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Charles Netter ( he, יעקב 'קרל' נטר; 14 September 1826 – October 2, 1882), was a founding member of the
Alliance Israélite Universelle The Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU; he, כל ישראל חברים; ) is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 with the purpose of safeguarding human rights for Jews around the world. It promotes the ideals of Jew ...
. In 1870, Netter founded
Mikveh Israel Mikveh Israel ( he, מִקְוֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל, 'Hope of Israel') is a youth village and boarding school in the Tel Aviv District of central Israel, established in 1870. It was the first Jewish agricultural school in what is now Israel ...
, the first modern Jewish agricultural settlement in the
Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
.


Biography

Charles Netter was born in
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
in 1826 to a Rabbinic family. He studied in Strasbourg and
Belfort Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Territo ...
, and engaged in business in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, and
Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
. He later moved to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Netter died in
Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
on October 2, 1882, during a visit to Mikveh Israel. He is buried in Mikveh Israel, his tombstone erected by the AIU. He is considered the pioneer of Jewish agriculture in Israel, having founded the school which educated many members of
Bilu Bilu may refer to: People * Bilú (footballer, 1900-1965), Virgílio Pinto de Oliveira, Brazilian football manager and former centre-back * Asher Bilu (born 1936), Australian artist * Bilú (footballer, born 1974), Luciano Lopes de Souza, Brazi ...
and the
First Aliyah The First Aliyah (Hebrew: העלייה הראשונה, ''HaAliyah HaRishona''), also known as the agriculture Aliyah, was a major wave of Jewish immigration ('' aliyah'') to Ottoman Syria between 1881 and 1903. Jews who migrated in this wave ca ...
. Several Israeli cities have named streets after him.
Kfar Netter Kfar Netter ( he, כְּפַר נֶטֶר, , Netter Village) is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the coastal plain near Netanya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaSharon Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The reg ...
, a
moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...
near
Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...
was founded in 1939, by graduates of Mikveh Israel.


Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU)

On May 17, 1860, in Paris, in response to
antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
incidents such as the abduction of
Edgardo Mortara The Mortara case ( it, caso Mortara, links=no) was an Italian ''cause célèbre'' that captured the attention of much of Europe and North America in the 1850s and 1860s. It concerned the Papal States' seizure of a six-year-old boy named Edgardo ...
and the Damascus affair, he was one of the six founders of the
Alliance Israélite Universelle The Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU; he, כל ישראל חברים; ) is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 with the purpose of safeguarding human rights for Jews around the world. It promotes the ideals of Jew ...
. The founding members defined the organization's goals:
"To gather good-natured people to fight against hate and prejudice.
To create a society of young idealist and militant Jews that feel solidarity with all those who suffer from their condition as Jews or all those who are victims of prejudice, regardless of their religion.
To ensure that culture replaces the ignorance of fanatics, for the good of all.
If you believe that this would be an honor for your religion, a lesson for the people, a progress for humanity, a triumph for truth and for universal reason to witness all the vibrant forces of Judaism come together, small with respect to number but large with respect to love and good will, come to us, we are thus founding the Alliance israélite universelle."
Netter was appointed general secretary of the newly formed organization, and was joined 4 years later by French-Jewish politician
Adolphe Crémieux Isaac-Jacob Adolphe Crémieux (; 30 April 1796 – 10 February 1880) was a French lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Justice under the Second Republic (1848) and Government of National Defense (1870–1871). He served as presiden ...
who would serve as the president of the society while holding the position of
French Minister of Justice The Minister of Justice (french: Ministre de la Justice), also known as the Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals (''Ministre de la Justice, garde des Sceaux''), is a cabinet position in the Government of France. The current Minister of Just ...
.


Mikveh Israel

In 1868 Netter visited
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
for the first time. He was sent as a representative of the AIU, to examine the needs of the Jewish community. Upon his return he recommended that a new agricultural settlement be founded, and be used as an agricultural school for Jewish men. Netter obtained an audience with the
Ottoman Emperor The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its he ...
in
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, and was rewarded with land near
Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
. The required funds were acquired from the AIU, and
Mikveh Israel Mikveh Israel ( he, מִקְוֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל, 'Hope of Israel') is a youth village and boarding school in the Tel Aviv District of central Israel, established in 1870. It was the first Jewish agricultural school in what is now Israel ...
( he, מקוה ישראל) was founded in 1870. During the first years Netter struggled with objections of the Jewish Old Yishuv leaders, who concentrated on Torah studies and relied on donations from Jews in the
diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
. The Old Yishuv opposition to Jewish manual labor in the holy land, and clashes with Arab inhabitants of nearby
Yazur Yazur ( ar, يازور, he, יאזור) was a Palestinian Arab town located east of Jaffa. Mentioned in 7th century BCE Assyrian texts, the village was a site of contestation between Muslims and Crusaders in the 12th-13th centuries. During the ...
disrupted development and recruitment of students. The funds proved insufficient as well, and Netter donated his own money, and raised funds from other philanthropists, like Crémieux and the Baron
Maurice de Hirsch Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth (german: Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth; french: Maurice, baron de Hirsch de Gereuth; 9 December 1831 – 21 April 1896), commonly known as Maurice de Hirsch, was a German Jewish financier and phila ...
. Netter managed the school until 1873. He overcame the difficulties of establishing and maintaining the settlement, but accustomed to living conditions in Western-Europe, his health deteriorated. Following his doctor's advice he returned to Europe, but continued to raise funds and support the school, and continued his activities for the AIU. He was involved in protecting the rights and safety of the Jewish community in Morocco, and was in charge of emigration of Russian-Jewish refugees to North-America following the introduction of the
May Laws Temporary regulations regarding the Jews (also known as May Laws) were proposed by the minister of internal affairs Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev and enacted on 15 May (3 May O.S.), 1882, by Tsar Alexander III of Russia. Originally, regulations of ...
.


Freemason lodge

Charles Netter was one of the twenty signers of a petition sent to a Canadian
Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
leader, who subsequently agreed to the establishment of a lodge "in Jerusalem and surroundings". Only six of those who signed the letter were living in Ottoman Palestine at the time, Netter being the only Jew among the six. The initiator was the prominent American poet and Freemason, Rob Morris, while Rolla Floyd (1832-1911), a fellow American, Jaffa resident and tourism entrepreneur, and German photographer Peter Bergheim (1813-1895) were another two of the six Holy Land-based petitioners. As a result of their initiative, the Royal Solomon Mother Lodge N° 293 was consecrated on May 7, 1873. R.W.Bro. Leon Zeldis, ''Jewish and Arab Masons in the Holy Land: Where ideals can fashion reality'', paper delivered at a Masonic meeting in Rome, March 20, 2004
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Netter, Charles 19th-century French Jews 1826 births 1882 deaths French Zionists Jews in Ottoman Palestine Agriculture in Israel