Creator Bio

Narcisse Leven

1833–1915

Born in Uerdingen, Prussia (today in Germany), and educated in Paris, Narcisse Leven graduated from the Sorbonne Law Faculty. A politically active French republican, Leven served as an elected member of the Paris municipal council for eight years and was Adolphe Cremiuex’s secretary for a number of years. Heavily influenced by the Mortara Case, Leven cofounded the Alliance Israélite Universelle in 1860; he served in a number of executive positions there, notably as president from 1898 to 1915. As a trustee of the Baron de Hirsch fund, Leven became very involved in the Jewish Colonization Association (JCA), where he served as president. He was a board member of the French rabbinical seminary, the Jewish Consistory of Paris, and a successful attorney.

Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator

Primary Source

Speech Given to the General Assembly of the Jewish Colonization Association

Public Access

Text

This speech by the president of the Jewish Colonization Association to its board in Paris praises their work in Argentina while also addressing the difficulties colonies had faced in earlier years.