This is a bronze medal of Sir Moses and Lady Judith Montefiore. One side of the medal shows the busts of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore facing left, and it is inscribed with “Judith Lady Montefiore: Sir Moses Montefiore, Bart., F.R.S.” “Bart” is short for baronet and the initials, “F.R.S.” stands for Fellow of the Royal Society. Underneath the busts is the name of the medalist C.H. Weiner and the year 1864.
On the reverse side of the medal is a wreath surrounding biblical verses in Hebrew:
And Moses grew up and he went out to his brethren and he beheld their burdens. (Exodus 2:11)
And the wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness shall be as the stars for ever. (Daniel 12:3)
These quotes were probably chosen to represent Montefiore’s qualities of wisdom, righteousness, and helping Jews around the world. The first quote also refers to Montefiore’s biblical namesake.
The city of Jerusalem appears at the top of the wreath. Around the wreath are banners with names of places and Hebrew years: (clockwise from top) Jerusalem, Damascus 5600, Russia 5606, Morocco 5624, Rome 5618. The Hebrew years correspond to the years 1840, 1846, 1864, and 1858 respectively, the years of some of Montefiore’s travels and attempts to help Jews worldwide.
Jerusalem is mentioned on the wreath because of Montefiore’s vast assistance to the Jewish community at the time. He was among those contributing to the building of new Jewish neighbourhoods outside the walls of the Old City and providing financial help for education, industry, and health infrastructures. Damascus is on the wreath to commemorate Montefiore’s contribution to its Jewish community during the Damascus Libel of 1840. Russia is where Montefiore met the tsar to prevent the exile of Jews and to help improve the situation of the Russian Jews. Morocco commemorates Montefiore’s 1863 visit in support of Jews accused of killing a Spaniard, which resulted in their release from prison and a proclamation by the sultan protecting Moroccan Jews. Finally, Rome recalls the Mortara Affair and Montefiore’s unsuccessful attempt to bring about the release of Edgardo Mortara after his abduction from his family by the Vatican.
Medals such as these were often created to commemorate historic events or influential people. These commemorative medals had no practical use but were purchased as souvenirs by people interested in the events or people. This medal is from the collections of the Jewish Museum of London.
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Moses Montefiore - Moses Montefiore was born on October 24, 1784 in Livorno, Italy while his parents were visiting their Italian family. The Montefiore family returned to London where Moses grew up, was educated, and began his career in business. He became one of the twelve “Jew Brokers” – Jewish merchants who had the right to trade on the London exchange. In 1812, he married Judith Cohen, whose sister was married to Nathan Mayer Rothschild. The two brothers-in-law became successful business partners, until in Moses retired from business in 1824 and began a civic career. After retiring from business, Montefiore devoted his life to philanthropy. He invested much money and effort helping Jews throughout the world, travelling to Syria, Italy, Russia, Morocco, and Romania to protect Jews from blood libels, pogroms, and other troubles. He was president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews from 1835–1874 and a member of London’s Bevis Marks Synagogue. In Israel, he is perhaps best known for building Mishkenot Sha’ananim, the first Jewish neighbourhood outside the walls of the Old City in Jerusalem. He also donated large sums of money to the promotion of industry, education, and health among the Jewish community of Palestine. One of these projects was the building of a windmill that still stands next to the Yemin Moshe neighbourhood that was named after him. Sir Moses Montefiore died in 1885 at the age of 100.
The Damascus Affair – In 1840 13 Jews from Damascus were accused of murdering a monk for ritual purposes. They were tortured and there were riots against the Jewish community. The affair drew international attention, and western leaders and personalities, including Sir Moses Montefiore, petitioned the sultan of the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople to free the imprisoned Jews and to stop the blood libel accusations. Following the public protest, the nine prisoners who were still living were released and acquitted and an edict was issued to prevent future blood libels in the Ottoman Empire.
Lady Judith Montefiore – Lady Judith Montefiore was born into a Jewish Ashkenazi family involved in the financial world. She was well educated, notably in literature, music, and art. She married Moses Montefiore, a Sephardi Jew, in 1812. The marriage was considered controversial in many circles, as it was not common practice for Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews to marry out of their communities. Lady Judith often accompanied her husband on his philanthropic visits to Jewish communities around the world. She kept a diary of which some fragments remain, and some consider her the author of the first Jewish cookbook in English. She died in 1862, and her husband founded a rabbinical training college in her memory.
The Jewish Community of Britain – The first mention of Jews in Britain is from 1070. In the eleventh and twelfth century Jews were legally under the protection of the monarchs in return for heavy taxes and loans and lived mainly in the financial centres of London, Oxford, Lincoln, Bristol, and Norwich. In the late twelfth century, the Jews suffered from anti-Semitic restrictions, blood libels, riots, and massacres. One of the worst anti-Semitic massacres of the Middle Ages took place in York where the entire Jewish community was burnt to death at Clifford’s Tower. In 1290 King Edward I expelled all the Jews of Britain and their homes and properties were confiscated. For many centuries, Jews did not officially live in the country, but many lived secretly until the rule of Oliver Cromwell, when they were readmitted due to the intervention of the Dutch rabbi and leader, Menashe Ben Israel. Many of these new Jewish arrivals were of Spanish and Portuguese origins. An attempt to legalise Jewish presence in Britain was made in 1753 with the Jewish Naturalisation Act, and in the nineteenth century Jews received equal rights. The community prospered and comprised academics, bankers, scientists, and merchants. Among these distinguished British Jews of the eighteenth and nineteenth century were Sir Moses Montefiore, Nathan Mayer von Rothschild, and Benjamin Disraeli. Due to the good conditions, the lack of violence towards Jews, and religious tolerance, in the nineteenth century Britain became a target for Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe. The new Jewish immigrants lived mainly in the large industrial cities, especially London, Manchester, and Leeds. The East End of London became a Jewish neighbourhood where Yiddish was commonly spoken. In the twentieth century many more Jews fleeing the Nazis arrived in Britain, including the famous kindertransport, the British rescue effort of thousands of children from Nazi-occupied Europe. The Jewish community of Britain numbers over 300,000 today. This is the fifth largest Jewish community in the world and the second in Europe.
