This poster was printed in Israel in the 1930s. The caption at the top reads: "We Will Expand the Agricultural Settlements and Increase Aliya."
Below the caption is a list of agricultural produce from Jewish farms in Israel such as carrots, eggs, tomatoes, honey and oranges. The purpose of this poster was to encourage people to buy products from the pioneer farms and kibbutzim in Israel.
In the 1930s many agricultural communities were facing not only security problems but also economic difficulties. Without economic support many moshavim and kibbutzim were unable to survive, and posters like this were printed to advertise their products.
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Promotion of Jewish Produce During the British Mandate – During the British Mandate, Jews, Arabs, and the British rulers lived side by side. In the economic sphere, the Yishuv (the Jewish community in pre-state Israel) took active steps to promote the Jewish economy. By doing so, they were fulfilling the Zionist goal of creating the infrastructure for a Jewish state and providing jobs for new immigrants. The Jewish leadership promoted Jewish produce in an attempt to strengthen the Jewish economy and protect Jewish workers from the cheaper Arab labour. Another goal was to create a new “healthy” and “normal” Jewish society in Israel which would include blue-collar workers in agriculture and industry. Money from Jewish philanthropists in the Diaspora was invested in the Jewish economy for the specific purpose of creating jobs to stimulate Jewish population growth in the country. These measures were reinforced with the buildup of the conflict and violence between the Jewish and Arab population during the time of the British Mandate.
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.
