The acquisition of the Emek Jezreel for Jewish colonization has been theobject of Jewish efforts for many years. It was natural that this region, thelargest fertile plain of Palestine, should have aroused the interest of theJewish colonization societies at the very beginning. When the pogroms of 1890caused large numbers of Jews to emigrate from Russia, some of them turned toPalestine. As a result there arose, in the larger Russian cities, Jewishsocieties whose aim was the acquisition of land in Palestine for purposes ofcolonization. These societies had connections with the Odessa Committee of theChoveve Zion, which accordingly commissioned its Jaffa office to buy suitableland in Palestine for these societies. The directors of this office, Tiomkin,Pines and Bentowim, conceived the plan of purchasing a considerable part of theEmek Jezreel and of the Plain of Acco. It was not only the fertility of theseplains that attracted the, but also the fact that these were the only regionswhere it was possible to purchase a large stretch of land from a single owner,while the remainder of Palestine was broken up into small parcels belonging tomany individuals, so that the acquisition of a considerable continuous expansewas exceedingly difficult.
In order to execute this plan the Jaffa office communicated with Messrs.Kalvariski and Joshua Hankin. The latter, then a young man of twenty-five hadalready demonstrated his skill in such negotiations in the acquisition of landfor the colonies Rehoboth and Hederah. By energetic work he succeeded, in 1891,in reaching an agreement with large owners in the Emek Jezreel and the Plain ofAcco for the purchase of 160,000 dunams at 15 francs per dunam. These 160,000dunams included the territory which came into the possession of the Haifa BayDevelopment Company a few years ago, and, lately, of the Jewish National Fund.Hankin had not found it easy to reach this agreement to a low price, for eventhen speculators of all kinds were surrounding the land owners and attemptingto frustrate his efforts by offering a higher price. But Hankin enjoyed theconfidence of the Arabs, so that he succeeded in overcoming the competition ofthe speculators. Before the consummation of the agreement, however the TurkishGovernment, alarmed by the increasing inflow of Russian Jews, prohibited Jewishimmigration entirely. This blow proved disastrous for the negotiations. TheRussian societies formed for the purposes of purchasing land were dissolved,failed to send in the money they had promised, and the entire magnificentproject fell through.
Two decades passed before another attempt was made to acquire the EmekJezreel. It was only in 1910 that Hankin -- who, in the meanwhile, hadpurchased land in Lower Galilee for the ICA -- resumed his negotiations forland in the Emek. Authorized by a Russian Jew, Elias Blumenfeld, to arrange forthe purchase of 1,000 dunams on which he, Blumenfeld, intended to establish afarm with his own means, Hankin concluded an agreement for a stretch of 9,500dunams in Fule, later Merchavia. He hoped that the ICA, in whose employe he wasat that time, would buy the remainder of the land. When, however, the ICArefused to do so, he inquired of me, who was then the director of the PalestineBureau of the Zionist Organization, whether the Zionists would be prepared topurchase this land. Even before that it had occurred to me, whenever, goingfrom Haifa to Nazareth, I had viewed the broad expanse of the Emek Jezreel,that, because of its proximity to Haifa, its excellent railroad and highwayconnections, and the ease with which its soil could be cultivated, this landwould be preeminently suited for Jewish colonization.
But it was no simple matter to obtain the money for this purchase. Onlythe fact that Franz Oppenheimer was just then seeking land for the co-operativecolonization society he had recently organized, and the simultaneous appearanceof some private purchasers. made it possible to carry through this project.3,500 dunams were taken over by the National Fund for the co-operativecolonies, and the rest by the Palestine Land Development Company.
This, however, did not mean that the transaction was consummated, forthe Turkish Government refused to authorized the sale, even though officialpermission was applied for not by the National Fund, nor by the Palestine LandDevelopment Company, but by a Jew, Efraim Krause, who was a Turkish citizen.The Governor in Nazareth, a rabid anti-Zionist, declared that he would fightthis purchase to the utmost; furthermore, he ignored the orders of hissuperior, the District Governor in Acco, who wished no difficulties put in theway of this transaction. We were forced, therefore, to appeal to the Vali, theGovernor General in Beyruth. Great haste was necessary, for the purchase wasbeginning to attract attention, and influential circles were doing their bestto nullify it.
I still remember how, in February, 1910, Hankin and I rode on horseback(for the roads were unfit for carriages) from Haifa to Beyruth, through afearful rainstorm that prevented any ships from plying between the two cities;it was midnight when we reached Sidon, so that we arrived in Beyruth only onthe second day. But although we remained there for two weeks, and althoughofficial permission for the purchase was promised us from day to day, we were,finally, obliged to leave Beyruth without accomplishing our purpose. Onlythough the efforts of Hankin and his friends in Constantinople did we at lastsucceed in obtaining from the ministry the necessary sanction. This meant thegaining of our first foothold in the Emek.; and before long the Oppenheimerco-operative settlement and some private colonists commenced their agriculturalwork there.
About this time, too, the interest of the wealthier Russian Jews in thepurchase of Palestinian land was revived. After the acquisition of Merchaviah,Hankin had gone over from the ICA to the Palestine Land Development Company,which offered him the opportunity to exercise his abilities to the fullestextent. He neglected no occasion for the increase of our land holdings inPalestine, and, in 1913, commenced negotiations for a stretch of 20,000 dunamin Meshach, adjoining Merchaviah, reaching a provisional agreement for a priceof about forth francs per dunam.
On a visit to Russia, and by correspondence, I endeavoured to findbuyers for this land; the Odessa Committee, too, made efforts in thisdirection. With the assistance of the late engineer Nachum Syrkin of Kiev theinterest of the wealthy sugar manufacturer Brodski was aroused in this land,where he expected to attempt the cultivation of sugar beets. AccordinglyBrodski commissioned us to buy the land. But he had hardly declared himself willingto purchase it when Baron Rothschild also decided that he wanted it. There wasno doubt that Brodski would have to cede to the Baron. I therefore telegraphedto Brodski -- it was late in July, 1914, asking him to let Baron Rothschildpurchase the land; he immediately telegraphed his assent from a German bathingresort. This was approximately the time of the outbreak of the war, so thatBrodski manifestly was no longer in a position to forward the purchase money.Baron Rothschild, on the other hand, sent half a million francs to Palestinefor the land. As the war had already broken out it was, of course, impossibleto use this money for the purchase of the land; but it was the lastcontribution received by the ICA during the war, and proved of inestimablevalue for the continuation of its work.
During the war, and for two years after, land purchases were prohibitedby law. It was only after the establishment of the civilian government underHerbert Samuel, in 1920, that they were permitted again. Hankin immediatelygrasped the opportunity to conclude a provisional agreement for 70,000 dunam.Half of this land (Nahalal, Djindjar and Nasra) was not irrigated, and cost £3per dunam, while the other half (Nuris) was partly irrigated, and thereforesold at the higher price of six and a half pounds sterling. The entire amountwas about £300,000, which was to be paid upon transfer of the deed. But whenHankin submitted this agreement to me I was forced to point out that thefinancial situation of the Zionist Organization and its institution precludedany purchase of this sort. Hankin, however, repeatedly emphasized theimportance of the transaction;l and I realized that this represented our firstopportunity to commence extensive colonization on a stretch of land larger thanany which had ever been placed at our disposal.
But I saw no way of raising the huge sum required. We discussed thematter at length, and apparently without result, until I finally told Hankinthat I would try to persuade the Jewish National Fund to buy the land, providedit would be possible to pay the purchase price in ten annual instalments. Thissuggestion appeared almost Utopian at that time, for the Arabs were willing tosell their land only because they wanted to have the cash immediately, and hadnever agreed to accept payment on an instalment basis. Hankin, too, seriouslydoubted the possibility of carrying through this plan; nonetheless he didattempt it, and actually succeed in obtaining from the owners an optionaccording to which they were to be paid not in ten, but in six yearlyinstalments.
The Committee which then represented the Jewish National Fund inPalestine, consisting of Messrs. Ussishkin and Ettinger and myself, ratifiedthis agreement in principle, and submitted it to the European governing boardof the National Fund for approval. Here, however, the purchase met with keenopposition. The Reorganization Commission, which came to Palestine just then,declared itself against it; and the Director of the National Fund vetoed it. ThePurchase would probably have fallen through had not the Zionist Executiveintervened and, with the deciding vote of Dr. Weizmann, declared itself infavour of it. Thus, and despite many other difficulties, the purchase wasfinally made, rendering possible the establishment of a considerable number ofnew colonies in the Emek (Nahalal, Djindjar, Kfar Yecheskel, Geva, Ein Charod,Tel Yosef, Beth Alpha).
In the next few years Hankin succeeded in acquiring further largeexpanses in the Emek Jezreel for the National Fund, the Palestine LandDevelopment Company, and the American Zion Commonwealth. In addition he bought,in 1924, 60,000 dunams in the Plain of Acco, of which 46,000 dunams lay on thecoast between Haifa and Acco. One fourth of this was taken over by the NationalFund, and the remaining three-fourths by the Palestine Land DevelopmentCompany, which later sold this land to the Haifa Bay Development Company,founded by the American Zion Commonwealth together with and at the initiativeof Joseph Löwy. Then, in 1928, the major portion of the Haifa Bay DevelopmentCompanyÕs land came into the possession of the Jewish Naitonal Fund. Theacquisiton of this land is, therefore, of unusually great importance, for itassures the Jewish National Fund of a lasting influence upon the development ofHaifa.
Thus there have been acquired, since 1910, approximately 225,000 dunamsin the Emek Jezreel and about 65,000 dunams in teh Plain of Acco -- a total of290,000 dunams, purchased at the price of £970,000.
It has often been asked why the Zionist Organization has chosen the Emekfor colonization purposes, and has neglected the coastal plain, which issuitable for plantations of all sorts and for orange groves in particular. Thisquestion can best be answered by pointing out that the coastal plain has notbeen neglected at all. Since 1910 the Palestine Land Development Company alonehas acquired 70,000 dunam in the coastal plain between Gaza and Haifa; and whenwe count the plain of Acco the total mounts to 135,000 dunams. Thisnotwithstanding the Zionist public has heard much more of the purchases in theEmek Jezreel than of those in the coastal plain -- largely because it waspossible to buy large stretches of land at once in the Emek, while in thecoastal plain only small parcels of a few hundred or a few thousand dunamscould be bought at one time.
In addition to the above purchases on the part of the Palestine LandDevelopment Company in the coastal plain we must also mention the 60,000 or70,000 dunams near Benjamina which were partly bought by the ICA, and partlyleased by it from the government on long-term leases. A few small parcels ofland in the coastal plain have also been purchased by some private individualsand companies. When we consider also about 50,000 dunams for the purchase ofwhich negotiations were begun several years ago by the Palestine LandDevelopment Company, acting on behalf of the Jewish National Fund, and othercompanies, we see that approximately 250,000 dunams of land in the coastalplain (Including the Plain of Acco) have become Jewish property -- i.e., evenmore than in the Emek Jezreel.
It is, of course, true that in the first few years after the world warthe Zionist Organization concentrated its colonization efforts upon the Emek;for only here could it hope to acquire, in a short time, extensive stretches ofland for colonization on a large scale. Transactions corresponding to thosewhich were completed in the Emek within a few months required many years wherethe coastal plain was concerned. But at that time it was absolutely necessary,in the interests of the entire Zionist movement, to begin colonizationimmediately, and not to postpone it for years. Furthermore, in the coastalregion colonization must be based principally upon the cultivation of oranges;and orange plantations yield no profit for six years. Under uncertain financialconditions prevailing in the Zionist Organization in 1920 and 1921 suchcolonization in the coastal plain would have been attended by a great risk, forthe living and working expenses of the settlers would have had to be drawn fromthe Zionist funds for at least six years. And at that time, when the KerenHayesod was in its infancy, it was quite impossible to take over such anobligation for six years. It was necessary to find a form of colonization inwhich the settlers would be able to become self-supporting as soon as possible;and here general agriculture,. with dairying as its most important branch,afforded the best opportunity.
None of the colonists of 1921 had the means to start orange plantationson their own account. For this was during the European inflation period, whenthe sum required for a Palestinian orange plantation amounted to millions andbillions in European currency. Besides, orange growing was not very popularthen. This branch of agriculture had been very unprofitable during the war andeven in 1921 it was impossible to find a Jewish purchaser for one of the finestand best situated orange plantations in Palestine (although it was offered atan exceedingly low price), so that it had to be sold to an Arab.
Thus we may say that the Zionist Organization concentrated itsland-purchasing efforts upon the two great plains of Palestine almostsimultaneously. It is only in the mountainous country adjoining these plainsthat, recognizing the greater difficulties of colonization in the mountains, itbought nothing. One therefore receives a curious impression when one reads, inthe report of the Jewish Agency Experts Commission, a detailed attack upon theZionist Òmountain colonies.Ó The colonies meant are Ataroth (Kalendie) andKiriath Anavim, near Jerusalem. But these should be considered suburban ratherthan mountain colonies, for their very existence is due to the immediateproximity of the Jerusalem market. This proximity enables them to command suchexcellent prices for their milk, eggs, vegetables, and fruit that theirfinancial situation is eminently satisfactory, and much better than that ofmany colonies in the plain.
When we look back upon the history of our acquisition of Palestinianland, we see clearly that the purchase of land in the Emek has been a decidingfactor in the Jewish work in Palestine. This has been the first time that Jewshave come to constitute the majority of the agricultural population of aconsiderable area, and that they have been able to establish themselves in themanner best adapted to their special requirements. The construction of the Portof Haifa and the growth of the city will bring out the significance of the Emekeven more clearly. Next to the industrial development due to Nesher, Shemen andGrands Moulins, it is Jewish colonization in the Emek to which we must creditthe increase of the Jewish population of Haifa from three thousand to fifteenthousand since the war, and the fact that the strong Jewish influence upon thecity itself is evident to even the most casual observer.
Translatedfrom the German, anonymously Published in 1936 by HaÕaretz Press, Palestine