Tin: .ir.WISII
247
Stratford cU' Hcdclillc, respof-ting tlie purchase of land in Palestine. After consulting with a conuiiittce. Sir Moses selected thirty live families from Safed, and provided them with the means nceessjiry to hegin farmini; (ih. ii. 47). Previous to this, however. Colonel Gawler. an olheer in the British army, had formed in London a colonization .society for the same purpose (ISlo); but on account of the unsettled state of the country that followed the war between Turkey and Egjpt (1839—tU), the plans could not be realized.
About 1860, several orthodox rabbis, among wliom were Ilirsch Kalischer and Elijah Gutmaclier. developed a plan for the colonization of Palestine with Russian and Rumanian Jews; and this plan was soon aftersupported by the M.sKii.i.M (Progressists). The latter induced the Ai.i.i.vNC E IsK.iii.rrK Univku8EI.I.K, of Paris, to interest themselves in the matter, notwithstanding the circumstance that many members of the Alliance doubted the adaptability of the Jews to agricultural work. This organization sent
C'll.Mtl.KS
Kkttkk
as
its
representative to Palestine
to investigate. On his return lieadvi.sed the Alliance to make a beginning by establishing a school for the
purpose of training in agriculture the Jewish children of Palestine and those of other Oriental countries. The Turkish goveniment presented the Alliance with 250 liectares ((517 acres) of land near JalTa, on the road to Jerusalem; and in 1S70 a farm school was established, under the supervision of Charles Ki'tter, at Miljiweli Yisrael. Hire all branches of horticulture, especially viticulture, are taught aflcrthemost modern niitlio<ls. and so successfully that the proceeds derived from the sale of the i)roduce are sulliFormer pi))ils of the cient to defray all expenses. iustitution areemjiloyedas teachers of agriculture in several of the more recently founded colonies, while others have received employment in the adjacent Turkish provinces. The population of thiscolony in 18'J8 atrirregated 225 persons, including 100 pupils in the school. In 1878 the iilea of the Jewish colonization of Palestine was again brought before the ])ublic by Laurence Oliphant an<l the Earl of Shaftesliury. This resulted in the purchase, by several Jews of Jerusalem, of 270 hectares (767 acres) of land from Selim Kass.ir. an Arab of JalTa; and the colony of Peta^ Tilfwah was started. This colony forms a part of the village of t)ndebish (Mnhhliis), and is situated on the road to Xablus. near the riv<r 'Aujih, about six miles from the sea. JatTa is only six or seven miles distant. The coloni.sts that .settled near the river snf ered from malaria; and mostof them werecompelUd to leave. In 1883 a |>artof tliiir lanci was bought by a fi'W immignuits from l!ielosli>k, Russia. For these colonists the Russian Chovevei Zion Society (" Lovers of ZIon") built eighteen bouses on more healthful and higher ground: and the settlers, who began by raising cereals, soon turned to viticulture and the cnllivatiou of fruit trees. In 1H87 Huron Edmond de Rothschild became interested in the colonies anil bought someof the vacateil land. Ill' planted a number of encaBaron lyptiis trees aroimd the mai-shes as a Edmond de preventive of malaria. Emil LachRothschild. iiiaini, of Iterliii, another philaiithropist, also bought a part of the land and planted a large onuige grnve anil a number of Rrape-vincs. I'pon this Inut thereare now growing more than a million vines, besides a large nunilxT of omnge-, lemon-, and other fruit-trees. Some of the colonists oceu]>y themselves in growing wheat others in the culture of silkworms. Another industry to which Ihev give attention is tlorieultnre. This
EN'CYCLOPEDIA
Agricultural Colonies (Palestine
