Joseph ben Gershon, of Rosheim, approximately 1478-1554

Josel of Rosheim (alternatively: Joselin, Joselmann, Yoselmann, German: Josel von Rosheim, Hebrew: יוסף בן גרשון מרוסהים Joseph ben Gershon mi-Rosheim, or Joseph ben Gershon Loanz; c. 1476–1480 – March 1554) was a German rabbi and community leader. He was the great advocate ("shtadlan") of the German and Polish Jews during the reigns of the Holy Roman emperors Maximilian I and Charles V. Maximilian I appointed him as governor of all Jews of Germany, a position which was confirmed after Maximilian's 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.