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250 Agricultural Colonies

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

(Palestine)

In 1884 a jirivati' iiidividtml purclmsed ii large tract of land nt^ur the Hridge of llie Uaiigliter of Jacob, which is built over the Jorilau near Lake 4«4 Huleh. On a part of this land CUM hectares acres) 20 laborers settled, who had to Jiay off their

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Theirsite wascalled Oesher The other half lie Jordan" of this tract was sold to a teacher and 2."> hiborei's froniSafed. These latter colonists have Mishuiar been supported by the societies Cholia -Yarden vevei Ziou and Ezra of Berlin, and and Beer- were, in 1898. under the protection of Tobiah. the Jewish Colonization Association of London. The colony occupying the

holdings

in instalments.

ha-Yarden (" Hridire of

entire tract

is

now

t

called

).

Mishmar ha-Yarden

liKM-.K.VL

IhW

the colony miles from

250

Rehoboth (Damn).

It

is

sitinited four

Uishon Ic Zion. and the same distance from Handeh. a railroad station beRehoboth. tween Jalfa and Jerusjdeni. At first the Turkisli government hindered the devt'lopinent of this colony by placing obstal

I

>K.

.I'll-)

("

Watch on

the Jordan

").

In 1898-it had a popula-

tion of 93.

In 1888 Baron de Rothschild bought 640 hectares (1,580 acres) of land In Kastinje (El-Kastine) from some Bessarabian .Tews, and founded the cf)lony known as Beer-Tobiah. It is situated about eight miles from (Jhederah. on the main road to Gaza. The federated Chovevei Zion societies bought the land from Harou de Rothschild in 1895. and established upon it 20 families that had been laboring in the other colonies. This colimy has developed into a typical Palestinian-Jewish village. Industrially it is devoted solely to the growing of wheat and it is in a prosperous condition. Its population in 1899 •was 118.

grow cereals. The fact that each household lias a garden, horses, cattle, and poultry indicates a fanning si)irit among these Jewish settlers. The Jewish Coloiuzation Association granted this colonv a loan of 125,000 fmncs (.525,000). Rehoboth jirovidi^s a good school for its children. Instruction is given in the Hebrew ton.gue. Clo.se to this colony the Berlin Ezra Society, in conjunction with the London Chovevei Zion Society, has founded a small colony consisting of si.x families of laborers. Russian colonization societies, from Riga, Wilna, and Kovno. in 1X83 purchased 2.600 hectares (6. .500 acres) in El-Chuderah, south of ancient Ca-sarea. above the mouth of the Xahr el-Mefdshir, which flows into the Wadi el-Chuderah, where a colony was founded in 1891 in which there were 153 colo-

A party of wealthy Russian Zionists, with Rabbi Samuel Mohilever of Bielostok at their head, pur-

nists in 1898.

chased in 1890 an area of 630 hectares (1,556 acres) from a person at Jatf.-i. for the Warsaw AgriculturalSociety (Menuhah we-Na^alah) and founded

In 1891 some speculators bought 430 hectares n.075 acres) of land about two miles north of Safed, in 'Ain Zeitun, and .sold it to a party of laborers.