Altaras, Jacques (Jacob) Isaac
ALTARAS, JACQUES (Jacob) ISAAC
ALTARAS, JACQUES (Jacob) ISAAC (1786–1873), French merchant, shipbuilder, and philanthropist. Born in Aleppo, Syria, Altaras spent his early years in Jerusalem, where his father was a rabbi. In 1806 Altaras settled in Marseilles, and there prospered in shipbuilding and the Levant trade; he became an influential member of the Marseilles Chamber of Commerce. A member of the French Consistoire and president of the Marseilles Jewish community, he founded a Jewish school in Marseilles and was a member of the Legion of Honor. In 1846 Altaras visited Russia to negotiate the resettlement of Russian Jews in Algeria. The project failed because of the harsh Russian terms – the payment of 60 rubles in taxes and fines for each Jew.
bibliography:
S. Dubnow, Neueste Geschichte des juedischen Volkes, 2 (1920), 206.
[Joachim O. Ronall]