Arthur Menachem Hantke

Arthur Menachem Hantke (March 5, 1874 – October 9, 1955 ) was a jurist, lawyer and economist, one of the leaders of Zionist movement in Germany and one of the leaders of the Zionist fundraising organization Keren Hayesod.

Biography Arthur Hantke was born in Berlin into a Jewish religious family from Posen, and received a traditional Jewish education. He studied at the Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of Freiburg, and graduated as a doctor of law. He opened his own law firm in 1900. From 1909 he was married to Edith née Heiman (died in Jerusalem in 1949) and was the father of Yonatan (Theodore) Hantke. He later joined the Zionist Organization and from 1901 was a delegate to all Zionist congresses. In 1911 he was elected to the Zionist Executive in Berlin.

In 1919, he initiated the establishment of the Central Zionist Archives. With the establishment of Keren Hayesod, he was appointed head of the Fund's Central European Department. In 1926 he was appointed as a director of the Keren Hayesod and immigrated to Israel, where the Central Bureau of the Fund was located. In 1933 he was appointed to head Keren Hayesod. As part of his job, he was required to deal with the issue of the immigration of German Jews after the Nazis came to power.

Even Menachem, a moshav in Northern Israel, is named for him, as are streets in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Kiryat Motzkin, and Kiryat Bialik.