Order of Ancient Maccabeans (also Maccabaeans) is an Anglo-Jewish society.^[1] The order is a friendly society established in 1894, and registered on 8 May 1901, under the Friendly Societies' Act, as amended 1896.^[2]

History

When Theodor Herzl came to England before the First Zionist Congress the members of the Society, who then belonged to the "Lovers of Zion" movement, pledged their adherence to the Zionist cause. The Society was an avowedly Zionist Order, and every member on admission had to declare his willingness to be a Zionist, to pay the shekel and to assist generally through the Order in the work of resettling the Jews in Palestine.^[2] Membership consists primarily of people in the professions, with aims to provide "social intercourse and co-operation among its members with a view to the promotion of the interests of Jews, including the support of any professional or learned bodies and charities."

All persons "of the Jewish faith who declare themselves adherents to the Zionist Movement" can become members; membership also includes similarly minded, non-Jewish 'honorary' members.

Past presidents

• 1891–1903 Raphael Meldola (in whose honour the society awards the Meldola medal for Chemistry)
• 1903–04 Albert Goldsmid
• 1904–27 Solomon Joseph Solomon
• 1927–32 Herbert Bentwich
• 1932–54 Selig Brodetsky
• 1982–90 Sir Alan Marre
• 1990–2000 Sir John Balcombe
• 2000–present Sir Ian Gainsford

Other notable members have included:

• Louis Barnett Abrahams
• Chief Rabbi Hermann Adler
• Norman Bentwich
• Sir Ernst Boris Chain
• Marcus Hartog
• Rev. Morris Joseph
• Chief Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz
• Waldemar Haffkine
• Sir Ian Heilbron
• Sir Bernard Rix
• Charles Kensington Salaman
• Isaac Snowman
• Rev. Joseph Stern
• Rev. Charles Voysey (Not Jewish; hon. member)
• Chaim Weizmann
• Lucien Wolf
• Israel Zangwill

References

Further reading

• Encyclopaedia Judaica, art. Maccabaeans
• Jewish Year Book, 2005, p. 104
• Who was Who