Paul Friedmann (26 April 1840 – ) was a German

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 ...

and an early

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 ...

Biography

Friedmann was born in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

to a Jewish family, but converted to Christianity. He was related to

Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or 'J ...

. He was a resident of Berlin but spent much of his life in London. Much distressed over the fate of the

Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

after the persecutions of 1882–1890, he resolved to found a Jewish state in the Arabian peninsula. Towards this end, he consulted with Sir Evelyn Baring (later

Lord Cromer Earl of Cromer is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, held by members of the British branch of the Anglo-German Baring banking family. It was created in 1901 for Evelyn Baring, 1st Viscount Cromer, long time British Consul-General ...

, the British representative in Egypt) and purchased land in the Midian region for a Jewish colony. He assembled a group of 30 Jews, mainly refugees from Russia, appointing a Prussian officer to lead it. Friedmann had a

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

(''S.S. Israel'') built in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and went to

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

personally to select the first immigrants. Twenty-four of these, under the leadership of Friedmann, Baron von Seebach and Lieutenant Thiele, with a doctor, a chemist and a builder, left

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

in the middle of November 1891. A landing was made at Sharm al-Moza on the east side of the

Gulf of Aqaba The Gulf of Aqaba () or Gulf of Eilat () is a large gulf at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian Peninsula. Its coastline is divided among four countries: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. ...

, but the new colony did not last for more than two months. Internal dissensions broke out between the leaders, who were all

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, and the Jews. The project was viewed with "considerable anxiety" in Constantinople.Imperial Perceptions of Palestine: British Influence and Power in Late Ottoman Times, Lorenzo Kamel
/ref> Friedmann, who had sunk 170,000

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

in the project, brought suit against the Egyptian government for £25,000. The Russian consul in Cairo also opened an investigation, and violent denunciatory articles appeared in the Egyptian press, especially in connection with the death of one of the settlers who had been forced to leave the encampment because of insubordination. In connection with the venture, Friedmann privately published ''Das Land Madian'' (Berlin, 1891).

Biography

References

Further reading