Herbert Bentwich (originally Bentwitch; 1856 in

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

– 1932 in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

) was a British

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

leader and lawyer. He was an authority on

copyright law A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

, and owner/editor of the

Law Journal A law review or law journal is a scholarly journal or publication that focuses on legal issues. A law review is a type of legal periodical. Law reviews are a source of research, imbedded with analyzed and referenced legal topics; they also pr ...

for many years. He was a leading member of the English

Hovevei Zion Hovevei Zion ( he, חובבי ציון, lit. ''hose who areLovers of Zion''), also known as Hibbat Zion ( he, חיבת ציון), refers to a variety of organizations which were founded in 1881 in response to the Anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian ...

and one of the first followers of

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl; hu, Herzl Tivadar; Hebrew name given at his brit milah: Binyamin Ze'ev (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish lawyer, journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern p ...

in England. In 1897 Bentwich led a group of 21, including the writer

Israel Zangwill Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of cultural Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and be ...

, on a tour of holy sites and new settlements in

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 ...

on behalf of the

Maccabaeans Order of Ancient Maccabeans (also Maccabaeans) is an Anglo-Jewish society. The order is a controversial society established in 1894, and registered on 8 May 1901, under the Friendly Societies' Act, as amended 1896.Nahum Sokolow, ''History of Z ...

, and in 1911 he acquired land for settlement at

Gezer Gezer, or Tel Gezer ( he, גֶּזֶר), in ar, تل الجزر – Tell Jezar or Tell el-Jezari is an archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (eithe ...

, near

Ramleh Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations. The city was f ...

, on behalf of the Maccabean Land Company.

Hilary L. Rubinstein Hilary L. Rubinstein (born 1946) is an Australian historian and author. She researches and writes on British naval history and modern Jewish history. Biography She graduated with a BA(Hons) in economics, history and politics at Keele Universi ...

Herbert (1856–1932)'
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', online edn, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004, accessed 4 June 2010. He later succeeded his brother-in-law

Solomon J. Solomon Solomon Joseph Solomon (16 September 1860 – 27 July 1927) was a British painter, a founding member of the New English Art Club and member of the Royal Academy. Solomon's family was Jewish, and his sister, Lily Delissa Joseph (née So ...

as president of the Maccabaeans. Bentwich was a founder of the

British Zionist Federation The Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland, also known as the British Zionist Federation or simply the Zionist Federation (ZF), is an umbrella organisation for the Zionist movement in the United Kingdom, representing more than 30 organisa ...

in 1899 and for some time served as its vice-chairman. He was a legal adviser for the

Jewish Colonial Trust Bank Leumi ( he, בנק לאומי, lit. ''National Bank''; ar, بنك لئومي) is an Israeli bank. It was founded on February 27, 1902, in Jaffa as the ''Anglo Palestine Company'' as subsidiary of the Jewish Colonial Trust (Jüdische Kolonia ...

. From 1916 to 1918 he served on the Zionist political advisory committee under

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israel ...

. Bentwich was a regular visitor to

after 1921 and settled in Jerusalem in late 1929. Susannah Bentwich had died in London in 1915, and Herbert died at his home in

Rehavia Rehavia or Rechavia ( he, רחביה, ar, رحافيا) is an upscale Jerusalem neighborhood located between the city center and Talbiya. Since its establishment in the 1920s, the area has always been associated with German-Jewish culture and tra ...

on 25 June 1932. He was survived by ten of his eleven children, eight of whom eventually settled permanently in Palestine. His eldest son,

Norman Bentwich Norman de Mattos Bentwich (28 February 1883 – 8 April 1971) was a British barrister and legal academic. He was the British-appointed attorney-general of Mandatory Palestine and a lifelong Zionist. Biography Early life Norman Bentwich was th ...

, a leading barrister, also spent much of his professional life there, and another son, Joseph Bentwich, was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

for education in 1962; his daughter Thelma Yellin was a distinguished Israeli cellist (hebrew article

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

). His great-grandson is Israeli journalist

Ari Shavit Ari Shavit (; born 16 November 1957) is an Israeli reporter and writer. Shavit was a senior correspondent at the left-of-center Israeli newspaper '' Haaretz'' before he resigned when a pattern of sexual misconduct came to public attention. A s ...

Bentwich Cemetery

Bentwich Cemetery is a small cemetery dedicated to Herbert Bentwich and his family and located beside the Jerusalem American Colony Cemetery in Tabachnik National Garden on

Mount Scopus Mount Scopus ( he, הַר הַצּוֹפִים ', "Mount of the Watchmen/ Sentinels"; ar, جبل المشارف ', lit. "Mount Lookout", or ' "Mount of the Scene/Burial Site", or ) is a mountain (elevation: above sea level) in northeast Je ...

Notes

References

* Bentwich, Margery and Bentwich, Norman, ''Herbert Bentwich: The Pilgrim Father'' (Jerusalem, 1940) * Davis, Hadassah,
Dreams and their Consequences: A Memoir of the Bentwich Family .... 1880-1922
' Pafnuty Press, 2003. *

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, langua ...

Who was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

1856 births 1932 deaths English Jews People from Hampstead Zionist activists Hovevei Zion {{UK-law-bio-stub