Josel of Rosheim

Who was Josel of Rosheim?

Josel of Rosheim was the great advocate of the German and Polish Jews during the reigns of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and Charles V. Maximilian I appointed him as governor of all Jews of Germany, a position which was confirmed after his death by his grandson, Charles V.

His stature among the Jews, and the protected status he gained for himself and for the Jews within the Holy Roman Empire, rested in part on his skills as an advocate and in part from the Jewish role in financing the expenses of the emperor. Josel of Rosheim remains a major figure of the History of Jews in Alsace.