Settlement Organizations
The “Yizrael” Organization - Kfar Hess
The “Yizrael” organization consisted of 100 families. It began in 1924 as a group of laborers affiliated with the Ahdut HaAvoda party, who organized in Kfar Yehezkel and waited to settle on the lands of Zar’in (Yizrael) in the Jezreel Valley. After years of waiting filled with disappointment over being allowed to settle in the valley, and after additional members joined the organization - having worked in the Jewish colonies of Judea and the Sharon - the organization’s general assembly convened in Zichron Yaakov in 1928 and accepted the Agricultural Center’s proposal to relocate to the orchard region.
“This was, of course, a 180-degree turn requiring a fundamental shift in the orientation of the members, who had grown weary of relying on the grace of the national funds.”
The organization’s members partially financed the purchase of the land designated for their settlement. The money was given as a loan to the Jewish National Fund (JNF), which later financed the remainder of the purchase. The entire land was registered under the name of the JNF. Although the initial plan was for an area of 1,750 dunams, in practice the land acquisition process was prolonged and extended over many years. By 1938, the moshav held only 1,045 dunams, supporting eighty families.
To a large extent, this organization - which in 1930 established Kfar Hess - represents the transformation that occurred within the labor movement. It was the first organization among those intending to settle in the Jezreel Valley to begin reconsidering its settlement location, marking a turning point in the labor movement’s perception of settlement, from the valley to the orchard regions.
Those who followed were Organizations B (Vitkin) and C (HaEmek), who would later go on to found Kfar Vitkin.
“As early as 1927, voices within the ‘Yizrael’ organization began calling for an awakening from the dream of settling in the Jezreel Valley on Zar’in land and to pursue settlement elsewhere.”
The organization established a mutual loan and savings fund for its members and had, by the end of 1930, invested a total of 2,400 Palestine pounds in land acquisition, nursery establishment, mapping, and similar preparations. Although at that time the organization held only part of the land designated for them, the members were already actively preparing for settlement.
A topographic map was prepared by an agricultural engineering company, and architect Richard Kauffmann was commissioned to create the physical layout of the settlement.
In November 1930, they began deep plowing on the land already in their possession. The members also had a one-year-old citrus nursery with approximately 47,000 saplings.
The “Yizrael” organization, whose members were relatively older at the time, assembled at the settlement point, living in small, crowded huts, and earned their livelihood working in the Tel Mond orchards, while awaiting the construction of their farms and village.
“Herut Yehuda” Organization - Herut
The “Herut Yehuda” organization was founded in 1927 and consisted of approximately 120 members, most of whom had already gained several years of experience working in the citrus-growing colonies and had specialized in the field. The organization was among the first to initially aim for settlement in the citrus orchard region.
As early as 1925, when the entire “Working Settlement” movement viewed its future solely in the Jezreel Valley, based on a mixed farming model, members of this organization dared to promote the idea of settling in the orchard region on the basis of an intensive, diversified farming model. Its members energetically raised funds to finance land acquisition.
After the organization’s first attempt to settle near Herzliya failed in 1928, its members chose to move to the Tel Mond area. Together with members of the “Chai” organization who joined them, they established Moshav Herut in 1931. The organization, which as mentioned had originally intended to settle in the orchard area, went further than other groups in preparing for settlement. As early as 1928, its members had prepared a citrus nursery in Kfar Saba with over 150,000 seedlings and had acquired livestock and various farming tools.
Immediately upon receiving a portion of the land that had been purchased for them, the organization’s members moved their shack camp to the Tel Mond area. They plowed 600 dunams of land, commissioned a topographical map (prepared by Feffer) and an irrigation plan, and also ordered a settlement plan from architect Richard Kauffmann. The organization drafted a detailed settlement plan and decided on a dispersed settlement layout.
Due to the incomplete acquisition of all the land needed for all members to settle, only part of the group moved onto the land, supported by fellow members still awaiting settlement. The settlers dug a well and prepared cement pipes for irrigation.
By the end of 1930, the organization’s 200 members had invested about 12,000 Palestine Pounds (L.E.), an average of about 60 L.E. per member. When it became clear that, despite all efforts, the full planned land acquisition for the organization would not be completed in the near future, some members left and moved elsewhere, leaving 120 members in the organization.
According to the original plan of the Agricultural Center, the three organizations were supposed to be part of the “Settlement of the Thousand” project. However, since the representatives of the Economic Company refused to begin work before the plan was approved by the company’s leaders in London and Berlin - even the preparation of maps and building plans, which had already been agreed upon, was postponed; the organizations’ members had no choice but to take upon themselves the preparation of the plans, topographic maps, and measurements. It was agreed that all expenses made within the budget later granted by the company for the “Settlement of the Thousand” project would be recognized and counted toward the settler’s contribution to the budget (30 L.E.)
Members of the “Herut-Yehuda” organization established a camp of shacks, in which ten members lived while working in the citrus orchards of Tel Mond, and another twenty members who jointly worked on planting on the organization’s land. Later, the members began settling gradually, by lottery, with mutual assistance and support from the entire group.
(From: The Tel Mond Documentation Museum Archive, Reena Idan, 1999, “Jewish Settlement in the Central Sharon Region between 1929-1939,” submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Hebrew University.)
The “Tel Aviv Agricultural Workers” Organization - Ein Vered
This organization comprised 100 families. In its early days, it intended to establish a neighborhood of agricultural workers in the Tel Aviv area. After various delays, its members withdrew from the workers’ neighborhood initiative. Along with additional laborers from the agricultural colonies who joined them, and following the advice of the Agricultural Center, they turned toward settling in the Tel Mond region. Members of this organization participated in financing their land acquisition through a loan to the Jewish National Fund (JNF). According to the plan, the land allocation was to be 1,750 dunams; by 1938, 112 families held 1,844 dunams. They founded the moshav of Ein Vered. This organization represents the solution found by urban workers in response to the crisis of the Fourth Aliyah by turning to agricultural settlement in the citrus-growing region.
Members of the “Tel Aviv Agricultural Workers” Organization prepared a map of the land acquired for them and commissioned a settlement plan from architect Richard Kauffmann. They plowed the land, prepared 385 dunams for planting, and dug a well. The organization had access to a one-year-old citrus nursery with about 30,000 seedlings. The 110 members of the organization had invested a total of 238 Palestine Pounds (L.E.) in these efforts by the end of 1930.
The organization adopted a method that granted each settler individual freedom of action. The organization distributed the plots, allocated land for planting, and each settler acted according to his own ability and means. As a result, by early 1933, the impression was already that the settlement was planned and built. At that stage, the village already had 12 constructed houses and approximately 70 dunams planted with citrus trees, owned by 20 members.
(From: The Tel Mond Documentation Museum Archive, Reena Idan, 1999, “Jewish Settlement in the Central Sharon Region between 1929-1939,” submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Hebrew University.)
The “HaPoel HaMizrachi” Organization - Kfar Yavetz
The “HaPoel HaMizrachi Federation” was founded in April 1922, inspired by the unique vision of the religious pioneer-workers concerning their integration into agricultural settlement in the Land of Israel. For the first time, a Jew aspired to hold a hoe in one hand and a Torah scroll in the other, and to build an agricultural settlement in the Land of Israel.
During the Third Aliyah (1919-1923), hundreds of young religious Jews immigrated to the Land of Israel. These youths were deeply influenced by the major historical events of the time:
1. The aftermath of World War I, which devastated many Jewish communities.
2.The emancipation of Jews in newly-formed national states (such as Poland and Romania).
3.The universal social ideals of the Russian Revolution.
4.The Balfour Declaration (November 2, 1917), in which Britain recognized the Jewish people’s right to establish a national home in the Land of Israel.
5.The British conquest of the Land of Israel during World War I.
These events profoundly shook Jewish youth across Europe and gave rise to a sense that the days of redemption were near. The Balfour Declaration, in particular, was perceived as a divine intervention - “It’aruta d’le’eyla” (an awakening from above) - and many within the religious-Zionist public viewed this as “Atchalta d’Geulah” (the beginning of redemption), prompting them to immigrate to the Land of Israel.
In addition, the youths were influenced by the social ideals of the Russian Revolution. They rejected the Diaspora lifestyle, which they saw as disconnected from labor and creativity, and aspired to build a society in the Land of Israel based on new values - a Jewish life of honest labor, particularly agricultural labor.
Many of them joined the broader HeHalutz (The Pioneer) movement, but were uncomfortable with its secular lifestyle. These religious youth wanted to engage in labor and help build the land, but found only partial support within the Mizrachi movement. They felt the need for an organization that would address their unique needs.
Following a gathering of four religious workers’ groups in June 1921, the first national conference convened in Jerusalem in April 1922 (during Passover of 5682) and proclaimed the establishment of a national organization: “HaPoel HaMizrachi in the Land of Israel.”
The organization’s objective:
To build the land in the spirit of the Torah, based on labor, and to create a framework that would support its members materially and spiritually, allowing them to live as religious workers.
Core values:
1.Self-labor, without exploiting others.
2.A way of life in accordance with the Torah and Jewish tradition.
The organization’s missions:
1.Promoting Hebrew labor everywhere.
2.Establishing workers’ collectives and settlement groups.
3.Supporting vocational and cultural development.
4.Creating communal kitchens, health clinics, mutual aid funds, hostels, and more.
5.Disseminating Jewish knowledge, Hebrew language, and general culture.
Movement leaders and ideological shapers were: Rabbi Shachna Hirsch Landau, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Shapiro (known as “The Pioneering Rebbe”), Yitzhak Bernstein, and Shlomo Zalman Shraga’i.
Summary of the ideology (from the founders’ proclamation):
“We seek a life of labor and creativity based on traditional Judaism. We cannot confine ourselves solely to spirituality and the narrow realm of religious law, but neither can we suffice with an external nationalism based only on language and land while abandoning our Torah, the foundation of our national culture and identity.
We desire a Judaism of Torah and labor, through which Judaism will engage with nature, life, and the nation - not merely as a symbol or inheritance, but as a living inner experience flowing from the heart.
We aspire to return to the ancient Hebrew way of life, to the original Biblical Judaism founded on justice, honesty, and morality.”
(From: Menachem Rothstein, 1985, “The Growth of the Torah and Labor Idea,” in Torah and Labor: Vision and Practice, published by the Executive Committee of the HaPoel HaMizrachi Federation.)