Misplaced Pages

#83916

23-567: Mazkeret Batya, initially Ekron, was established on November 7, 1883 by 11 ultra-Orthodox Jewish farmers from Russia, one of them Yaakov Laskovsky. It was the first agricultural settlement of the Hovevei Zion movement. The land was purchased by Baron Rothschild to promote Jewish agriculture in Palestine. Rabbi Shmuel Mohilever was instrumental in mobilizing funding and organizing the settlers. Mohilever's remains were later reinterred in

46-788: A group of Arab Muslims from Silwan attempted to rob his family's home in Mishkenot Sha'ananim. Hershler took chase and was shot 12 times. He died in the hospital on 5 January and was buried on the Mount of Olives . Seventy-five years after his death, Hershler was recognized by the Israel Defense Forces as the first "national martyr" in the Jewish-Arab conflict. He is one of approximately three dozen Jews killed during Ottoman -ruled Palestine , who are commemorated as part of Israeli's annual Yom Hazikaron memorial day. It

69-582: A group of ten Hovevei Zion enthusiasts from Kharkiv , headed by Zalman David Levontin and including noted philanthropists Isaac Leib Goldberg and Reuven Yudalevich , founded Rishon LeZion , the first Zionist settlement founded in the Land of Israel by the New Yishuv . This was done despite obstacles posed by the Turkish government, which hindered the purchase of land. Later, Bilu pioneers strengthened

92-639: A growth spurt, becoming a mixed community of religious and secular Jews. Historic landmarks include Beit Ha'Itut (Signal House), the Great Synagogue, Beit Meshek HaBaron ("The Baron's Farmhouse", now housing a cultural center), the saqiya -type water-rising system with its wooden wheels, well and pool, and an old farmyard. Shira Elinav , footballer Mazkeret Batya is twinned with: Hovevei Zion The Lovers of Zion , also Hovevei Zion ( Hebrew : חובבי ציון ) or Hibbat Zion ( Hebrew : חיבת ציון , lit.   ' Love of Zion ' ), were

115-504: A stone wall was built around the compound with a heavy door that was locked at night for defense. The name of the neighborhood was taken from the Book of Isaiah : "My people will abide in peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings and in peaceful resting places" ( Isaiah 32:18 ). It later became part of Yemin Moshe which was established in 1892–1894. After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , when

138-541: A variety of proto-Zionist organizations founded in 1881 in response to the anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire and were officially constituted as a group at a conference led by Leon Pinsker in 1884. The organizations are now considered the forerunners and foundation-builders of modern Zionism . Many of the first groups were established in Eastern European countries in the early 1880s with

161-740: The Old City , the others being Kerem Avraham , the Schneller Orphanage , Bishop Gobat school , and the Russian Compound . Mishkenot Sha'ananim was built by British Jewish banker and philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore in 1860, after he acquired the land from the Governor of Jerusalem, Ahmad Agha Duzdar . On the night of 1 January 1873, Aaron Hershler was standing guard at the Montefiore Windmill , when

184-541: The Russian Empire , waves of pogroms of 1881–1884 (some allegedly state-sponsored), as well as the anti-Semitic May Laws of 1882 introduced by Tsar Alexander III of Russia , deeply affected Jewish communities. More than 2 million Jews fled Russia between 1880 and 1920. The vast majority of them emigrated to the United States , but some decided to form an aliyah to Ottoman-ruled Palestine. In 1882,

207-661: The Sultan to protect the Jews of Palestine from conflicts with the Ottomans. In 1850, according to the Ottoman census provincial yearbook, Palestine had 63,659 recorded households. Roughly 85% were Muslim, 11% were Christian and 4% Jewish. The Jewish population was recorded at about 14,730, and increased to 24,000 by 1882. In 1854, Judah Touro bequeathed money to fund Jewish residential settlement in Palestine. Sir Moses Montefiore

230-487: The Zionist Organization , most of the Hovevei Zion societies joined it. Mishkenot Sha%27ananim Mishkenot Sha'ananim ( Hebrew : משכנות שאננים , lit. Peaceful Dwellings) was the first Jewish settlement built outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem , on a hill directly across Mount Zion . It was built in 1859–1860. This guesthouse was one of the first structures to be built outside

253-524: The Mazkeret Batya cemetery. In 1887 the name was changed to Mazkeret Batya, in memory of Betty Solomon de Rothschild, mother of Baron Edmond James de Rothschild. The history of the founding is described in the book "Rebels in the Holy Land", by the historian Sam Finkle where he writes about the community's struggle to uphold the laws of the sabbatical year despite fierce opposition. The economy of

SECTION 10

#1732798781084

276-631: The Old City was captured by the Arab Legion, Mishkenot Sha'ananim bordered on no man's land in proximity to the armistice line with the Kingdom of Jordan , and many residents of the Yemin Moshe quarter left in the wake of sniper attacks by Jordanian Arab Legionnaires . Only the poorest inhabitants remained, turning the complex into a slum. The no-man's-land bordering Mishkenot Sha'ananim

299-552: The aim to promote Jewish immigration to Palestine , and advance Jewish settlement there, particularly agricultural. Most of them stayed away from politics. 19th century Palestine was inhabited by Muslims, Armenians, Christians, and Jews. As early as 1840 Moses Montefiore advocated for the Jews in the Ottoman Empire , which controlled the areas of Palestine, meeting with British consul Lord Palmerston to get Mehemet Ali and

322-684: The local roads. In the War of Independence , convoys to besieged Jerusalem left from Mazkeret Batya. A field hospital operated there to care for Haganah fighters wounded at Latrun . According to one source, at the end of the British Mandate for Palestine, the British tried to hand the nearby Aqir airfield and camp to the Palestinian Arabs , apparently without success. Due to its proximity to Tel Aviv , Mazkeret Batya has experienced

345-650: The major donors was the famous tea merchant, Kalonimus Wolf Wissotzky , who founded the largest tea company in Russia, Wissotzky Tea . Wissotzky financed agricultural colonies in Palestine and visited the country in 1884–1885. He later published a book about his visit. In 1897, before the First Zionist Congress , the Odessa Committee counted over 4,000 members. Once the Congress established

368-538: The settlement and enlarged it. For many years, textbooks gave Bilu the credit for the establishment of Rishon LeZion, but in the last decades—after a campaign by the veterans of Rishon and their descendants— Hovevei Zion were given the credit as the founders of the city. The Hovevei Zion tract Aruchas bas-ami was authored by Isaac Rülf in 1883, and in 1884, 34 delegates met in Kattowitz , Germany (today Katowice , Poland ). Rabbi Samuel Mohilever

391-615: The village was originally based on dry farming, which continued even after the Mekorot Company constructed a pipeline to bring water from Rehovot . In 1947, Mazkeret Batya was home to 475 people. According to a census conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities , Mazkeret Batya (then Ekron) had a population 368 Jews. During the Mandate era, a Jewish police station was established in Mazkeret Batya to safeguard

414-546: Was appointed executor of his will, and used the funds for a variety of projects, including building the first Jewish residential settlement and almshouse outside of the old walled city of Jerusalem in 1860, which is known today as Mishkenot Sha'ananim quarter. Laurence Oliphant failed in a like attempt to bring to Palestine the Jewish proletariat of Poland, Lithuania, Romania, and the Turkish Empire (1879 and 1882). In

437-562: Was approved by the Russian government as "The Society for the Support of Jewish Farmers and Artisans in Syria and Eretz Israel," which came to be known as The Odessa Committee . It was dedicated to the practical aspects in establishing agricultural settlements and its projects in 1890–1891 included help in the founding of Rehovot and Hadera and rehabilitation of Mishmar HaYarden . One of

460-438: Was built as an almshouse, paid for by the estate of an American Jewish businessman from New Orleans , Judah Touro . Since it was outside the walls and open to Bedouin raids, pillage and general banditry rampant in the region at the time, the Jews were reluctant to move in, even though the housing was luxurious compared to the derelict and overcrowded houses in the Old City . As an incentive, people were paid to live there, and

483-539: Was captured by Israel during the 1967 War, together with the rest of Eastern and Old Jerusalem. In 1973, Mishkenot Sha'ananim was turned into an upscale guesthouse for internationally acclaimed authors, artists and musicians visiting Israel. Apart from guesthouse facilities, it is now a convention center and home of the Jerusalem Music Center . The music center was inaugurated by Pablo Casals shortly before his death. The Jerusalem Center for Ethics

SECTION 20

#1732798781084

506-483: Was elected the president and Leon Pinsker the chairman of the organization they named Hovevei Zion . Pinsker was aided by Shaul Pinchas Rabbinowicz . The group tried to secure financial help from Baron Edmond James de Rothschild and other philanthropists to aid Jewish settlements in Palestine and to organize educational courses. In June 1887, another conference was held in Druskininkai . The Warsaw chapter

529-545: Was founded by L. L. Zamenhof , who was working on the first grammar textbook of Yiddish ever written, published under the pseudonym "Dr. X" only in 1909, in Lebn un visnshaft , in the article "Vegn a yidisher gramatik un reform in der yidisher shprakh". In order to attain legal recognition by the authorities, the Russian branch of Hovevei Zion had to meet a demand to be registered as a charity . Early in 1890 its establishment

#83916