Category: Proto-Zionism

Born: 1795, Lissa; Died: 1874, Thorn Zvi Hirsch Kalischer was a Jewish Rabbi and Proto-Zionist. He was born in 1795 in the town of Lissa. He received a traditional Jewish education based on the Talmud, but he also encountered modern…

Born: July 14, 1785, Philadelphia; Died: May 22, 1851, New York Mordecai Manuel Noah was a Jewish-American diplomat, playwright, journalist, utopian, and activist. He was born on July 14, 1785 in Philadelphia and was of Portuguese Sephardic descent. His grandfather…

Born: 1789, Gibraltar; Died: 1852, Hebron Yehuda Bibas was a Rabbi and Proto-Zionist. He was born in 1789 in Gibraltar to a Sephardic Jewish family. He was descended from Chaim ibn Attar, an esteemed Rabbi in the Moroccan Jewish community…

Born: 1798, Sarajevo; Died: 1878, Jerusalem Yehuda Alkalai was a Rabbi and Proto-Zionist. He was born in 1798 in Sarajevo. He received a traditional Jewish education in Jerusalem where he was significantly influenced in Kabbalah or Jewish Mysticism.  In 1825,…