James Finn (1806–1872) was a British Consul in Jerusalem, in the then Ottoman Empire (1846–1863).

Biography

James Finn arrived in Palestine 1845 with his wife Elizabeth Anne Finn. Finn was a devout Christian who belonged to the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews, although he did not engage in missionary work during his years in Jerusalem. Finn was a great believer in productivity, an ideology very much in vogue at the time. In 1853 purchased for £250 Karm al-Khalil (Arabic for "Abraham's Vineyard", lit. "vineyard of the loved one", which in Hebrew became Kerem Avraham) a barren piece of land outside the walls of the Old City. On this land, Finn established an agricultural training farm for Jews. The idea was providing the means for them to become productive citizens. In 1855, he employed Jewish labourers to build a home for himself there, now located in Jerusalem's Geula neighborhood. It was the third building constructed outside the walls of the Old City. Finn also built cisterns for water storage and a soap factory that produced high quality soap sold to tourists. Finn also helped establish an experimental farm for poverty-stricken Jews from Jerusalem in the village of Artas outside Bethlehem.

Consular career

Finn was removed from his post in 1863. His superiors believed he had become too personally involved in local affairs. His insolvency and clashes with Samuel Gobat, the Protestant Bishop of Jerusalem, also contributed to his removal.

Books (partial list)

By James Finn

In chronological order of the first publication.

By Elizabeth Anne McCaul Finn