Pioneers

Saturday morning, August 23, 2008: On entering my study this morning, a phone message from Erika and a short e-mail from Tuvia bearing the heartbreaking news “We are only 4 left, Eli died at night”. The 4 left refers to the original 9 Chevre from the Shomer Hatzir who fled Slovakia in April 1941 for Palestine where we joined kibbutz Merchavia.

Although Eli’s death was not completely unexpected, Eli having been very ill these past few months and getting weaker by the day, it still came as a big shock. We had a very special friendship with Eli spanning 74 years of our lives.Read more

This is the story of my father Walter Selig (update 1 November 2009)Read more

A true story.Read more

My parents immigrated from Germany in 1937. My father was a student at the end of his study. He studied mechanical engineering at the Institude of technology in Breslau. Being a student at a German university in those days, made him understand and feel , that the Nazi regime is not just an unimportant passing episode.Read more

Towards the discussion on the division David Koren writes, David Ben Gurion visits during October arrives to learn about the security of the settlements and their interconnections.Read more

Daniel Newman

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Biography

Menahem Ussishkin

Born in 1863, in Russia.
Immigrated to Israel in 1919.
Died in 1941.
Activity range: leader.
Activity era: 1882-1940.

When he was 18 years old, Ussishkin first encountered the pogroms against Jews in Russia, and then became a Zionist.

Membership in Bilu ("Beit Ya'akov Lekhu Ve-nelkha" ("House of Jacob, let us go [up]"), and then in B'nai Moshe ("Children of Moses"), led him to Herzel and to an active membership in Zionist Congresses.Read more

The Strauss family came from Germany. In 1936 Richard Strauss immigrated to Palestine with his son Michel and his wife Hilda. He didn't have any Agriculture experience; he was a doctor for business and economy.

At first, the Strauss family lived in Richard brother's Meshek in Be'er Toovya.
After a while they decided to build there own Meshek in the lands of Nahariya.
On that time Nahariya only had a water tower, 2 roads and some houses.Read more

Yosef Levi was born in Germany. He joined the Israeli office in 1913. During the years Levi became the biggest private land buyer in Palestine.
In the early 1930's, the north-west part of Israel today (the Western Galalee) wasn't in the settlers' map in Palestine. Building a Moshava in such an isolated place seemed implausible to them.
But Levi didn't think that way, he dreamed that settlements can be built in such lonely places.
When the 5th Aliya from Germany began, Levi saw the problems these immigrants had and decided to help them by fulfilling his dream.Read more