The Chalutzim Tiyul

by Annie Joseph,     11^th grade,     North Carolina

The day started with a long bus ride through the country up north to the Kinneret. Our first stop of the day was to a museum at Kfar Tavor dedicated to the first wave of Aliyah in 1882: the chalutzim (pioneers). These people were the ones who cultivated that land day and night, they dealt with hardships such as disease, overworking, and uneasy relations with the neighboring Arabs. Despite all of this they continued to build a community in hopes of laying the foundation for a future Jewish nation state.

the outdoor part of the Kfar Tavor Museum focusing on the live of the pioneers of the first aliyah

Our next stop was a “practice Kibbutz” called Hatzar Kinneret.  This was a place where young people would come and learn how to farm and be kibbutzniks in general in hopes of the leaving and continuing on to cultivate their own kibbutzim throughout the country. Here we learned about the second wave of aliyah that began in 1904. The second wave was caused by anti-semitism in Europe, specifically the porgoms which caused people to immigrate to a Jewish land. We also learned about the Hashomer defense organization which is the basis for the present IDF. This is when protection of the land became a main priority and not just a case by case basis. The early waves of aliyah brought the Chalutzim, the people who really made Israel a country in the making, they brought infrastructure and modern technology to really lift the land to its full potential.

Hatzar Kinneret was the site of a kibbutz training farm during the second aliyah

 Later in the day we went to the Kinneret Cemetery where we discussed Rachel the poet who discussed the beauty of Israel in her words and really brought the land to life. Overall, I really enjoyed this tiyul, I learned a lot about the creation of the country and how regular young people had such a large impact on creating the Jewish country.

grave of Rachel the Poetess at the Kinneret Cemetery