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Haim Aharon Valero (1845–1923) was a banker, entrepreneur and a prominent figure in the Jewish community of 19th century Jerusalem. Under his direction, the Valero Bank, founded in 1848 by his father Jacob, acted as catalyst in the development of the Eretz Israel/Palestine. The bank’s capital and financial services were employed in the acquisition of land and building, helping transform Jerusalem and nearby townships from stagnation and poverty towards the modernization of the 20th century. ==Background== At the start of the 19th century Jerusalem was a small, poverty stricken town on the margins of the Ottoman Empire. It was fought over by the world’s great powers for centuries, but other than its special significance for the three great world religions, the city was of no particular importance. Trade was scarce and there was no real industry other than small-scale production of soap, olive oil and religious souvenirs. In the first half of the 19th century all the town’s population lived within the walled city. Poverty was pervasive, housing poor, living conditions hard, the streets narrow and neglected. Even within the walls, a third of the city was a wasteland, covered in thickets of prickly pear cacti. No one lived beyond the city walls and whole surrounding area was fertile ground for criminal gangs. At sunset the city gates were locked. Haim Aharon’s father, Jacob Valero (1813–1874), was of Spanish-Jewish origins (Sephardic), whose ancestors were forced out of Spain by the Spanish Inquisition in the late 15th century. His family migrated to Turkey and Jacob was born in Istanbul. He received a traditional Jewish education and as a young man (in the early 1830s) migrated to Palestine and settled in Jerusalem. Jacob Valero married Esther Aziza Levi and had three children. Initially he worked as a butcher, but after a while switched to money changing, which went from strength to strength. In collaboration with Haim Amzalak (another Sephardic Jew), Gavriel (some say Yehuda) Papu and Jacob (Giacomo) Pascal (an Armenian in the employ of the Austrian consulate - a ‘silent’ partner), he founded in 1848 the first bank in Palestine, named Jacob Valero & Co. The main branch was located in the Old City close to the Jaffa Gate, in a small two room flat. With the expansion of its operations, a branch was opened in the port of Jaffa, directed by his eldest son Joseph (1837–1879) and the bank also had representation (possibly another branch) in Damascus. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Haim Aharon Valero」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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