JEWISH SETTLEMENTS IN PALESTINE

Rare images of pioneering Jewish settlements taken in 1945

[Photograph album.] Palestine: 1945. 143 original photographs, of which 2 large format (approx. 160 x 210 mm.), the remainder mostly 65 x 90 mm., with 8 postcards, all mounted on black paper with neat captions in white ink, 20 leaves, oblong 4to (270 x 338 mm.). Contemporary cloth.

Among the more usual tourist photographs of Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, Haifa and Tiberias, this album contains rarer images of Jewish settlements in the mid-1940s. These include: two of ‘Dagania’ (i.e. Degania Alef), at the southern end of Lake Tiberias, one image being an aerial photograph; four of Nahalal in northern Palestine; and three of Borochov; and two others of unidentified settlements.

These images are important documents of these pioneering settlements. Degania was founded under Ottoman rule in 1912. This was the very first kvutza (later kibbutz) established by Zionist pioneers in Palestine. In 1948, it was completely destroyed during the Arab-Israeli War, so these are important images of the well-established agricultural community before that time.

Nahalal was founded in 1921 as the first moshav ovidim, or workers' cooperative agricultural settlement, in British Palestine. Some of its founders had been members of the first kibbutz, Degania. Founded under Labour Zionists, the key difference from a kibbutz was that this agricultural community maintained individually-owned housing and farms, but pooled labour and resources. The images here show bee-keeping, imported Holstein cattle, and the Girls Agricultural Training School.

Borochov was founded a year later, on 22 April 1922, by 22 pioneers who purchased 300 dunams (about 30 hectares) of land on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. These pioneers identified themselves with Poale Zion (‘Workers of Zion’), and created the first workers' neighbourhood in Palestine. It was named for Dov Ber Borochov, founder of the Poalei Zion workers' party. Over time, more neighbourhoods developed: Sheinkin (1936), Givat Rambam (1933), Kiryat Yosef (1934), and Arlozorov (1936). In August 1942, these were merged to form a local council called Givatayim, and by 1959, Givatayim was declared a city.

The album also contains one photograph of Bnei Brak, captioned ‘Colony of Orthodox Jews’. It is possible that the compiler of the album was American, as one image is captioned ‘Plowing with tractor’.