Charles Netter

Charles Netter (Hebrew: קרל נטר‎‎; 14 September 1826 – October 2, 1882), was a Zionist leader, and a founding member of the Alliance Israélite Universelle. In 1870, Netter founded Mikveh Israel, the first modern Jewish agricultural settlement in the Land of Israel.

Charles Netter was born in Strasbourg in 1826 to a Rabbinic family. He studied in Strasbourg and Belfort, and engaged in business in London, Moscow, and Lille. He later moved to Paris. Netter died in Jaffa on October 2, 1882, during a visit to Mikveh Israel. He is buried in Mikveh Israel, his tombstone erected by the AIU. He is considered the pioneer of Jewish agriculture in Israel, having founded the school which educated many members of Bilu and the First Aliyah. Several Israeli cities have named streets after him. Kfar Netter, a moshav near Netanya was founded in 1939, by graduates of Mikveh Israel.

On May 17, 1860, in Paris, in response to antisemitic incidents such as the abduction of Edgardo Mortara and the Damascus affair, he was one of the six founders of the Alliance Israélite Universelle. The founding members defined the organization's goals:
"To gather good-natured people to fight against hate and prejudice.
To create a society of young idealist and militant Jews that feel solidarity with all those who suffer from their condition as Jews or all those who are victims of prejudice, regardless of their religion.
To ensure that culture replaces the ignorance of fanatics, for the good of all.
If you believe that this would be an honor for your religion, a lesson for the people, a progress for humanity, a triumph for truth and for universal reason to witness all the vibrant forces of Judaism come together, small with respect to number but large with respect to love and good will, come to us, we are thus founding the Alliance israélite universelle."
Netter was appointed general secretary of the newly formed organization, and was joined 4 years later by French-Jewish politician Adolphe Crémieux who would serve as the president of the society while holding the position of French Minister of Justice.

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