Alerts

A British Precursor to Theodor Herzl in the 1850s. A Zionist Diplomat or a Missionary?

Jewish farmers trained on a settlement outside of Jerusalem 170 years ago.
Share this
The Jewish workers at Kerem Avraham
The Jewish workers at Kerem Avraham, Abraham’s Vineyard, 1855. (Central Zionist Archives)

Table of Contents

Forty years before Theodor Herzl wrote his seminal work, The Jewish State (Der Judenstaat), a “Zionist” British diplomat in Palestine established a training farm – an agricultural settlement – for the poor Jews of Jerusalem and hired Jewish laborers to build a house on the grounds. The diplomat was James Finn, the British Consul in Jerusalem between 1846 and 1863. He and his wife, Elizabeth Anne Finn, found the terrible living conditions of the Jewish community in Jerusalem to be beyond the imaginable. While poor Christians and Muslims in the city could secure assistance from their co-religionists, aid was not forthcoming from Jewish sources since Jewish charity from the West, called “Haluka,” was cut off during the Crimean War. “The state of poverty among the Jews exceeded anything we had [seen] before,” Finn wrote. “Parents were said to be selling their children to Muslims as the only way of preserving their lives. Some were found dead in their rooms.”

British Consul to Jerusalem James Finn
British Consul to Jerusalem James Finn

Finn and his wife had been members of the “London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews,” a group first formed in England in the early 19th century to work among poor Jewish immigrants in London’s East End. In 1836, they dispatched missionaries to Jerusalem. In 1914, the group boasted, “The society has baptized about 5,000 Jews since its foundation.”1

But James Finn claimed he was not interested in converting Jews to Christianity. Some Jewish authorities and some of his English contemporaries differed in their description of his work. Nevertheless, Finn worked hard to convince Jews of his judeophilia. In his diplomatic duties, he protected Jews from Ottoman harassment.2

When Finn and his wife Elizabeth Anne Finn arrived in Jerusalem in 1845 as diplomats to the Ottoman Empire, they already knew Hebrew and Yiddish and would pick up the Arabic language during their posting, which lasted until 1863. They were deeply distressed by the poor condition of the Jews in Jerusalem, who were starving and parched. “People were longing for rain,” Mrs. Finn wrote in her memoirs. “The Jews were fasting and praying for it in their synagogues, for most cisterns were long since exhausted.”3

Elizabeth Anne Finn
Elizabeth Anne Finn (Palestine Exploration Fund).4 She described at length the missionary work done in Palestine in the 19th century in Stirring Times, or Records from Jerusalem Consular Chronicles of 1852 to 1856.5 Also, see her detailed descriptions of the poverty in Jerusalem and the sad story of “The Baptism of Rabbi Abraham and his Daughter Rachel” in Home in the Holy Land: A Tale Illustrating Customs and Incidents in Modern Jerusalem, 1866.6

They wrote:

text

“All this,” Finn wrote, “led my wife and myself to make increased exertions for carrying out our long-projected design of relieving the Jewish condition of chronic poverty by means of the employment of an agricultural character.”

Finn believed that the Jews, crammed into the Old City, should “earn their bread” outside the confines of the Old City. To that end, he bought property in 1852 and established the “Industrial Plantation for employment of Jews of Jerusalem” on the outskirts of Jerusalem. He named the enterprise and the barren 8-12 “English acres” “Abraham’s Vineyard, Kerem Avraham.” Jewish laborers built Finn’s house on the property, a building engulfed today in Jerusalem’s Geula neighborhood. At the same time, Mrs. Finn encouraged a friend, Miss Cooper, to open a school to teach Jewish women sewing and embroidery.

James Finn at the entrance to Abraham’s Vineyard, 1852
James Finn at the entrance to Abraham’s Vineyard, 1852 (Wikipedia)

The Finns knew their task would be difficult, if not impossible:

text

The British diplomat banned missionaries from his Jewish farm, proudly permitted his workers to conduct afternoon Mincha services, and even corresponded with the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Shmuel Salant, the addressee of the letter below.

A flowery Hebrew missive written by a scribe for Finn to Rabbi Salant
A flowery Hebrew missive written by a scribe for Finn to Rabbi Salant requesting that he join Rabbi Berlin to adjudicate an inheritance dispute between a widow and inheritors.7

Eventually, more than 200 men and boys worked at the “Plantation,” providing weekly bread to 450 family members. The farm also produced a quality soap that was sold to tourists. However, by the time the Finns left Jerusalem, the foreign contributions to Abraham’s Vineyard were drying up. The funds were “at once absorbed among the needy multitude like water among the sand, and left no trace behind.”

The Finns dreamt of rehabilitating the Jews of the Holy Land. In one case, Mrs. Finn brought the new photography technology to Jerusalem, importing the necessary cameras and supplies. A religious Jew, watchmaker Mendel Diness, originally from Odessa, was a willing and talented student. One set of his pictures showing the building of a new neighborhood, Mishkenot Sha’ananim, outside of the Old City matched James Finn’s goal of taking Jews outside the walled city’s confines. The new neighborhood and its windmill were a project of a British philanthropist, Moshe Montefiore, who knew James Finn. Indeed, Finn accompanied Montefiore on a visit to the Temple Mount.

Mishkenot Sha’ananim in Jerusalem under construction, beneath Moshe Montefiore’s windmill, circa 1860
Mendel Diness’ picture of Mishkenot Sha’ananim in Jerusalem under construction, beneath Moshe Montefiore’s windmill, circa 1860. (Special Collection, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University)
An enlargement of Mendel Diness’ picture showing the scaffolding on Mishkenot Sha’ananim during construction
An enlargement of Mendel Diness’ picture showing the scaffolding on Mishkenot Sha’ananim during construction.

How successful was Elizabeth Finn’s photography project? Mendel Diness would get no business in Jerusalem from Jews who strongly objected to his conversion to Christianity. So, in 1861, he moved to the United States with his new wife, the daughter of a Jewish doctor who had converted to Christianity. “Diness was unsuccessful as a photographer in Cincinnati, Ohio, and became a peripatetic preacher, renamed as Mendenhall John Dennis.”8 Most of his photographs were believed lost until they were found in boxes at a garage sale in Minnesota in 1988.

Conclusion

The Finns sold the farm to their workers. However, the British diplomat and his wife recognized that their efforts would nonetheless make a permanent change.

text

* * *

Notes

  1. Philip Schaff, New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, https://web.archive.org/web/20041009165430/http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/home.html↩︎

  2. https://www.ybz.org.il/_Uploads/dbsAttachedFiles/Article_5.4.pdf↩︎

  3. Elizabeth Anne Finn, https://archive.org/details/homeinholylanda00finngoog/page/369/mode/1up?view=theater&q=jews↩︎

  4. https://www.pef.org.uk/about/history/elizabeth-anne-finn/↩︎

  5. Stirring Times, by James Finn. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044005030721&view=1up&seq=217↩︎

  6. Home in the Holy Land. https://books.google.co.il/books?id=h8kBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA178&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false↩︎

  7. Kedem auctions. https://www.kedem-auctions.com/en/content/letter-signed-james-finn-british-consul-jerusalem-19th-century↩︎

  8. https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/who-was-the-19th-century-american-preacher-mendenhall-john-dennis-actually-he-was-a-jerusalem-watchmaker-named-mendel-deniss-jerusalems-first-photographer/↩︎

Lenny Ben-David

Lenny Ben-David worked for AIPAC for 25 years in Washington and Jerusalem. In 1997, he left to open an independent consulting firm, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tapped him to serve as Deputy Chief of Staff in Israel’s Washington Embassy. He is the author of the book <em>American Interests in the Holy Land Revealed in Early Photographs</em>, and he is completing his next book, <em>Secrets of World War I in the Holy Land Revealed in Early Photographs</em>. He is a Research and Diplomacy Fellow at the Jerusalem Center.
Share this

Subscribe to Daily Alert

The Daily Alert – Israel news digest appears every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

Related Items

Stay Informed, Always

Get the latest news, insights, and updates directly in your inbox—be the first to know!

Subscribe to Jerusalem Issue Briefs
The Daily Alert – Israel news digest appears every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.







Notifications

The Jerusalem Center
What makes a child believe killing a #Jew is justified?

In PA textbooks, Jews are called liars and frauds; their fate: elimination. This is #indoctrination—not #education. But change is happening. On East to West, @IMPACT_SE CEO Marcus Sheff exposes how #UNRWA-funded schools are fueling extremism—and what real reform looks like.  Listen now on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2JHqh973U  Watch on YouTube: youtu.be/8OkJTGNfVUc

11:43am
The Jerusalem Center
Highlights from the @Jerusalem_Post Annual Conference in NYC:

Dr. @Dan_Diker, President of the JCFA: “October 7 wasn’t just an attack on Israel — it was a blow to the U.S. on Israeli soil. It demands moral clarity and a united front between Israel and the U.S. to defeat jihadist terror.”

2:20pm
The Jerusalem Center
@XAVIAERD says it like it is

Well, @XAVIAERD says it like it is: If you’re part of “#Queers for #Palestine,” he’ll pay for your flight to #Gaza. Go see for yourself how they treat LGBTQ+ people over there. Don’t miss this bold take on the Israel-Hamas war and the woke right.

2:32pm
The Jerusalem Center
“This isn’t Israel vs. Hamas — it’s the frontline of the free world.”

“This isn’t Israel vs. Hamas — it’s the frontline of the free world.” On Our Middle East by @JNS_org, @Dan_Diker@KhaledAbuToameh (JCFA/@GatestoneInst) break it down: If Hamas isn’t crushed, Iran wins. The jihadis—from #Gaza to your campus—get the green light. Diker: “This war is for the West.” No fluff. No filters. Just raw insight from two insiders who actually know what’s going on.  Watch: youtu.be/4Aq_zcbb4Yo

2:15pm
The Jerusalem Center
5/5 Lt. Col. Kalo on East to West with @smartinezamir:

“This operation showcases Israel’s strategic intelligence superiority both regionally and globally. It demonstrates the moral commitment to recovered soldiers and also strengthens Israel’s position with allies.” youtube.com/watch?v=nIvNNi

2:07pm
The Jerusalem Center
4/5 The operation built on intelligence gathered during the 2019 #Baumel recovery

#Mossad agents operated under cover in #Syria for years, visiting a graveyard multiple times under fire to collect remains for DNA matching. The intelligence community’s evolution combines technology, big data analysis, and human intelligence capabilities.

2:02pm
The Jerusalem Center
3/5 This recovery coincided with the release of Israeli hostage Edan Alexander

This recovery coincided with the release of Israeli hostage Edan Alexander from #Hamas in #Gaza, significantly boosting national morale amid an ongoing conflict now stretching over 18 months. The dual successes demonstrate #Israel‘s unwavering commitment to bringing all soldiers home.

1:58pm
The Jerusalem Center
2/5 The operation used the power vacuum following #Assad’s fall from #Damascus

Lt. Col. Avi Kalo, former head of IDF Prisoners & Missing Persons Division, calls it “an outstanding event that brings hope and new spirit to the people of Israel.” The operation utilized the power vacuum following #Assad‘s fall from #Damascus, allowing #Israeli intelligence to deploy ground capabilities in #Syria.

1:56pm
The Jerusalem Center
1/5 Israeli forces recovered the remains of Sergeant First Class Zvi Feldman

In an unprecedented operation, Israeli forces have recovered the remains of Sergeant First Class Zvi #Feldman, missing since the 1982 Battle of Sultan Yacoub. The complex #Mossad mission was conducted deep within #Syrian territory, 43 years after his disappearance. This follows the successful 2019 recovery of Zachary #Baumel from the same battle.

1:54pm
The Jerusalem Center
A molotov attack on a bus = a “barbecue party”?

That’s what #Palestinian kids are being taught under @UNRWA  — from grade school to graduation. This isn’t education. It’s indoctrination. Marcus Sheff of @IMPACT_SE  breaks it down with @smartinezamir

12:51pm

Close