yosef eliyahu chelouche was born in jaffa, ottoman syria. his father, aharon chelouche, one of the prominent figures of the local north african jewish community, was a goldsmith, money changer and land dealer. he was educated in a jewish talmud torah and in the tifereth israel jewish school in beirut. his marriage at the age of 17 had put an end to his formal education, and he turned to the field of trade. during the early 1890s he opened in jaffa, together with his elder brother avraham haim chelouche, a store for building materials under the name of chelouche frères. the same name was used some years later also for a factory for cement-based prefabricated building products founded by the brothers, which operated until the end of the 1920s.