James Finn

James Finn (1806–1872) was a British Consul in Jerusalem, in the then Ottoman Empire (1846–1863). He arrived in 1845 with his wife Elizabeth Anne Finn. Finn was a devout Christian, who belonged to the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews, but who did not engage in missionary work during his years in Jerusalem.
Finn was a writer and philanthropist. He was a great believer in productivity, an ideology that was very much in vogue at the time, and 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. Kerem Avraham was established as a training farm for Jews in agriculture and to become productive citizens. Finn employed Jewish labourers to build the first house there in 1855. Cisterns for water storage were built and a soap factory was established which produced high quality soap sold to tourists.
He helped establish an experimental farm, initially meant for the poverty-stricken Jews from Jerusalem, at the village of Artas outside Bethlehem.
Finn was removed from his post in 1863. His superiors believed he had become too personally involved in local affair. 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.