B. Financial
1. The Jewish Colonial Trust
The Jewish Colonial Trust is the financial instrument of the Zionist movement, and its main object is the industrial and commercial development of Palestine and the neighbouring countries.
Among the prominent Jews who supported the formation of the Company from its inception were the following: S. Barbasch, Odessa; Herbert Bentwich, London; M. T. Eliasberg, Pinsk; T. H. Ellman, Braila; M. Farbstein, Warsaw; Leopold Kahn, Vienna; Samuel L. Heymann, London; Theodor Herzl, Vienna; Isidor Jasinowski, Warsaw; J. H. Kann, The Hague; Stanislaus Landau, Lodz; Gregorie Lurie, Pinsk; Max Mandelstamm, Kieff; Alex. Marmorek, Paris; Oscar Marmorek, Vienna; Moritz Moses, Kattowitz; Max Nordau, Paris; Samuel Pineles, Galatz; Heinrich Rosenbaum, Jassy; S. T. Sachs, Dwinsk; Leib Schalit, Riga; Moritz Schnirer, Vienna; Heinrich Steiner, Vienna; W. Temkin, Elizabethgrad; E. W. Tschlenow, Moscow; David Wolffsohn, Cologne; and Oser Kokesch, Vienna.
According to the Company’s Articles of Association it was permitted to commence business as soon as an eighth part of its capital, viz. £250,000, had actually been paid up. This stage was reached at the beginning of 1902.
The subscribers to the Memorandum and Articles of Association were: David Wolffsohn, Jacobus Henricus Kann, Samuel Leopold Heymann, Samuel Barbasch, Gregorie Lurie, Salomon F. Sachs, Heinrich Rosenbaum. For the last four the Haham, Dr. Moses Gaster, acted as Attorney. The first Council of the Company consisted of Dr. Theodor Herzl, Dr. Moritz Schnirer, Dr. Oser Kokesch, Dr. Leopold Kahn, Oscar Marmorek, Dr. Max Mandelstamm, Dr. Richard Gottheil, Dr. Israel Jelsky, Isidor Jasinowski, Dr. Max Bodenheimer, D. J. Bernstein-Kohan, Samuel Pineles, J. H. Ellman, Dr. Alexander Marmorek, Wladimir Temkin, Dr. Samuel Schur, Carl Herbst, Dr. E. W. Tschlenow, Dr. Salomon Rosenheck, and M. Ussischkin.
The first directors were the aforementioned subscribers to the Memorandum, and the first Governors were: Dr. Rudolf Schauer, Leib Schalit, Abraham Hornstein.
The first Secretary of the Company was Mr. James H. Loewe, who resigned his post in May, 1903, on his appointment as Manager of the East End Branch of the International Bank of London, Ltd.
For the first business year (1902) Mr. David Levontin was Manager.
The Company carries on ordinary banking business at its Head Office in the City of London (10–12 Walbrook) and its East End Branch (41 Whitechapel Road, E.), and is registered at Somerset House as bankers, in accordance with the requirements of the law.