John Meshullam

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John Meshullam (1799–1878) was a British-born Jew. His family was killed on their way to Jerusalem during riots between Turks and Greeks, and he survived as the only remaining sibling, inheriting their assets. He moved to Berlin to study German and then decided to move to the Levant. There he met Joseph Wolff, a missionary for the London Society for Promoting Christianity Among the Jews, and he converted to Anglican Christianity. In 1840 he moved with his wife and children to Jerusalem. He helped establish an agricultural farm at Artas in 1850. That year he leased land in Artas to Mennonites Peter Claaßen and his brother Isaac from West Prussia; their families moved to Artas but left for Jaffa between 1851 and 1853. By the end of 1853 another group of leaseholders around Clorinda S. Minor left after a dispute with Meshullam. He was buried in Jerusalem, and his grave is kept in the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery.