Sir Manasseh Meyer (1846 – 1 July 1930) was an Iraqi-born businessman, philanthropist and activist who was both a leader and benefactor of the

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 in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Biography

Born in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

and educated in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, Manasseh Meyer came to Singapore in 1861 aged 15 and continued his English education in

St Joseph's Institution St. Joseph's Institution (SJI) is an independent Catholic educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1852 by the De La Salle Brothers, it is the first Catholic school and the third oldest school in the country. SJI has been offering a dual ...

. His maternal uncle Joseph Raphael Joshua had established himself in Singapore and was instrumental in bringing Manasseh and his brothers Rubin and Elias to Singapore. In 1864, he returned to Calcutta to work with his uncle in business as well as to learn literary

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and Arabic. There he became a book keepers apprentice assisting his maternal uncle's business. In 1867 aged 21 he ventured to Burma, then beyond British colonial rule, to establish business of his own. An adventurer, in his early years, Meyer was to travel across Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, Europe, India, China and Japan. Meyer returned to Singapore in 1873 and founded his own import-export business known as Meyer Brothers involved in the

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

trade. The firm grew to dominate all trade with India, linked by the two then flourishing Baghdadi Jewish communities of Calcutta and Singapore. Raphael Sassoon, a fellow Jewish pioneer born in Aleppo, was his partner in the firm and later also jointly a trustee of Maghain Avoth Synagogue on the island. Meyer would become a major

tycoon A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

, philanthropist and was in his lifetime the recognized leader of the

Baghdadi Jewish Baghdadi or Al-Baghdadi may refer to: People Al-Baghdadi or Baghdadi is an Arabic meaning "from Baghdad". It is usually added at the end of names as a specifier. People with the name: Medieval *Ibn Sa'd (784–845), Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi * Juna ...

community of Singapore. Having initially built his fortune in opium, he expanded into real estate and further his fortune in property in booming colonial settlement of Singapore after the trade was ceased. He was to build the first block of flats in the city. Meyer would both build and have in his possession of many of the most iconic buildings of the city such as Adelphi Hotel in

Coleman Street Coleman Street is one of the Wards of the City of London, 25 ancient wards of the City of London, England, and lies on the City's northern boundary with the London Borough of Islington. The ward, which includes land lying on either side of the ...

and Sea View Hotel in

Katong Katong (commonly referred to as Tanjong Katong) is a residential neighbourhood in the eastern portion of the Central Region of Singapore, within the Marine Parade planning area. The Katong district stretches from Fort Road area to the Joo ...

, giving his name to the road on which it stands – Meyer Boulevard. Not only was he one of the richest men in Singapore, at one point he was believed to own three-fourths of the island. Having established himself as a

Meyer than turned to philanthropy. He gave generously to charity within and without his community. His works helped lay a foundation the strength of Singapore in elite education. He began by starting the Manasseh Meyer Trust that benefited

educational institution An educational institution is a place where people of different ages gain an education, including preschools, childcare, primary-elementary schools, secondary-high schools, and universities. They provide a large variety of learning environments a ...

s and was one of the major donors to

Raffles College The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University. The university offers degree program ...

, now known as

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

, and one of the two institutions of tertiary learning that later formed the

University of Malaya The Universiti Malaya (lit 'University of Malaya'; abbreviated UM) is a public university, public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest Malaysian institution of higher education, and was the only university in ...

Naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

as a

British citizen The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself (England, Wales, Scotland, and Nor ...

, he was keen to display loyalty to the British Empire and be a public citizen. Meyer was a Municipal

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

from 1893 to 1900 and a member of the Currency Board. He also contributed generously from his fortune towards the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

effort from 1915 to 1919. His greatest works were within the Jewish community where he was the Baghdadi Jews of Singapore's most generous benefactor. Jews responsible for erecting Singapore's two synagogues — Maghain Aboth Synagogue and

Chesed-El Synagogue The Chesed-El Synagogue () is a Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at Oxley Rise, in River Valley, within the Central Area of Singapore. The synagogue was constructed in 1905 and in 1998 it was designated as a national monument of Sin ...

. Chesed-El, his personal favourite, was opened in 1905 for the use of his family and others Baghdadi Jewish families. Together with three other wealthy Jews, Meyer bought a large piece of land in Moulmein Road for $5,407.12 for the Jewish Cemetery. Meyer also bought the adjoining piece of land for $8,681.40 and, after reserving a plot for himself and his second wife, Rebecca, presented it to the community. His wife Rebecca died in 1915. Sir Manasseh Meyer was created a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

on 1 March 1929 by the British for his generous contributions to society. He died on 1 July 1930 in Singapore.

Judaism and Zionism

Though established in Singapore and born in

, he was part of the tightly knit transitional trade network of

Baghdadi Jews Baghdadi Jews (; ) or Iraqi Jews are historic terms for the former communities of Jewish migrants and their descendants from Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East. They settled primarily in the ports and along the trade routes around the In ...

in Asia united by language, family, trade and faith. However Meyer never lost his ties to the Middle East. Meyer remained closely tied to the Jewish religious establishment in

and underwrote the publication of one of the books of

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Joseph Hayyim, known as the Ben Ish Hai, to whom he looked as his spiritual mentor. Inspired by Rabbi Hayyim's focus on supporting the growing Jewish community in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, he became a committed

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

. During his lifetime the

proto-Zionism Proto-Zionism (or Forerunner of Zionism; , pronounced: ''Mevasrei ha-Tzionut'') is a concept in historiography describing Jewish thinkers active during the second half of the 19th century who were deeply affected by the idea of modern nationali ...

of the Baghdadi religious establishment and the Ben Yish Hai was transferred into active support for the

movement founded by

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...

. In 1900 he travelled to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

with his daughters to "inculcate them with a love of

Zion Zion (; ) is a placename in the Tanakh, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole. The name is found in 2 Samuel (), one of the books of the Tanakh dated to approximately the mid-6th century BCE. It o ...

." In 1922 Meyer became the founding president of the Singapore Zionist Organization. His home was known as a "beehive" of Zionist activity in Asia. In 1922 he hosted

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

as he travelled through the

communities of Asia seeking financial support for the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, 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. ...

. Comparing him to

Croesus Croesus ( ; ; Latin: ; reigned: ) was the Monarch, king of Lydia, who reigned from 585 BC until his Siege of Sardis (547 BC), defeat by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 547 or 546 BC. According to Herodotus, he reigned 14 years. Croesus was ...

, the ancient Greek ruler renowned for his wealth, Einstein described Meyer as such: Meyer was to be one of the Hebrew University's major donors. He also supported a school and a synagogue for Baghdadi Jews in Palestine. A rabbi from Palestine would officiate to mark his funeral at the Chesed-El Synagogue.

Legacy

Manasseh Meyer was survived by three sons; twins Isaac and Jacob, and Reuben, and four daughters; Hannah, Rama, Rachel and Mozelle. After his death Meyer's daughter Mozelle Nissim sponsored the creation of a school at

Kfar Vitkin Kfar Vitkin () is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Netanya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council and was the first Jewish settlement in the valley. In it had a population of . History The community was esta ...

in then mandatory Palestine. Meyer's legacy can still be felt in Singapore. The two synagogues continue to operate, providing the cornerstone of a thriving community. Meanwhile, Jewish educational institutions bearing his name still function. The Sir Manasseh Meyer International School, originally named the Ganenu Learning Centre, was renamed in his honour in 2008. It is a Jewish day school that caters to children from 18 months to grade 7. The Manasseh Meyer Building, which was constructed by Mayer in the 1920s, is currently part of the

Bukit Timah Bukit Timah ( ), often abbreviated as Bt Timah, is a planning area and residential estate located in the westernmost part of the Central Region of Singapore. Bukit Timah lies roughly from the Central Business District, bordering the Central ...

campus. The building was gazetted as a national monument on 11 November 2009.

References

Bibliography

*Lee Geok Boi (2002), ''The Religious Monuments of Singapore'', Landmark Books,

External links