Contrary to the widespread claim that the Haredim did not take part in the settlement and flourishing of the wilderness of the land, 37 unknown photographs reveal the history of the Haredi agricultural colony 'Mahane Yisrael' from the foundation of 'Agudat Yisrael' in the Jezreel Valley, which was established in 1925.
These tell the forgotten story of a pioneering attempt by ultra-Orthodox Jews to establish an agricultural colony. The photographs will soon be offered for sale at the Kedem auction house in Jerusalem as part of a sale of rare and special items.
The photographs reveal how the colony was established, and show Haredi Jews working on laying the foundation, establishing a carpentry shop, building residential huts, digging wells, paving a road to the site, and preparing the land for agriculture.
Later, the Agudath Israel Center in Frankfurt published a printed album with photographs from the new settlement, in order to encourage additional buyers, which will also be put up for sale.
At the end of the year, the place had about ninety ultra-Orthodox pioneers, most of them young Hasidic people from Poland.
The beginning of the colony was a decision made in the first large church of Agudat Israel in Vienna in 1923 in favor of encouraging settlement in the Land of Israel. As a result, Agudat Israel purchased approximately 4,000 dunams of land in the Jezreel Valley, near the Arab village of Iksal. The land was divided into small plots and sold to Haredi buyers, mainly from Poland. In mid-1925, the first Haredi pioneer group took up residence on the land.
Like many of the pioneer colonies at the time, various problems of lack of training and resources led to the official dissolution of the place in 1936. After a second unsuccessful settlement attempt, the lands were leased to Arabs and it was finally abandoned in 1932.
'Agudat Israel attempted several more settlement attempts in the area, but the 1938 Sabbatical year put the brakes on this unique initiative, and the colony buildings were dismantled, except for one stone structure that remained in place.
Meron Aran, one of the owners of the Kedem auction house: "The rare photographs reveal a glimpse or two of the lifestyle of the unique Haredi settlement initiative, including photos from the synagogue and the 'Haider.' It is worth noting that this is not an independent initiative but an institutionalized move approved and promoted by Agudat Israel.".
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