Degania, Hapoel Hatzair, March 5, 1912

This article was published in the newspaper Hapoel HaTzair on March 5, 1912. The article, written in Kibbutz Degania, describes the arrival of Jewish immigrants from Yemen in the Haifa port. From Haifa, they went to Kibbutz Degania on the shores of the Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee). The author’s name is not specified; the article is simply signed “a worker,” most likely a member of the kibbutz.

The article describes the immigrants as frightened and destitute. Even though they knew the names of places in Israel from the Bible, they were fearful of what awaited them. The article claims, incorrectly, that they were astonished when they first saw the Kinneret and the Jordan River because there are no lakes near Yemen. The writer also mentions that they were afraid to leave one another and were cold at night because some of their belongings had been left at the Haifa port. Later in the article, a Yemenite immigrant is described as working hard all day shovelling earth without getting tired.

At the time this article was written, the Jews living in Israel were largely European immigrants. The author, influenced by European thinking at the time, regarded the Yemenites as “uncultured Orientals” who were in need of a Westerner to guide and educate them. Another of the misconceptions about Yemenites was that physical work was natural to them; for example, the author writes about how impressed he was that one of the men worked all day without showing any signs of exhaustion.

The first Yemenite settlers came to Israel in the 1880s, and by 1914, about ten percent of the Jewish population had left Yemen with the help of the World Zionist Organization, most believing that the development in Palestine was a sign of the coming redemption. Yemenite families travelled on foot to Aden, sailed from there to Jaffa, and were then transported to Haifa. After bad experiences in Hadera in 1911 farmers from the area of the Kinneret suggested that the Yemenite immigrants join them, promising them better conditions and treatment. The Yemenites came to Kvutzat Kinneret (Kinneret Farm) and many were housed in crowded conditions in what was called the “motor house" (named such because a motor for operating the water pump was placed there).” They worked drying the swamps, planting eucalyptus groves, and preparing the land for settlement and farming. They suffered from the hard conditions, and many died of malaria and other diseases. In addition, the other Jewish settlers discriminated against the Yemenite Jews and even forbade them from burying their dead in the local Kinneret cemetery. Despite their hard work, the residents of Kvutzat Kinneret objected to the presence of the Yemenites, and they were forced to leave. They moved to Kfar Marmorak near Rehovot, where they established the first Yemenite moshav.

From 1949 to1950, given a window of opportunity by the Yemenite authorities, the majority of the Jewish population of Yemen immigrated to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet. There are currently a few hundred Jews still in Yemen.

Degania, the first kibbutz, was established in 1910 by European immigrants from the Second Aliyah. The land on the southern banks of the Kinneret was purchased by the Jewish National Fund (JNF-KKL) in 1904. The Hebrew name Degania refers to the five types of grains grown in biblical Israel: wheat, barley, oats, spelt, and rye. Notable figures who lived in Degania include Rachel Bluwstein, Moshe Dayan, A.D. Gordon, and Joseph Trumpeldor.

Kvutzat Kinneret is a kibbutz located on the southwest of the Knneret (Sea of Galilee). The kibbutz, like Degania evolved from an agricultural training farm founded in 1908 known as Havat Kinneret (Kinneret Farm). The kibbutz was established within the Kinneret Farm in 1913 by a small number of idealistic pioneers who believed in the communal way of life and sharing all material goods. Naomi Shemer, named the "First Lady of Israeli song and poetry" was born and buried in the Kibbutz. The kibbutz's population today is close to 700.

Relevant Links

Teaching Suggestions

Jewish History teachers can use this document as part of a wider study of the Second Aliya and to highlight the fears, difficulties, and discrimination suffered by new immigrants in Israel.

Teachers of Israel Studies can also refer to the specific challenges that faced Mizrahi or Oriental Jews moving to Israel and integrating into Ashkenazi-dominated society.

Civics teachers can use this article as an example of the difficulties faced generally by ethnic minorities and immigrants when attempting to integrate into new communities and societies.

Discussion Points

Observations

When and where was the article written?
In what publication was the article printed, and who wrote it?
What language was the article written in?
Summarise the article:
- Who were the new immigrants?
- How did they feel when they arrived in Israel?
- Why did the immigrants come to Kinneret?
- Where they happy there?
- What did they do there?
- What was planned for them?

Reading Between the Lines

Who was the intended audience of this article?
Where do you think the author originally came from?
What do you think the author thought about Yemenite Jews?
How might his views have been influenced by the times?
According to this article, how did the people of the Second Aliyah perceive the Yemenite immigrants?
How would the Yemenites themselves have described their journey?
What problems arise when someone external to a group describes the group?
Where is Yemen?
Why did the Yemenite Jews decide to leave their country?
Learn about Yemenite Jewish culture here. What aspects are unique?
What were some of the obstacles facing Yemenite Jews when attempting to integrate into society?

Connections

Research the Yemenite community in Israel.
What has changed in this community since the time this article was written?
Read more about Degania and about the Kvutzat Kinneret (Kinneret Farm). How were they established? Locate Degania and Kinneret on Google Earth.
What is your opinion about the way the writer describes the Yemenite immigrants?
Do you know about other examples of discrimination in your country or in Israel?
What causes this?
How can discrimination be prevented?

Creative Ideas

Look at some photos of Yemenite jewellery and art.
Choose one of these objects.
Write a story about how the item travelled from Yemen to the Land of Israel with a Yemenite immigrant in 1912.
Write a letter from a Yemenite immigrant to their family back in Yemen describing their arrival and settlement in Palestine. Explain some of the challenges and some of the successes.

Open in NLI Website

Translation

Degania

On one of the last days, Yemenites came to us, around sixty people who embarked from the ship in Haifa. It was cold on the day of their arrival and they were almost naked. Shivering from the cold and hungry, they went to our new buildings where we placed them all. It was terrible to see their faces that showed fear and deep sorrow. One old man sighed and said to me, “We are walking in darkness, we are like orphans in this land.” “Is the desert near us?” asked a second man. They all stare with fear at the land that seems like the desert to them. I show them the Kinneret [Sea of Galilee] and the Jordan and they know them by name, but they are strange to them. In Yemen there are no rivers or seas. After a while, workers from the Kinneret Farm came to take some of the Yemenites, but they do now want to leave their camp. They are afraid to go to a new place and afraid to stay here. With much difficulty, after trying to persuade them for two hours, some of them agreed and were split – half of them went to Kinneret and half stayed with us. From the start they gave a bad impression, from a first glance, it seemed as if we have sick and dying people before us. They left their clothes in Haifa and they are suffering badly from the cold. One young man, about twenty years old, worked with us the next day with a hoe. I was very surprised, he did not tire at all. While I am writing these lines, I am planning to take them all to weed the fields, they have begun to get used to us and the look of fear is leaving their faces. I think that most of them will be good workers. For now until Pesach, they will work with us and in the Kinneret Farm, and later they might be moved to Majdal. I have heard Glikin is supposed to build them houses outside of the yard and maybe he will be able to take them all, and there are about forty of them who are capable of working.