Jewish Industries in Palestine 75 Years Ago -- Part 1
Well before the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948, Jewish life in Eretz Yisrael was well established. The "OldYishuv," consisting primarily of Orthodox Jews, had been living in Jerusalem, Safed, Hebron, Tiberias, Jaffa and even Gaza for centuries.
The economic development of the Yishuv is described by Mark A Tessler in his book, A History of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict (Indiana University Press, 1994). The following is an excerpt:
The number of agricultural communities and workers grew rapidly.... There were 82 agricultural settlements by 1936. In the same year, there were about 32,000 Jews employed in agriculture, in contrast to fewer than 4,000 in 1921.
A similar pattern of growth took place in the industrial sector. By 1936 there were 5,602 manufacturing establishments in the Yishuv, about 90 percent of which were small-scale handicraft operations. The number of industrial workers rose from fewer than 5,000 in 1921 to almost 29,000 in 1936, and the value of industrial output reached $42 million in the latter year. Most of the products of the Yishuv's industries were consumer goods and construction materials, both of which were sold on the domestic market.....
A good overall indication of theYishuv's expanding economic base during this period is the rapid acceleration that occurred in the consumption of electricity. The output of the Palestine Electric Company, whose largest shareholder was the Jewish Agency and whose principle consumer was theYishuv, grew from 2 to 65 million kilowatt hours between 1926 and 1936. Industry and irrigation each consumed about one-third of this total.
It should also be noted that the economy of the Yishuv was almost completely independent of the Arab economic sector. The monetary value of inputs from the Arab economy was only about 3 percent of all inputs....
 |
| Inspecting polished diamonds (1939) View the factory here |
After 1880, the "New Yishuv," often supported by overseas philanthropists, purchased properties throughout Palestine and established agricultural settlements and industries. The photographers from the American Colony recorded dozens of pictures of these enterprises. |
| Tnuva cheese processing. Another picture here. (1939) |
The number of agricultural communities and workers grew rapidly.... There were 82 agricultural settlements by 1936. In the same year, there were about 32,000 Jews employed in agriculture, in contrast to fewer than 4,000 in 1921.
 |
| Textile factory (1939). Textile dyeing here |
 |
| Furniture making. Another picture |
 |
| Beverage and bottling |
It should also be noted that the economy of the Yishuv was almost completely independent of the Arab economic sector. The monetary value of inputs from the Arab economy was only about 3 percent of all inputs....
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Yemenite Jews: The American Colony Photographers' Favorite Portrait Subjects
 |
| "Arab Jew from Yemen" circa 1900 |
The 1880s saw the arrival of two immigrant groups in Jerusalem: The members of the American Colony, a group of American Christian utopians who first settled in the Old City, and a group of Yemenite Jews who were forced to settle in the Shiloach (Silwan) village outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City when they were not warmly received by the Jewish residents of the city.
As we wrote in anearlier posting, the most famous Jewish Yemenite migration to the Land of Israel took place in 1949 and 1950 when almost 50,000 Jews were airlifted to Israel in "Operation On Eagles Wings -- על כנפי נשרים" also known as "Operation Magic Carpet."
 |
| "Rabbi Shlomo" circa 1936 More pictures of the rabbi can be viewed here |
 |
| "The village of Siloan" 1901. The man is a Jew from Habani according to experts on the Yemenite Jewish community |
 |
| Yemenite family probably from Sanaa, according to experts |
The new immigrants settled on Jewish-owned property in the Shiloach village outside of the Old City walls of Jerusalem.
And the Christian photographers of the American Colony clearly loved to photograph them. Around 1900 they photographed a Yemenite Jew (without identifying him in the caption) standing above the Shiloach. In 1899 they photographed another Yemenite (also unidentified) near the Yemin Moshe and Mishkenot Sha'ananim projects. |
| Yehia, on the Sukkot festival |
The new immigrants settled on Jewish-owned property in the Shiloach village outside of the Old City walls of Jerusalem.
Other American Colony photos included Yemenite family portraits and portraits of two Yemenite rabbis, Avram and Shlomo.
 |
| Yemenite man announcing the Sabbath with shofar |
 |
| Rabbi Avram 1935 |
 |
| Yemenite scribe Shlomo Washadi, 1935 |
Monday, December 26, 2011
The Arab Revolt in Palestine 1938. Escalation by the Arabs and the British
 |
| Aftermath of Hebron attack on Barclay's Bank and British armored car, August 1938. The driver was killed |
 |
| Arson of lumber yard in Jerusalem's German Colony, August 1938 |
The Galilee was one of the hottest areas in the conflict -- a war in all its aspects. Here are examples of reports filed by the British Mandatory office in their 1938 annual reportjust for the Jenin area:
 |
| Remains of Bethlehem police barracks and post office after attack. Click here to view arrival of British troops |
 |
| Tiberias synagogue after 1938 attack |
 |
| Terrorist barricade on main road between Nablus and Jenin, July 1938 |
On March 3rd, there was a heavy engagement west of Jenin in which a military force, with aircraft co-operation, engaged and dispersed an armed band of between two and three hundred Arabs. One British officer was killed and an officer and two soldiers wounded. The losses among the band were thirty known to be killed and were estimated at twice that number. Sixteen prisoners were taken and a considerable quantity of arms, ammunition and bombs.
 |
| Jenin debris after demolition operation More pictures can be viewed here |
"On October 2nd there occurred a general raid on the Jewish quarter of Tiberias. It was systematically organized and savagely executed. Of the 19 Jews killed, including women and children, all save four were stabbed to death."
The Special Night Squads led by the legendary British officer Orde Wingate were deployed during this period.
 |
| Troops of the Irish Guard "on the outskirts of Nablus leaving to fight the gangs on hills." July 1938 |
Receive a Daily Picture by subscribing in the right sidebar and clicking "submit."
Click on the photos to enlarge.
Click on the captions to see the originals.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
The British Army Responds to the Arab Revolt, 1936
 |
| British army's "urban renewal" in Jaffa, near the shore, 1936 |
The widespread Arab attacks in Palestine in 1936 threatened British rule. British and Jewish institutions were attacked, travelers on the roads were held up and killed, land mines derailed locomotives, and snipers killed Jewish civilians and British officers.
 |
| Families searching through rubble of a house destroyed in Lydda (Lod), 1936, after a derailment and an attack on the nearby airport |
A tally of the hostilities and political activities in Palestine in 1936 can be found in the British Mandate's annual reportfor 1936.
 |
| Arab houses blown up in Halhul |
Within days the British Mandate authorities imposed emergency regulations that permitted detention without charges for up to a year, censorship, the right of entry into homes, widespread confiscation of property and goods, and capital punishment.
 |
| "Cutting a new road" through Jaffa |
Homes were destroyed in Halhul and Lydda (Lod) in response to terror attacks in the area.
 |
| Royal Air Force pilot and machine gunner |
 |
| Skies over Jaffa after dynamiting "slum sections" |
 |
| British buglers warn of another blast in Jaffa, 1936 |
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The Arab Revolt in Palestine 1936 - 1939
and the Brutal British Response
 |
| Two destroyed cars owned by Jews, 1936 |
The Arab revolt in Palestine (1936-1939) was a frequent subject for the American Colony photographers. They recorded on film the Arab attacks on Jews, British soldiers, and strategic targets such as the railroad network in Palestine. They also photographed the sometimes draconian British response.
 |
| Jews evacuating Jaffa, 1936. Click here to see Jews evacuating Jerusalem's Old City |
 |
| Fawzi al-Kauwakji salutes his volunteers as they cross into Palestine. (Listen Vanessa) |
The Arab general strike in April 1936 was called by the Arab Higher Committee, headed by the Mufti Haj Amin al Husseini. The strike escalated into widespread attacks by gangs and militias.
By August, "volunteer" Arab guerrilla forces from Syria had invaded. The annual British Mandate report for 1936 revealed that one of the guerrilla leaders "was Fawzi ed Din el Kauwakji, a Syrian who had achieved notoriety in Syria in the Druze revolt of 1925-26. This person subsequently proclaimed himself generalissimo of the rebel forces, and 'communiqués' and 'proclamations' purporting to have emanated from him were circulated in the country." [The photo of Kauwakji is the only photo not from the Library of Congress collection.]
 |
| Derailed train, 1936. Click here to see more pictures of the Arab war against the rail system |
The consequences of the Arab revolt, labor strikes and attacks
were numerous: - The British instituted the White Paper in 1939 limiting Jewish immigration into Palestine -- precisely when hundreds of thousands of Jews were trying to flee Nazi Europe.
- It forced the Jews of Palestine to establish their own militias, the precursors of the Israel Defense Forces.
- The revolt actually fractured Palestine's Arab society, and many of the Arab casualties were caused by competing Arab gangs and clans.
 |
| Jewish lumberyard in Jaffa burned down |
- With strategic facilities subject to the Arab strike, the Jews of Palestine established their own port, key industries, and airfields.
- The British struck back against the Arab militias and gangs with force and sometimes brutality. Aircraft were used to bomb and strafe Arab forces.
 |
| "Palestinian disturbances 1936, Fire in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem" |
Today's feature shows examples of the Arab attacks in 1936.
Tomorrow's posting will include the British response, including widescale destruction of Arab homes.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Extraordinary Photos of Everyday Life in Jerusalem
75 Years Ago
 |
| Yemenite fruit vendor in Jerusalem |
 |
| Bukharan Jewish washwoman |
We present a gallery of the Library of Congress photos taken in the 1930s.
Click on photos to enlarge. Click on the caption to see the original.
 |
| Jewish milkman in Jerusalem |
 |
| "Jewish scribe" |
 |
| "Young Jewish jeweler using the blow pipe" |
 |
| Money Changer. The signs behind him say "room for rent, store for rent, and apartment for rent." The name of the money changer appears on the sign: Leib Goldberger, along with "Geld Wexler" -- money changer in Yiddish. [thanks to readers who caught our earlier mistake on the translation!] |
 |
| Fruit store in Mea Shearim |
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Thank You!
Israel Daily Picture's 200,000th Visitor Just Arrived
The young women of Nahalal's "Girls' Agricultural Training School" thank you for not letting them be forgotten. These pictures were taken approximately 90 years ago.
And thank you for visiting Israel Daily Picture. Please encourage your friends to subscribe.
And thank you for visiting Israel Daily Picture. Please encourage your friends to subscribe.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Why Is the Israeli Philharmonic Performing at the Tel Aviv Port this Week?
Because They're Both Celebrating 75th Birthdays
 |
| The new Tel Aviv port breakwater |
 |
| Arturo Toscanini visiting the Dead Sea resort. Pictures of the first concert are not in the Library of Congress collection |
Both were created because of the adversity Jews faced in Palestine and in Europe.
The Arab Revolt of 1936-1939 shut down the Jaffa Port, and the Jewish population of Palestine, centered around Tel Aviv, required a port.
Meanwhile, as anti-Jewish sentiments and laws were endangering the Jews of Europe, Jewish musicians found themselves out of work. Seventy-five instrumentalists were recruited and immigrated to Palestine to form the new orchestra. The Symphony's first concert was conducted by the world-famous Arturo Toscanini in Tel Aviv on Dec. 26, 1936.
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday!
 |
| Ferry brings passengers from a larger ship to the Tel Aviv port |
 |
| Driving piles during Tel Aviv port construction |
 |
| Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog dedicating the new port of Tel Aviv |
Labels: Arab revolt, Arturo Toscanini, Israel Philharmonic Symphony, Rabbi Isaac Herzog, Tel Aviv port
Who Was the 19th Century American Preacher Mendenhall John Dennis?
A version of this article appeared in the Times of Israel on December 26, 2012
In 1988, John Barnier visited a garage sale in St. Paul, Minnesota. There he found and purchased eight boxes of old photographic glass plates. Fortunately, Barnier is an expert in the history of photographic printing.
He had little idea that he had uncovered a historic treasure. Later, he viewed the plates and saw that they included old pictures of Jerusalem. He contacted the Harvard Semitic Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts, known for its large collection of old photographs from the Middle East.
On some of the plates they found the initials MJD. Until then the name Mendel Diness was barely known by scholars. It was assumed that with the exception of one or two photos his collection was lost.
Thanks to the research of historians and curators Dror Wahrman, Nitza Rosovsky and Carney Gavin, the Diness collection was saved from obscurity, and an amazing tale was revealed: American Christian preacher Mendenhall John Dennis and Jerusalemite yeshiva student and watchmaker Mendel Diness were one and the same.
Diness was born in Odessa in 1827 into a religious Jewish family. As a boy he apprenticed as a watchmaker; as a teen he went to study in Heidelberg and was influenced by the anti-religious "enlightenment movement." His concerned father sent him to Palestine in 1848 to a yeshiva to strengthen his Jewish faith.
But in 1849 he met a Christian missionary who started him on his path to Christianity. His conversion caused a major controversy in the Old City of Jerusalem. Diness was excommunicated from the Jewish community, lost his business, and was forced to divorce his wife, Shayndel Reisa, who was from a hassidic Chabad family in Hebron.
Diness was taken in by Christian missionaries and families, including the British Consul, James Finn, who baptized the new convert. His wife, Elizabeth Finn, a fan of the new photography art, was close to a Scottish missionary, James Graham, who taught Diness the new field of photography. It was not simply a question of learning to press a button on a camera, but it involved a lengthy and difficult process of preparing emulsions and plates (not film), mastering light, exposures and the science of developing the pictures.
By 1856, Mendel Diness was photographing on his own. By the end of the decade, however, other photographers had flocked to Jerusalem, and Diness found the competition daunting. In 1861, he moved to the United States with his new wife, the daughter of a Jewish doctor who had converted to Christianity. Diness was unsuccessful as a photographer in Cincinnati, Ohio and became a peripatetic preacher, renamed as Mendenhall John Dennis.
How did the Dennis/Diness' collection end up in St. Paul? When he died in 1900 his belongings were apparently sent to his daughter in New Jersey. When her daughter died, a grandson cleaned out her attic and took the crates to Minnesota. The family was unaware of Dennis/Diness' Jerusalem photography background.
A footnote: Diness was not the only Jewish photographer in the Holy Land who converted to Christianity. Peter Bergheim, a German Jew who converted in the 1830s in England, arrived in Palestine in 1838. He worked as pharmacist and then opened a bank. In 1859 he became an accomplished photographer, apparently working for the British Ordnance Survey team. (His works appear frequently in these pages.)
Several years later Elijah Meyers, a Bombay, India Jew who converted to Christianity, appeared on the scene. He was the founder and director of the American Colony Photo Department in 1898, but "he had been taking photographs before he became connected to the American Colony," according to a Colony publication. He trained a team in the art of photography and documented the visit of the German Kaiser in 1898 with pictures sold around the world. According to sources at the Library of Congress, Meyers was hired by Theodor Herzl to photograph Jewish settlements prior to the 1899 Zionist Congress in Basel.
Click on the picture to enlarge. Click on the caption to view the original.
To subscribe, go to www.israeldailypicture.com and enter your email address in the box in the right sidebar.
For more information on Mendel Diness we recommend:
"The Life and Works of the Photographer Mendel John Diness," Cathedra, (Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi) by
Nitza Rosovsky and Carney Gavin (Hebrew)
"Mendel Diness - The First Professional Jerusalemite Photographer," Cathedra, (Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi) by Professor Dror Wahrman (Hebrew)
"The Unlikely Story of a Convert: Mendel Diness," Disciples History, by Lester McAllister
"The Diness Discovery," by Piney Kesting. The site includes a slide show and an explanation of the 1850 photo developing process (Saudi Aramco World)
The First Zoo in the Holy Land
Rabbi Mordechai Schornstein served as a rabbi in Copenhagen, Denmark, and moved to Palestine in 1935. On his way to the Holy Land he stopped in Italy and purchased birds and small mammals to start a pet store in Tel Aviv.
His collection grew, and in 1938 he opened a zoo in a residential area of Tel Aviv. With the arrivals of lions, tigers and elephants the zoo was forced to moved and re-housed at a location not far from Tel Aviv's City Hall.
Urban growth, however, meant that Tel Avivians did not want a zoo in their midst. Public awareness of animal care and zoo overcrowding forced another move in 1980, this time to a large Ramat Gan park nearby. The 250-acre "Ramat Gan Safari" now contains some 1,600 animals.
The Library of Congress-American Colony Photographic Department captions lists the pictures as taken between 1936 and 1939. The zoo's timeline, however, suggests that 1939 was a more likely date.
Don't miss a single edition. Don't let history pass you by.
Register your email in the box in the right column.
The Caption Read "Jewish Colonies and Settlements"
Who Was the 19th Century American Preacher Mendenhall John Dennis?
Actually, He Was a Jerusalem Watchmaker Named Mendel Deniss, Jerusalem's First Photographer
 |
| Mendenhall John Dennis in the center surrounded by his family in 1885. After 1860 he lived in Ohio, Massachusetts and Washington. Before 1860 he was Mendel Diness of Jerusalem (With permission of Special Collections, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University) |
In 1988, John Barnier visited a garage sale in St. Paul, Minnesota. There he found and purchased eight boxes of old photographic glass plates. Fortunately, Barnier is an expert in the history of photographic printing.
He had little idea that he had uncovered a historic treasure. Later, he viewed the plates and saw that they included old pictures of Jerusalem. He contacted the Harvard Semitic Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts, known for its large collection of old photographs from the Middle East.
On some of the plates they found the initials MJD. Until then the name Mendel Diness was barely known by scholars. It was assumed that with the exception of one or two photos his collection was lost.
 |
| The Western Wall, photographed by Diness. Unlike most early photographers of the Wall, Diness pointed his camera to the south and not to the north. (With permission of Special Collections, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University. 1859) |
Diness was born in Odessa in 1827 into a religious Jewish family. As a boy he apprenticed as a watchmaker; as a teen he went to study in Heidelberg and was influenced by the anti-religious "enlightenment movement." His concerned father sent him to Palestine in 1848 to a yeshiva to strengthen his Jewish faith.
But in 1849 he met a Christian missionary who started him on his path to Christianity. His conversion caused a major controversy in the Old City of Jerusalem. Diness was excommunicated from the Jewish community, lost his business, and was forced to divorce his wife, Shayndel Reisa, who was from a hassidic Chabad family in Hebron.
 |
| Enlargement of Jews at the Wall |
 |
| Mishkenot Sha'ananim in Jerusalem under construction, beneath Moshe Montifiore's windmill. The building project was the first Jewish neighborhood built outside of the Old City (1860, Special Collections, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University.) |
Diness was taken in by Christian missionaries and families, including the British Consul, James Finn, who baptized the new convert. His wife, Elizabeth Finn, a fan of the new photography art, was close to a Scottish missionary, James Graham, who taught Diness the new field of photography. It was not simply a question of learning to press a button on a camera, but it involved a lengthy and difficult process of preparing emulsions and plates (not film), mastering light, exposures and the science of developing the pictures.
 |
| A portrait of missionary James Graham taken by Diness. It is not a portrait of Diness as claimed by some collections (1857) |
How did the Dennis/Diness' collection end up in St. Paul? When he died in 1900 his belongings were apparently sent to his daughter in New Jersey. When her daughter died, a grandson cleaned out her attic and took the crates to Minnesota. The family was unaware of Dennis/Diness' Jerusalem photography background.
 |
| The Damascus Gate photographed by Diness (Special Collections, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, circa 1856) |
A footnote: Diness was not the only Jewish photographer in the Holy Land who converted to Christianity. Peter Bergheim, a German Jew who converted in the 1830s in England, arrived in Palestine in 1838. He worked as pharmacist and then opened a bank. In 1859 he became an accomplished photographer, apparently working for the British Ordnance Survey team. (His works appear frequently in these pages.)
 |
| Elijah Meyers (circa 1910) |
Click on the picture to enlarge. Click on the caption to view the original.
To subscribe, go to www.israeldailypicture.com and enter your email address in the box in the right sidebar.
For more information on Mendel Diness we recommend:
"The Life and Works of the Photographer Mendel John Diness," Cathedra, (Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi) by
Nitza Rosovsky and Carney Gavin (Hebrew)
"Mendel Diness - The First Professional Jerusalemite Photographer," Cathedra, (Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi) by Professor Dror Wahrman (Hebrew)
"The Unlikely Story of a Convert: Mendel Diness," Disciples History, by Lester McAllister
"The Diness Discovery," by Piney Kesting. The site includes a slide show and an explanation of the 1850 photo developing process (Saudi Aramco World)
Monday, December 24, 2012
A Special Feature for Our Christian Readers -- Christmas in the Holy Land 100 Years Ago
The town of Bethlehem plays a major role in the Christian faith. There, Christians believe, Jesus was born some 2,000 years ago, and they celebrate his birth on Christmas.
But when is Christmas?
Bethlehem hosts Christmas services for Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations on December 25. Coptic, Greek and Syrian Catholics will celebrate in the Church of the Nativity on January 6, and the Armenian Orthodox on January 19.
The photographs on this page were taken by the American Colony Photographic Department before and after World War I when the British captured Palestine after 400 years of Ottoman rule.
The name "Bethlehem" is derived from the Hebrew "Beit Lechem --House of Bread," and its fields of grain are mentioned in the Book of Ruth as where Ruth gleaned her wheat for her mother-in-law Naomi and where she met her eventual husband, Boaz. According to the Bible, Ruth's great-grandson David was born in Bethlehem where he was anointed as king.
The Church of the Nativity was built in 339 CE by King Constantine and his mother, Helena, over the grotto believed to have been the site of Jesus' birth.
Throughout history the Church was destroyed and/or rebuilt by various conquering armies -- the Samaritans, Persians, Arabs, Crusaders, Mamluks, Ottomans and British.
In 1948, Bethlehem was conquered again, this time by the Jordanian Legion. Jordan ruled Bethlehem and the West Bank until 1967 when the territory was captured by Israel. In 1995, under the terms of the Oslo Accords, Israel transferred Bethlehem to the Palestinian Authority.
Bethlehem was traditionally a Christian town, built around the basilica, and tourism was the most important industry. In recent years, however, the proportion of Christians in Bethlehem has dropped from 85 percent in 1948 to 54 percent in 1967, and now to about 40 percent. Some analysts point to tensions between resurgent and aggressive Islamists and the Christian community, a phenomenon pressuring other Christian communities across the Middle East, with the exception of Israel.
Click on pictures to enlarge. Click on captions to view the original Library of Congress photo.
To subscribe, enter your email address in the box
in the right sidebar.
 |
| Entry of pilgims into Bethlehem at Christmas time (circa 1875) by photographer Félix Bonfils (Library of Congress) |
 |
| Christmas procession in Bethlehem (circa 1900) |
But when is Christmas?
Bethlehem hosts Christmas services for Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations on December 25. Coptic, Greek and Syrian Catholics will celebrate in the Church of the Nativity on January 6, and the Armenian Orthodox on January 19.
The photographs on this page were taken by the American Colony Photographic Department before and after World War I when the British captured Palestine after 400 years of Ottoman rule.
 |
| Church of the Nativity and Manger Square (circa 1898). Note the unfenced cemetery on the left. View here the square and cemetery approximately 20 years later, possibly under British rule |
The name "Bethlehem" is derived from the Hebrew "Beit Lechem --House of Bread," and its fields of grain are mentioned in the Book of Ruth as where Ruth gleaned her wheat for her mother-in-law Naomi and where she met her eventual husband, Boaz. According to the Bible, Ruth's great-grandson David was born in Bethlehem where he was anointed as king.
The Church of the Nativity was built in 339 CE by King Constantine and his mother, Helena, over the grotto believed to have been the site of Jesus' birth.
Throughout history the Church was destroyed and/or rebuilt by various conquering armies -- the Samaritans, Persians, Arabs, Crusaders, Mamluks, Ottomans and British.
 |
| The Grotto of the Nativity beneath the Church (circa 1900) |
In 1948, Bethlehem was conquered again, this time by the Jordanian Legion. Jordan ruled Bethlehem and the West Bank until 1967 when the territory was captured by Israel. In 1995, under the terms of the Oslo Accords, Israel transferred Bethlehem to the Palestinian Authority.
Bethlehem was traditionally a Christian town, built around the basilica, and tourism was the most important industry. In recent years, however, the proportion of Christians in Bethlehem has dropped from 85 percent in 1948 to 54 percent in 1967, and now to about 40 percent. Some analysts point to tensions between resurgent and aggressive Islamists and the Christian community, a phenomenon pressuring other Christian communities across the Middle East, with the exception of Israel.
 |
| British and French soldiers guarding the Church of the Nativity (circa 1918) |
 |
| Turkish soldiers drilling in the square outside of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem (circa 1900) |
Click on pictures to enlarge. Click on captions to view the original Library of Congress photo.
To subscribe, enter your email address in the box
in the right sidebar.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
The First Zoo in the Holy Land
-- Tel Aviv's Zoo Created by a Refugee from Europe
 |
| Tel Aviv zoo's crocodiles and turtles (circa 1939) |
 |
| Griffon vulture |
His collection grew, and in 1938 he opened a zoo in a residential area of Tel Aviv. With the arrivals of lions, tigers and elephants the zoo was forced to moved and re-housed at a location not far from Tel Aviv's City Hall.
 |
| Hyena played with zookeeper |
 |
| Lion in the Tel Aviv zoo |
The Library of Congress-American Colony Photographic Department captions lists the pictures as taken between 1936 and 1939. The zoo's timeline, however, suggests that 1939 was a more likely date.
 |
| Monkey, held by a keeper |
 |
| "Ibex, the wild goat of the Bible" |
Now More than 650,000 Visitors to the Site
Are you a subscriber?
Register your email in the box in the right column.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The Caption Read "Jewish Colonies and Settlements"
-- And That's How the "Israel Daily Picture" Got Started
The Congressional Research Service is a top-notch research organization providing policy analyses to Members of Congress and congressional committees. It is housed in the Library of Congress, and many of their reports are available to the public.
Eighteen months ago, Lenny Ben-David, a policy and public affairs consultant and former Israeli diplomat in Washington, searched online for a report on U.S. policy on Israeli settlements. Up popped on his screen a title, "Jewish Colonies and Settlements," a very curious title.Colonies?
As Ben-David delved into the Library's files he came across the recently digitalized American Colony-Matson collection of some 22,000 photographs, dating from the 1890s until 1946. Some were captioned, "Jewish Colonies and Settlements." After the American Colony Photographic Department closed in the 1940s, the pictures and negatives were shipped back to the United States. In the 1970s an old age home in California donated them to the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress collection also included other pictures by pioneer photographers dating back to the 1850s.
Upon viewing the vast collection and understanding its historical significance, Ben-David launched the www.israeldailypicture.com site.
Click on pictures to enlarge. Click on caption to view the original picture.
Already in 1898, a photographer from the American Colony, reportedly hired by Zionist leader Theodor Herzl, traveled throughout Palestine photographing Jewish settlements for an album presented at the 1899 Zionist Congress in Basel.
We present here a collection of photos taken at the new Yishuv's communities.
 |
| "Jewish colonies. Balfouria orange groves" and a synagogue in the middle (1934). Named in honor of the British author of the Balfour Declaration |
Eighteen months ago, Lenny Ben-David, a policy and public affairs consultant and former Israeli diplomat in Washington, searched online for a report on U.S. policy on Israeli settlements. Up popped on his screen a title, "Jewish Colonies and Settlements," a very curious title.Colonies?
 |
| Colony of Rishon LeZion (c 1920) |
 |
| Threshing with a board at "Jewish Colonies and Settlements" (c 1920) |
As Ben-David delved into the Library's files he came across the recently digitalized American Colony-Matson collection of some 22,000 photographs, dating from the 1890s until 1946. Some were captioned, "Jewish Colonies and Settlements." After the American Colony Photographic Department closed in the 1940s, the pictures and negatives were shipped back to the United States. In the 1970s an old age home in California donated them to the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress collection also included other pictures by pioneer photographers dating back to the 1850s.
Upon viewing the vast collection and understanding its historical significance, Ben-David launched the www.israeldailypicture.com site.
 |
| "Jewish colonies. Commencing a Jewish settlement. Men and women working" (1920) |
Israel Daily Picture has featured essays on the founders of the American Colony who arrived in Palestine in 1881 and saw the return of Jews to the Land of Israel as fulfillment of a Biblical prophecy. Hundreds of pictures depict Jewish life in the Holy Land in the 19th and early 20th centuries, decades before Israel's founding in 1948.
Click on pictures to enlarge. Click on caption to view the original picture.
 |
| "Commencing a settlement. Jewish settlers arriving" (1920) |
We present here a collection of photos taken at the new Yishuv's communities.
 |
| "Colonies:" Tel-Hai Farm |
 |
| Mishmar HaYarden |
 |
| Yesod HaMa'aleh (many of its farmers were "Subbotnik" Russians who converted to Judaism.) See here |
 |
| Migdol |
 |
| Degania |
 |
| Children picking almonds at Rishon LeTzion |
No comments:
Post a Comment