Chalutzim Tiyul

by Ashley Vasquez-Cruz, 11th grade, California

My classmates and I recently traveled to the Northern part of Israel. There we learned more about how the chalutzim חלוצים, zionist pioneers, designed a new life in Eretz Yisrael. The chalutzim believed that it was time to stop being in the galut (exile) and decided to take matters into their own hands. They had decided that the era in which the Jews waited in exile for the Messiah to make things better was over. People took action towards establishing a community in which they and their future generations could enjoy. One example of this was changing the perceived image of the Jewish, which became known as the “new Jew”. This ideology was changing the original fragile religious man into the opposite which consisted of him being strong, tan and a hard working pioneer. It wasn’t an easy task to accomplish but with hard work and dedication they were successful. 

 First Aliyah

The First Aliyah was between 1882-1903. Their main goal was to establish agricultural settlements called moshavot and build a home for their future generations. This meant that the days of studying Torah all day were over, if they wanted to have a home they had to build it themselves. This is where the image of the ‘new Jew”came in the days where men where skinny and pale were in the past.  The “new jew” was expected to be strong and tan since he was working the land all day. There were other challenges as well. A severe drought decimated their agriculture and prevented the Jews from being able to pay taxes to the Turk, leading them into be in debt to the JCA, Jewish Colonization Association. I think that the chalutzim ideologically did accomplish their goal never the less. They changed the image of a Jew into “the pioneer”, they also stopped being in galut (exile) both literally and figuratively. However, they lacked having personal connection with the land since they often paid the local Arabs to work the land for them.

Image of the New Jew on display at the Kfar Tavor Aliyah Museum

Second Aliyah

The Second Aliyah was between 1904-1914, only ten years of immigration. Up to 35,000 people immigrated to Israel, most who were Russian Jews. The cause of the mass immigration of Jewish Russians was the Kishinev Pogrom. This pogrom in southern Russia killed many Jews, a number of women were raped and dozens of houses were damaged. The young Jewish immigrants coming from Europe, as individuals or in small groups, were inspired by Socialist and Zionist ideals: to create a new Jew and a utopian Jewish society in the Land of Israel. Deganya was the first Kibbutz founded, as well as the first Zionist socialist collective farm. The nearby Kinneret courtyard (Hatzar Kinneret) was in charge of teaching the young immigrants how to work the land. The motivation that these young immigrants had was impressive. Most of them had never done hard labor in their life, but their desire to have a home drove them to do whatever it took to finally establish themselves in Israel. I definitely think that the second aliyah was a success.  Without a doubt the second aliyah was easier than the first in a sense that they banded together into a collective. Also the first socialist kibbutz was founded, making it easier to work as a team. The second aliyah chalutzim also took pride in doing their own labor which gave them a connection with the land, and ultimately a home in Eretz Israel.