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"Halutzim- Jewish Pioneers in Palestine"

Literal and Contextual Definition of Halutz:

The term halutz in Hebrew means “pioneer”. However, to any Zionist and Israeli, the term means much more. The term refers to those Jews who left their homelands in Europe and immigrated to Israel. Upon arrival in Israel, they settled in rural areas, drained swamps and built up the land.

Hardships Faced by the Halutzim:

Jews who arrived at what was considered Palestine at the time did not have an easy time settling the land and succeeding. Instead of the land being overflowing with “milk an honey”, it was overflowing with problems.

Firstly, Jews who came to Israel were usually not of a rural background. They came from the European cities and were used to doing business. They were agriculturally unskilled. The land was not easy to work and the other Jews residing in Palestine at the time were not easy to get along with. The halutzim did not come outfitted to work the land and therefore it was a continuous hardship for them.

Secondly, the government at the time offered the settlers nothing except for the demand that the latter pay high taxes. The governments from the countries the pioneers originally lived in also did nothing in way of helping the settlers.

Thirdly, life in itself was difficult at the time for the pioneers. Disease and even death was rampant in the halutzim camp. The settlers had to build roads, schools, policing forces and living quarters on their own, without any help whatsoever from the existing government. There was financial help coming in via different Zionist groups and persons but life in early Palestine was far from being ideal.

In the end, despite all the hardships sited above, the pioneers came out strong and developed the land into the beautiful Jewish home it is today. Many of the colonies exist today as plantations of fruits, nuts and grapes. The pioneers helped improve the breeds of cattle and poultry and base the idea of cooperation as well as irrigation

Famous Halutzim:

Zalman David Levontin He established the “Committee of Pioneers of Yesud ha-Ma’alah” in Jaffa. This committee dealt with activities relating to the purchase of land and the founding of Jewish settlements. In total, the committee was only really successful in contributing a little to the establishment of Rishon L’Tzion

Moshe David Schub

He was an emissary of Hovevei Zion and together with David Bukschester, he purchased land in northern Israel near the town of Tzfat. In September 1882, twenty-five families from Moinesti, Romania settled on that plot of land that later came to be known as the city of Rosh Pinnah.

Leib Rubin and Fischel Solomon

These men were two members of Hovevei Tzion who were convinced of the agricultural promise embedded in the Huleh Valley, and so they purchased a piece of land there. However, the land was plagued with hardships from the start. In the end, the families who settled on that plot of land cultivated it and the settlement was able to thrive.

Reuben Lehrer

In 1883 a Russian immigrant by the name of Reuben Lehrer purchased the piece of land known as Wadi Hanin which later became known as “Nachalat Reuben”. Today it is seen as the core of the Moshava Nes Ziona.

Baron Edmond de Rothschild

Baron Edmond de Rothschild was a very wealthy Jewish man who resided in Paris, France and used his wealth to finance the Jewish settlements in Palestine. His financial support signifies an interim stage between the Old Yishuv (those who lived in Palestine prior to the waves of Aliyah) who learned in Kollel (Jewish learning centers) and lived off money collected on their behalf from Jews around the world, and the new pioneers who arrived in Israel filled with the ideals of settling the land, achieving independence and equality and setting up a Jewish society in the Land of Israel. The Baron was very calculating in regards to his assistance with the settlements. He methodically organized his plans for the settlements and dispatched representatives on his behalf in order to seek out the best method for handling Jewish agriculture in Palestine. Some criticize the Baron for making the average Jewish farmer very dependent on the latter’s financial backing and for his inflexibility in regards to how his money should be spent in Palestine

Joseph Trumpledor(1880-1920)

Trumpledor is famous for the term he coined: “’Tis Good to Die for Our Land!”. Trumpledor came to Israel from Russia. Ever since he sat in the First Zionist Congress, he turned into a passionate Zionist. He emigrated to Israel and at the outbreak of World War I, he was exiled to Alexandria by the Turks. In Alexandria he met up with Zev Jabotinsky and together they formed a group of Jewish fighters who would be sent to Israel to fight in the war. Trumpledor returned to Israel and resided in Tel-Hai. While there, a band of Arabs entered Tel-Hai demanding to search the area for French soldiers. The Arabs tried taking the weapons of the pioneers in Tel-Hai and shooting broke out. Trumpledor ran out into the courtyard, exposed to Arab shooting. Trumpledor was shot in his arm and then his stomach. Only in the evening, once the Arabs had left, were the pioneers able to call for a doctor to attend to Trumpledor. The doctor asked Trumpledor how he felt and the latter answered: “Not too bad- it’s worthwhile to die for the Land Of Israel”.

Alexander Zayed (1886-1938)

Zayed emigrated to Rishon LeZion and worked hard to organize Jewish watch guards for the settlements. Together with other brave immigrants, they set up “Bar Giora” and proclaimed its goal to be that of freeing the Jewish nation and homeland and setting up a Jewish state!

Sarah Aharonson-(1890-1917) Sarah Aharonson is the sister of Aaron, heroine of NILI,(Born and died in. Zikhron Ya'akov). The members of Nili were famous for their assistance to the British. They gathered a lot of important information for the British against the Turks. In the spring of 1917, while on a secret mission to Egypt, she was asked by her brother Aaron to stay in Egypt rather than further risk her life. She refused his request and returned to Palestine to head Nili. Sarah was arrested by the Turks in Fall 1917. In an effort to obtain information about the group, the Turks tortured her for three days. She did not give the Turks any information about the group and suffered at their hands. To escape further torture, she shot and killed herself

Yehoshua Hankin (1864-1945)

He was responsible for most of the major land purchases of the Zionist organization. Hankin was born in Kremenchug Ukraine, and moved to Rishon Le-Zion with his parents in 1882. In 1887 his family moved to Gedera and the local Arabs assisted him in purchasing land. Hankin's first purchase was the land of Rechovot, which he purchased in 1890. In 1891 he bought the land that later became the city of Hadera. Following that, he acquired land for the Jewish Colonial Association in the Galilee.

Manya Shochat (1880-1961)

She was known as the "mother" of the Kibbutz movement and collective settlement. Manya understood that the model of plantation settlement where Jewish owners employed Arab workers, could never be the basis for Jewish national life. She concluded that only collective agricultural living could produce Jewish workers and farmers who would be the basis for building a Jewish homeland. In 1907, she helped establish the country’s first ideologically based cooperative at Sejera, which later became the basis of the first Kibbutz. In 1908, with Israel Shochat, she helped found the Hashomer guard organization.

Jewish Settlements Erected by the Pioneers:

In 1882, the groups “BILU” (Bet Ya’akov Lechu V’Nelcha) and “Hibbat Zion” were established. These groups were set up as a result of the anti-Jewish violence that swept through Russia in 1881. These groups helped establish the early settlements of Yesod Hamaalah, Rosh Pinna, Gedera, Rishon L’Tzion, Nes Tziona and Rehovot. Baron Rothschild also financially assisted these settlements.

Petach Tikvah: The city known as Petach Tikvah was founded in 1878 by a group of pioneers from Jerusalem, led by Rabbi Yoel-Moshe Salomon, Rabbi David Gutmann and Yehoshua Stampfer. They believed in working the land instead of relying primarily on the funds amassed by the Jews in the Diaspora. The original settlement was not a success, but in 1888, Baron Edmund de Rothschild began to support the settlement by the purchase of additional land, and by providing subsidies and agricultural counseling to the farmers. Petah-Tiqva became a training ground for thousands of pioneers, who learned to be farmers prior to venturing out to establish tens of settlements

Groups of Jewish Pioneers who Worked Towards Establishing Settlements and Bringing Jews to Israel:

Hovevei Tzion:

Associations of proto-Zionist study circles formed in Rumania, Russia, England, USA, France and elsewhere beginning about 1880 and continuing until about 1902 or 1903, when they merged into the Zionist movement. Hovevei Tziyon was formed by coalescing members of individual groups of Hibat Tzion members. In 1882, Hibat Zion/Hovevei Tziyon members founded Rishon LeZion. They later were reinforced by BILU pioneers. It was formerly claimed by some that the Bilu had founded Rishon Letzion, but that is certainly not correct. The Bilu movement grew out of Hibat Tziyon, and for time they worked in Rishon Letzion, but they did not found it.

In 1884, thirty-six delegates of Hibat Tziyon groups met in Kattowitz, Germany (now Katowice, Poland). Rabbi Samuel Mohilever was elected the president and Leon Pinsker the chairman of the organization they named Hovevei Zion. To get legal recognition by the authorities, the Russian branch of Hovevei Zion was registered as a charity and approved by the Russian government early in 1890 as "The Society for the Support of Jewish Farmers and Artisans in Syria and Eretz Israel." It came to be known as "The Odessa Committee." It was devoted to practical Zionism: establishing agricultural settlements. Its projects in 1890-1891 included help in the founding of Rehovot and Hadera and rehabilitation of Mishmar HaYarden.

Their goal was to create a new kind of Jew- a farmer rooted in his land. They wished to create Jewish rural settlements in Palestine, which they termed “moshavot”. They wished to establish a homeland for the Jews as a solution to the persecution the Jews suffered