-tours.com Photos : Rimonah Traub.