משפחה יהודית בוולטה בתחילת המאה ה-20
Jewish Family in Valletta - Early 20th century

Jacob Israel was born in Corfu in 1834 and came to Malta at the ageof 35. He set himself up in business first of all as a ship’s chandler andthen as an importer/exporter. His wife Giulia, seated in front of him, wasborn in Sfax in Tunisia and came to Malta with her father, RabbiSamuel Zanzuri, following a famine in the south of Tunisia whichdrove away many Europeans. Of the daughters, to Jacob’s left,standing, Rachele, who alone of all the family stayed in Malta and hadchildren there. In front of her is her sister Elise who married anOttoman Jew and finally settled in Paris.The boy, seated in front, Daniel, studied Medicine at the CatolicaHospital in Rome, but practiced most of his life in Tunis. To the right ofthe father, standing, is Mary who married a businessman from Sfax andsettled there. In front of her, seated, is Emilia who settled in Lyon inFrance where her husband was a textile manufacturer, a business takenover later by one of his sons. Missing from the photo are two elderbrothers who had left for Peru where they became rich in the trade of rubber. Another sister, Rebecca, settled inCairo. This scattering throughout the Mediterranean was typical of many Jewish families and also of CatholicMaltese of the time, Malta being such a small and once a very poor place with few opportunities.