This poster from 1954 advertises a show honouring seventy years of the town of Gedera and its Bilu founders. The event, organized by the Ministry of Tourism and the Gedera local council, took place in Gedera’s amphitheatre. At the top of the poster, in between the English and Hebrew texts, is the symbol of Israel with the menorah surrounded by olive branches and the word Yisrael written in Hebrew underneath. The menorah symbolises the ancient temple, and the olive branches represent not only an important and common tree in Israel but also the hope for peace. The colours blue and white, similar to the flag of Israel, remind us of the colours of the tallit or prayer shawl.
The event advertised here was to take place during the festival of Sukkot and Simchat Torah. The show was put on by 150 children and adults from Gedera and was written by Aaron Ever-Hadani, a well-known playwright at the time. Following the performance, people were invited to dance to music played by the IDF Orchestra, conducted by Major Shalom Ronli-Riklis. At the bottom of the poster are listed ticket offices in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa, indicating that people were expected to come from all over the country to join the celebrations.
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Gedera - Gedera was established by the members of Bilu, a pioneer movement whose name was an acronym based on the verse "בית יעקב לכו ונלכה" O House of Jacob! Come, let us walk” (Isaiah 2:5). The verse refers to the primary goal of the Bilu pioneers, namely, to build up the Land of Israel. The land upon which Gedera was built was purchased from the French Consul in Jaffa and divided into twenty-five equal plots. On Chanuka 1884, the first settlers arrived in Gedera, lighting two bonfires in honour of the second day of the festival. They lived in a wooden shack and had a donkey, a gun, nine shovels, and a small amount of cash. In their first year they planted a vineyard that they called Moshe and Yehudit in honour of Sir Moses and Judith Montefiore. Lack of knowledge, experience, and resources and clashes with their Arab neighbours caused many hardships, but more new settlers slowly arrived, and Gedera developed into a modern town. Today, Gedera is home to approximately 26,000 residents. Unlike many of the other moshavot, which turned into large cities with large economies, Gedera remained a smaller town and does not attract employment – most residents work elsewhere. Tourists to the area can visit a museum of the history of Gedera and the Bilu founders, which includes a number of locations from the early settlement period such as the main street, the first synagogue, and an ancient well.
