When someone Jewish moves to Israel, they are making Aliyah. Aliyah is a Hebrew word meaning ‘to ascend.’ We use this word because when you move to Israel, the holiest place in Judaism, you are ascending to a higher spiritual level. But the word refers to another phenomena. There are five waves of Jewish immigration to the land of Israel, then called Palestine, before the state is born. The Second Wave begins in 1904; the Third began in 1919; the Fourth began in 1924; the Fifth Aliyah began in 1933. NThese waves are also called an aliyah. Totaling five, these aliyot shaped and made modern Israel what it is today. The First Aliyah to Israel begins in 1882, starting a movement that changes history.
Background
In order to understand what is happening in the First Aliyah to Israel, we have to understand what’s going on to cause it. Most of European Jewry is living in Central and Eastern Europe. They had been living there for hundreds of years.
But there was a separation between the Jewish and non-Jewish communities. Most Jews did not speak the language of the land (German, Polish, Russian, etc.), but rather Yiddish. The Jewish communities were property of the King, which separated them legally. Europe was under Christian law. Jews couldn’t go to court, they couldn’t attend universities, and they weren’t allowed to join professional guilds.
Because of this separation, non- Jewish residents had misconceptions and prejudices about the Jews living in neighboring towns and neighborhoods. And based on these prejudices pogroms ensued. What’s a pogrom? An attack on Jewish neighborhood resulting in destroying homes, public buildings, and businesses. The pogroms were usually incited by stereotyping and scapegoating the Jews for social issues.
In 1881, the pogroms in Russia were particularly violent, and later called Southern Storms. Again while not a lot of people were killed, a lot of property was destroyed. The attacks lasted 1913, and many Jews left for North and South America, Western Europe, and South Africa. So the Jews in Eastern Europe are in a serious situation threatening their physical safety.
In Western Europe in the mid 18th century, people are beginning to think that religion should be a private matter, something to be dealt with in the home, and that all men should be equal. Democracy is born. This is further developed with the French Revolution (1789-1799). When Napoleon becomes the leader of the French Republic he creates a group of Jewish leaders to answer how Jews are going to integrate into a free society. Their answer is:
“We are Frenchmen of the mosaic background.”
Throughout Western Europe, Jews are emancipated and made equal to their non- Jewish counterparts. This brings about a BIG challenge for the Jews. You can join larger society, but you will have to give up part of your Jewish life and identity. You can have it both ways.
There are a lot of responses to this challenge including:
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Secularization (sometimes meaning assimilation and conversion),
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Haredi, or Ultra- Orthodox Judaism,
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And Reform Judaism
Nationalism
With the Jews in Eastern Europe constantly facing threats to their physical safety, and Jews in Western Europe facing a debate of inclusion versus a spiritual shortage, we have another trend rising in the 18th and 19th centuries…nationalism.
National movements are beginning to grow, starting by focusing on their language and culture, and then a sacred book, if relevant, stories, history, etc. Only at the end of their development as one group do they focus on territory. These ideas are spreading throughout Europe. Germany, Greece, and Italy become independent states in the late 1800’s. In the dialogue of other national movements and histories, Jews often felt like they didn’t fully fit in.
Jews begin to realize there is another option, different than moving away, suffering physical persecution, and assimilation. That option is to create a national movement of their own; to return to Zion, or Israel. Leon Pinsker, a Russian officer of the Crimean War, addressed this in his pamphlet “Auto Emancipation.” A group of young Russians called Hovevei Zion began preparing to move to Palestine at this time as well.
At this point we must address three groups of Proto- Zionists, Zionists calling for a Jewish State before the formally established Zionist movement.
- Harbingers of Zionism: from the 1840’s to the 1860’s the Harbingers of Zionism was a group of highly educated Englishmen. They believed that if the world’s Jews moved to Israel to convert to Christianity, the Messiah, or the Second Coming of Jesus would happen. As part of their work, the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) was established to do archeological and geological work in the Holy Land.
- Rabbis al Kalai and Kalischer: These two Rabbis were living in an area of Europe with a lot of national movements buzzing around them. And yet, like so many other Jews, they didn’t feel like they fit in any of them. They believed that Jews should settle in Israel to bring the Messiah. This was exceptional for two Rabbis at the time, for most religious Jews, one could not move to Israel until the Messiah came.
- Moses Hess and the publication of his book Rome and Jerusalem in 1862. Moses Hess was an important Jewish and socialist thinker in Central Europe. In his book, he writes that Jews also have a right to be a nation with the same definition of other nations.
With nationalism on the rise, Proto- Zionists catching on, Eastern European Jews fearing physical danger, and Western European Jews fearing total assimilation, Zionism became a very serious answer.
On the ground in Palestine
The land of Israel, called Palestine at the time, was controlled by the Ottoman Empire (originating from modern day Turkey). In 1800, 275,000 Arabs and 5,500 Jews were living here. Most of the Arab residents were living in rural areas, while most of the Jewish residents were living in urban areas, like Jerusalem, Tzfat, Tiberius, and Hebron.
Fifty years later, in 1850, there were 400,000 Arabs, and 10,000 Jews living here. When the Ottoman powers saw the changes beginning to unfold they made two very important land reforms:
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In 1858, non- Muslim, Ottoman subjects could buy land and build on it.
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In 1867, non- Ottoman subjects could buy land and build on it.
This would prove essential for the success of the Zionist movement, but before the Zionists move here there were two groups of Jews living in the land. The first group was Spanish, or Sephardic, Jews and the Arabic Jews, also called the Mustaf Aravim. The second group was made up of elderly and single people coming to study Torah and pass away in the Holy Land.
In 1870, the Mikve Yisrael agricultural school is established to teach young students agriculture. It is part of the Alliance Israelite Univereslle schools established across the Middle East and North Africa.
In 1878, two towns are established, but fail after a year due to lack of training in working the land (these two towns, Petach Tikva and Gei Oni (later Rosh Pina) will be reestablished and successful).
By 1881, a year before the First Aliyah to Israel, fifteen percent of the Jews are working. The Old Yishuv was the older group of Jews living in the land.
The First Aliyah to Israel
So in 1882, Jews in Europe say “Enough is enough. We’ve waited long enough for something good to happen. And now we’re taking things into our own hands now.” And they started moving to Palestine.
Where did they settle?
- The Hovevei Zion organization will throughout the north, but most of their settlements will fail. They had no agricultural experience, so they had no idea what they were doing.
- Rabbi Mohilever helped establish Mazkeret Batya, a town between Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh. Rabbi Mohilever represented Religious Zionism and a group of religious Jews who came during the First Aliyah to Israel. He helped bring Baron Edmond de Rothschild to the Zionist cause. We will talk about Rothschild in a moment. The “N” settlements: The “n” settlements created an “N” shape in the north of the land. It was a neglected area because previous Empires burning the land. But there was a lot of potential in the area for agriculture once students learned how to cultivate the land. It stretched from north of the Sea of Galilee to Mount Carmel (and Haifa), and south along the coast.
From 1882- 1902, 25,000 people moved to Israel. Twenty-five to thirty settlements, like Rosh Pina, Zichron Yaakov, Hadera, Rishon L’Tzion, Petach Tikva, Gadera, and Mazkeret Batya. Many struggled during this time. But why? In Europe, they were bookkeepers, students of Judaism, innkeepers. They never learned how to work the land. It was very difficult. Until they, and Rabbi Mohilever, enlisted the help of Baron de Rothschild. With his help, these towns stood a chance.
Who was Baron Edmond de Rothschild? He was a member of the French branch of the Rothschild family, known for its contributions to the banking world. When enlisted to help the Zionist movement, he made it his goal to ensure financial and economic development within the towns he sponsored.
But things weren’t 100% easier under Rothschild
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He wanted to enlist his own managers, tools, know-how, etc. This was difficult because his managers came from France, while most of the people making aliyah were Eastern European. Sometimes there were big cultural differences.
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The residents had to sing the land over to Rothschild.
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The managers told them when to go to sleep, when to wake up, when to eat, etc.
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But the truth is they got their salary whether they succeeded or not.
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Women and children received education in France. Most of these women and children were members of the lower middle class and Modern Orthodox Jews. This was a great opportunity for them. Young men also received an education if they showed promise.
In 1900, Rothschild retired from investing in these settlements and gave his money to the Jewish Colonization Association (JCA) to invest in the places he had started. But they did something different: they lent money to the towns, and the towns would have to pay the money back. This held the residents’ feet to the fire.
JCA also suggested to move to growing products and agriculture instead of producing and making wine. Today the towns we see with a strong wine industry succeeded under Rothschild (Rishon L’Tzion, Zichron Ya’akov). The other First Aliyah to Israel towns succeeded under the JCA.
This also led to the citrus industry booming. The Arab residents in Jaffa had started growing citrus fruits. But after the Jews had learning in agricultural schools. The citrus industry took the city of Jaffa out of poverty. There were two things that made citrus growing difficult:
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Citrus fruits need A LOT of water,
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It takes seven years before the plants produce fruit. That means the residents growing the fruit will have to have a different income for the first seven years before the plant bears fruit.
In 1901, the World Zionist movement created the Jewish National Fund (JNF). It was established for the goal to change the landscape and make it greener. All these years later, 115 to be exact, the JNF has succeeded. And today the JNF functions as an organization working to raise awareness about environmental issues.
Between the years 1882 and 1902, the First Aliyah to Israel brought thousands of Jews move to Palestine, they turned the country green, built towns, wineries, and agricultural industries. They changed the course of history both in Europe and Palestine.
Meanwhile, back in Europe…
In 1890, Nathan Birnbaum coins the term “Zionism,” while studying at the University in Vienna.
While Jews settled the land of Israel in the First Aliyah to Israel , the Zionist community of Europe wasn’t resting. A lot was going on there as well.
In 1894, a Jewish officer in the French Army was arrested and convicted of treason. As he was being taken away to be exiled, crowds of Frenchmen shouted “Death to the Jews!” It shocked a young, Jewish journalist covering the story.
He decided that the only way to prevent anti- Semitism from happening again was to create a Jewish State. From that conclusion, he began working with the Zionist movement propelling it to a level that the world could not ignore. His name was Theodor Benjamin Herzl.
After traveling Europe, and meeting both Zionist communities and political leaders, Herzl wrote a pamphlet called The Jewish State in 1898. In the pamphlet, he described his vision for the Jewish State. It included a liberal state speaking German. Women would be able to vote (don’t forget, women in the United States won the right to vote in 1920-twenty-two years after this!). The workday would be seven hours, and there would be equality between Arabs and Jews.
Herzl’s plan for this idea was to gain international support, and then go to Israel. Obviously, 25,000 people thought differently. And he understood that Eastern European Jews were in grave physical danger. So he held a meeting for the Zionist leaders in Basle, Switzerland.
In 1897, the First Zionist Congress is held. It lasted three days, in order for the leaders of Zionism to fully discuss Herzl’s, and others’, plans. They lay out a plan, including Herzl’s idea of bringing international leaders on board.
After the meeting, Herzl went home and wrote in his journal:
“Today I established a Jewish State. If I were to say this out loud, everyone would laugh at me. But if not in five years, in fifty years, there will be a Jewish state.”
Herzl was right, fifty years later, in 1947, the Jewish State was born in the United Nations.
The next year in 1898, Herzl came to Palestine to see what was happening on the ground. He visited places like the Mikve Yisrael School, Rishon L’Tzion, and Nes Tziona. Once he had come to Palestine, Herzl truly understood why the Jewish state had to be here.
In 1902, Theodor Herzl wrote a book in German called Altneuland. The title means “Old New Land.” The book further details how he saw a modern, established Jewish state. It included the encouragement of private entrepreneurship, a multi-lingual society speaking German, Yiddish, and Hebrew. He foresaw Jerusalem as the capital and seat of the parliament, and Haifa as the academic and industrial center.
And so the First Aliyah to Israel ends for Europe. In a few years, the Second Aliyah will start, and another whirlwind of events will change European and Palestinian Jewry.
Why does the First Aliyah to Israel matter?
The First Aliyah to Israel matters because at this point Jewish, and international, history. Jews in Europe, and other areas, decided to join other national movements, that 2,000 years was a long enough wait since the last time they had self- autonomy. What happened after, is a series of waves of immigration to the land of Israel. The State of Israel was born, and a Jewish state became a new player in the international stage.
For everyone, the First Aliyah to Israel can mean something different. Feel free to comment about what it means to you. Maybe you have a story that connects to the First Aliyah, or a story that is similar. Tell us your story!
If you want to check out a trip in Israel about the First Aliyah to Israel, I’ve got the trip for you! So, book your next trip to Israel and let’s get planing!
