Leon Yehuda Recanati (; 1890–1945) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

-born businessman and

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community leader who became a prominent banker and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

Biography

Leon Yehuda Recanati was born in 1890 in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

. He was a leader in Greece's Jewish community until he immigrated to

in 1935. In 1936, he was elected as the representative of the Greek Jewish community to the

World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...

. Recanti's sons, Harry, Daniel,

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

, and Jacques established the IDB Holding Corporation, one of the largest investment companies in Israel. His sons donated the Leon Recanati Business School at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

in his honor in 1966. In addition, they named the Salonika and Greece Jewry Heritage Center in his memory.

Banking and public activism

In 1935, Recanati established the Palestine Discount Bank in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

; the institution would later become

Israel Discount Bank Israel Discount Bank, Ltd. () is an Israeli banking institution that offers a range of financial services, including retail banking, commercial banking, private banking, and financial services. The bank, headquartered in Tel Aviv, operates 112 ...

. In his later years, he became involved in philanthropic endeavors and served as a member of the executive committee of the Society of Friends of the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...

and was the founder and chairman of Banim L'Gvulam, which encouraged the settlement of

Sephardic Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

in Palestine.Jewish Virtual Library: "Leon Recanati"
retrieved May 12, 2013 In 1985, Recanati was honored on an Israeli commemorative postage stamp.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Recanati, Leon Yehuda 1890 births 1945 deaths Greek bankers Greek Jews Greek emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Jews from Thessaloniki Recanati family