Mathilde Dorothy De Rothschild | Jewish Women's Archive (original) (raw)
Just before her eighteenth birthday, Dorothy Pinto became Mrs. James de Rothschild and was thrust into the center of the whirlwind of the political, social and Zionist life of the Rothschild family. She joined in their work on behalf of Jewish settlement in Palestine, playing a prominent role in the family's contribution to developing various aspects of the State of Israel.
Photo © Yad Hanadiv
In Brief
Mathilde Dorothy De Rothschild, born in 1895 in London, entered into Zionist politics swiftly after marrying her husband, James. Her husband was deeply invested in the future of Israel and the Jewish people, thus Dorothy also became involved and interested in this movement. As her husband’s health deteriorated, Dorothy took on many of his responsibilities, including his parliamentary constituency. She became a member of the Buckinghamshire County Council and was a Justice of the Peace in the Aylesbury law courts. She won many awards for her activism and support in Israel, but none of these rewards could adequately account for the unique and lasting contribution she made to Israeli society.
Bibliography
Bousquet, G.-H. "Un Document Concernant La Fortune De La Famille Rothschild." Revue D'histoire économique Et Sociale 32, no. 3 (1954): 329-31.
Muhlstein, Anka. Baron James: The Rise of the French Rothschilds. Paris: Random House, 1984.
Reinharz, Jehuda. "Science in the Service of Politics: The Case of Chaim Weizmann during the First World War." The English Historical Review 100, no. 396 (1985): 572-603.