This photograph features several young people heading out to the fields of Kibbutz Givat Haim in 1940. They are carrying different farming tools, wearing farm clothing typical of the time, and are striding confidently and happily toward the photographer. The original title of this photograph indicates that these are young people who arrived in Israel with the Youth Aliyah organisation. This organisation, which was founded in Germany in 1933, aimed to bring young Jews to Palestine to integrate in Israeli cultural and agricultural life. With the outbreak of World War II, Youth Aliyah focused on bringing young people to Israel to protect them from the horrors of the Holocaust. Altogether ten thousand young men and women immigrated to Israel during the Holocaust years through the Youth Aliyah movement.
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Youth Aliyah (Aliyat Hanoar) – Youth Aliyah was founded by Recha Freier in Berlin in 1933. The organisation’s aim was to help resettle Jewish children in kibbutzim and youth villages in Israel. Henrietta Szold joined the organisation and led its operations in Israel. After a short training period in Germany, the young immigrants were sent to various kibbutzim where they learnt Hebrew and farming. From the outbreak of World War II, the programme changed its focus and became a full-scale rescue organisation. After the war, Youth Aliyah brought many child survivors to Israel from Europe, and it later became a department of the Jewish Agency, bringing young people from around the world to Israel. With its five youth villages that provide education, extra-curricular activities, and general support, Youth Aliyah still continues to play an important role in the absorption of young immigrants to Israel.
Kibbutz Givat Haim – Kibbutz Givat Haim was established by European pioneers in 1932. It is located in central Israel, close to Hadera. The kibbutz was originally named Kibbut Gimel, since it was the Hashomer Hatsair movement’s third kibbutz, but it was renamed in 1933 after the assassination of the Israeli Zionist leader Haim Arlozoroff. In 1952 the kibbutz split in two due to ideological disagreements, resulting into two separate kibbutzim: Givat Haim Meuchad and Givat Haim Ichud.
Agriculture and Zionism - An important theme in the modern Zionist ideology was the importance of conquering and being connected to the land. The Zionism movement strived to create a new productive Jew, for example, a farmer who tills the land. Two types of rural villages were created that are unique to Israel: kibbutzim and moshavim. Kibbutzim were based on socialist-Zionist principles with shared ownership and responsibilities. The first kibbutz was Degania, which was established in 1909. In the beginning, kibbutzim relied mostly on agriculture; however, in later years, kibbutzim branched out to include manufacturing and services. More recently, most kibbutzim have modified their traditional collective approach and are in various stages of privatization. Moshavim were cooperative, but not communal, rural communities. Members own their own property and businesses but cooperate when beneficial to the group. Nahalal, founded in 1921, was the first moshav. Currently, about eight percent of the Israeli population lives in rural areas.
Kibbutz – A kibbutz is a community where people live and work together in a collective, family-like environment. Kibbutzim are located throughout Israel, with many situated near borders or in areas that needed historically to be developed. The first kibbutz was established in 1909, with the original aim of forming a community in which property was owned collectively and everyone worked and contributed according to their ability and received equally according to their needs. Kibbutzim were egalitarian units, where decisions were made democratically and the economy was based on agriculture. In the last 100 years kibbutzim have gone through many changes. They now have a variety of industries in addition (or sometimes instead of) agriculture, including various factories and tourism. Most have been privatized with residents owning their own homes and earning their own salaries in jobs outside of the kibbutz. Likewise, many of the earlier communal responsibilities are now the responsibility of the individual families.
