Settlements in Israel since the Establishment of the State

Ludwig Pinner speaks about his education and work in agriculture. At the Zionist Congress in 1937, Yitzchak Gruenbaum founded the agricultural section for middle-class immigrants, which Pinner was to head for 30 years. Middle-class settlers came with the Fourth Aliyah with some money to invest. They went mainly to growing oranges (monoculture farming). After the war villages were built for released soldiers. After 1948 this section became the responsibility of the Settlement Department of the Jewish Agency. Immigrants of the fifth Aliyah founded villages of separate, individual multicultural agricultural units. Each member had his own farm. Some new settlers joined kibbutzim. But only 25% of the Fifth Aliyah came from Germany, and of these only 10,000 chose farming. Groups of 8-10 families joined existing moshavot, but many did not stay because they felt isolated (Landsmannschaft). Cooperative villages, like Ramot Hashavim, were more successful. Details of how Ramot Hashavim started and organized itself, how former merchants and academics worked physically on their chicken, without written down principles or rules - in contrast to members of "Moshavei Poalim". The cooperative, which called itself "El Al", marketed the eggs. Pinner then bought land to settle other German immigrants, made the plans, had their houses and agricultural structures built. Menachem Ussishkin of JNF allotted lands for new villages. ; Pinner then describes the foundation and work of Rassco, which was responsible for financial matters, and also established so-called auxiliary farms of 3-4 dunams adjacent to a circular outer road, such as Kfar Shemaryahu, with funds collected through "Haavarah" = legal transfer of Jewish money from Germany. In 1936 advocate Weinshal bought some 700 dunams land near Acre on which Shavei Zion was built for members of the only Jewish village in Germany, Rexingen. When Italy joined the war, the orange growers could no longer export their produce. Working only with cooperatives, Pinner founded an association called "Agra" which organised hundreds of monoculture farmers in several villages as a cooperative. They received Saamen goats purchased with their money and money contributed by Arthur Ruppin, got loans to buy fodder and other necessities for their farms. Marketing was done by a new organization "Tene" founded by 5 villages of German Jews and 5 Agra villages, and supplies were purchased from "Hevrat Aspaka". Later all cooperative villages were represented by "Ichud Haklai" which provided mainly agricultural and social advisors. In 1948 Levi Eshkol planned the foundation of 100 agricultural villages for new immigrants to be carried out by the Section for Middle-Class Farmers. With the provision of land by JNF, 30 new villages were built, many existing villages were enlarged, and some empty villages built for middle-class farmers were allotted to new immigrants. Pinner was responsible for the first regional settlement, i.e. 1 central village and about 5 others around it. He also undertook the renovation of some old decrepit villages of the first waves of immigration. The settlers sold some of their land and with the money arranged for a water system, electricity, etc. This section ceased its activities in 1963. ; Pinner continued until 1968 to stabilize weak settlements.