“Reverend and Respected Sir,
“For the sake of Zion I cannot remain silent, and for the sake of Jerusalem I cannot rest, until the whole house of Israel have been made acquainted with the lamentable condition of those of our brethren who devotedly cling to the soil, sacred to the memory of our patriarchs, prophets and kings.
“Thrice having visited the Holy Land, it was my earnest desire to fully inform myself as to the condition of our brethren there....
“Aware, however, reverend Sir, of your great anxiety for the physical amelioration of our suffering brethren, and how watchfully you note their spiritual welfare, I am induced to put you in possession of the documents and appeals which I have received from the Holy Land, with the assurance that your powerful co-operation, in the shape of a pastoral letter addressed to the Jews of Great Britain and America—or the exercise of the same in any other mode your wisdom may dictate—will, with God’s blessing, not only tend to remove the present appalling misery of our starving brethren in Zion, but spare us the humiliation of its recurrence.
“I have the honour to be, reverend and respected Sir,
“Your faithful servant,
“Moses Montefiore.”
“To Sir Moses Montefiore, Bart., etc. etc.
“Office of the Chief Rabbi, London, 18th May, 5614.
“My dear and esteemed Sir,