| Notes |
Dorothy (Dolly) Mathilde de Rothschild learned about Zionism first hand from her father-in-law Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934). She soon became a skilful political facilitator who regularly filled in for her husband James when he went off to war or was convalescing from his war-related injuries.
Dorothy arranged meetings and forged important contacts for Chaim Weizmann and his circle, thus enabling them to press Britain to support a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
Years later, after the birth of Israel, her discreet philanthropic generosity helped to develop the Jewish state’s civil society, build some of its most important institutional edifices, and unleash the human potential of a new generation of Israelis through a vast array of educational initiatives.
All the while, Dorothy maintained a profound commitment to the family’s civic responsibilities in British society, including overseeing the initial stages of the handover of the family’s 6,000-acre Waddesdon estate in Buckinghamshire to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Under the leadership of the current Lord Rothschild, the Rothschild Foundation underpins all of Waddesdon’s activities on behalf of the National Trust. |