We are often told that “the Jewish state was founded in Basel”, the city where the first Zionist Congress convened. However, 15 years earlier, Jews gathered in the city of Focşani, in Romania, to promote the settlement of the Land of Israel. Israel Gilad, a member of the First Aliyah Association and great grandson of the founders of Rosh Pinna and Zikhron Ya’akov, would like to remind our readers of those who came before Herzl…
In 1926, more than 100 Egyptian teachers and officials visited Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and elsewhere. What did they think of Jewish education and how did the local Arab population receive them?
In the late 1950s, relations between Israel and France were blossoming, thanks in large part to the young Director General of the Ministry of Defense, Shimon Peres. Among various collaborations, Peres raised an unusual idea: Why not settle tens of thousands of Israelis in French Guiana, a remote South American colony? Who was in favor? Who wasn’t? And what did David Ben-Gurion think of it?
The desert was pushed back, the swamps were dried up and water reached every corner of the land – this historic map celebrated 50 years of the Zionist enterprise…
How Ol’ Blue Eyes managed to trick the FBI, make a special delivery down at the docks and help the Jewish state-in-the-making…
Nowadays, people identify the keffiyeh as the unequivocal symbol of the Palestinian national movement. However, going back a few decades, we find documentation of senior members of the Zionist movement wearing the traditional headdress as well as members of the Palmach and even soldiers in the IDF. What changed along the way?
“I am happy and proud that our mission is spreading the idea of loving one another, loving humanity, without paying attention to skin color.”
“Ingathering of the Exiles Day” – intended to make immigrant soldiers feel welcome – was one of a number of ‘festivals’ that helped form the national ethos…
Rebecca Affachiner trailblazed across multiple continents, and she did it all as a single, religious Jewish woman…
He starred in the first Hollywood feature filmed in Israel, but the legendary actor’s connection to the Jewish state and people certainly didn’t start or stop there…
