From New Zion to Old Zion: American Jewish Immigration and Settlement in Palestine, 1917-1939

By Joseph B. Glass

American Aliyah (immigration to Palestine) began in the mid-nineteenth century fueled by the desire of American Jews to study Torah and by their wish to live and be buried in the Holy Land. His movement of people-men and women-increased between World War I and II, in direct contrast to European Jewry’s desire to immigrate to the United States. Why would American Jews want to leave America, and what characterized their resettlement? From New Zion to Old Zion analyzes the migration of American Jews to Palestine between the two world wars and explores the contribution of these settlers to the building of Palestine.

From New Zion to Old Zion draws upon international archival correspondence, newspapers, maps, photographs, interviews, and fieldwork to provide students and scholars of immigration and settlement processes, the Yishuv (Jewish community in Palestine), and America-Holy Land studies a well-researched portrait of Aliyah.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wayne State University Press
• Release date: Feb 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9780814344224

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AMERICA - HOLY LAND MONOGRAPHS

EDITORS

Jonathan D. Sarna

Brandeis University

Moshe Davis, 1916–96

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

FROM

NEW ZION

TO

OLD ZION

AMERICAN JEWISH IMMIGRATION AND

SETTLEMENT IN PALESTINE

1917–1939

JOSEPH B.GLASS

Copyright © 2002 by Wayne State University Press,

Detroit, Michigan 48201.

All material in this work, except as identified below, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/.

All material not licensed under a Creative Commons license is all rights reserved. Permission must be obtained from the copyright owner to use this material.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Glass, Joseph B.

From new Zion to old Zion: American Jewish immigration and settlement in Palestine, 1917–1939 / Joseph B. Glass.

—(America-Holy Land monographs)

Includes bibliographical references (p.   ) and index.

ISBN 978-8143-4423-2 (paperback); 978-0-8143-4422-4(ebook)

1. Jews, American—Palestine—History—20th century.2. Jews—United States—Migrations—History—20th century.3. Jews—Colonization—Palestine—History—20th century.4. Palestine—Emigration and immigration.5. United States—Emigration and immigration.I. Title. II. Series.

DS113.8.A4G522002

956.94004’924073—dc21

00-009470

The publication of this volume in a freely accessible digital format has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Mellon Foundation through their Humanities Open Book Program.

http://wsupress.wayne.edu/

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

List of Tables

List of Maps

Preface

Introduction

1.ATTITUDES TOWARD AMERICAN JEWISH MIGRATION TO PALESTINE

2.INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE

3.MOTIVATIONS FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION TO PALESTINE

4.THE SCREENING PROCESS: IMMIGRATION POLICIES AND REGULATIONS

5.THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF AMERICAN OLIM

6.AMERICAN AHUZA COLONIES

7.THE AMERICAN ZION COMMONWEALTH (1914–1928)

8.PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT IN THE RURAL SECTOR

9.AMERICAN JEWISH SETTLEMENT ON JEWISH NATIONAL FUND LANDS

10.AMERICANS IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index

ILLUSTRATIONS

1.Letter regarding decrease in need for capitalist certificates

2.Members of Kollel America Tiffereth Yerushalaim praying at the Western Wall

3.American halutzim playing volleyball at Kibbutz Ein Hashofet

4.Three generations of pioneers

5.Judah and Beatrice Magnes in front of their Jerusalem home

6.Cover of memorandum to Zionist Society of Engineers and Agriculturists

7.American Jewish Legionnaires

8.Poster for What the American Commonwealth Is Doing in Palestine

9a.Gan Hadar Corporation letterhead

9b.Scenes of moving pictures in Ganey Hadar

10.Simcha Reisen of New York

11.Gershon Agronsky in Jewish Legionnaire uniform

12.Jewish battalions in Palestine

13.Members of Kollel America Tiffereth Yerushalaim

14.American students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

15.Page 1 of the Register of the Palestine Immigration Bureau

16.Income of the Jewish National Fund according to country

17.The Aliya to Poria

18.View of the main street of Raanana

19.American-style house in Raanana

20.Tobacco drying at Raanana

21.American Zion Commonwealth landownership certificate

22.Road in the Moshav Balfouria

23.Jewish pioneers lay drainage pipe

24.Middle-class settlement at Herzlia

25.Water tower at Gan Haim

26.Orchards at Ramot Meir

27.Aerial view of Netanya

28.American Banir group leaving Kibbutz Mishmar Haemek

29.American couple at Kibbutz Ein Hashofet

30.Aerial view of Ein Hashofet

31.Kibbutz America-Krit celebrating settlement

32.Straus Medical Center

33.Advertisements for American Tooth Manufacturing Company and Judea Insurance Company

34.American Porcelain Tooth Manufacturing Company

35.Panorama of Afula

36.Aerial view of Afula

TABLES

1.American and Jewish immigration to Palestine, 1919–39

2.Emigration from the United States by future country of residence, 1917–24

3.Emigration of Hebrews from the United States, 1917–24

4.Length of residence of American citizens in Jerusalem, 1939

5.Age-gender distribution of American Jewish nationals in Palestine, 1931

6.North American professionals in various cities, 1922

7.Capital reported by prospective immigrants to Palestine, 1919–20

8.Zionist Organization of America membership, 1918–29

9.Age-gender distribution of North American registrants for immigration to Palestine, 1919–20

10.Capitalist immigration to Palestine from the United States, May 1925–December 1942

11.Applicants for immigration to Palestine from the United States, July–September 1932

12.Distribution of immigration according to categories for selected countries, May 1925–December 1942

13.Distribution of American Jewish citizens in Palestine according to district, 1931

14.Distribution for rural settlements and selected urban centers of American Jewish citizens compared to the general Jewish population, 1931

15.Net income of the Jewish National Fund by region and selected countries, 1919–38

16.Summary of American land purchases up to 1939

17.Agricultural land purchased by the American Zion Commonwealth, 1919–26

18.Country of origin of family heads in Balfouria, 1926

19.Country of origin of family heads in Herzlia, 1926

20.Lands purchased in Jerusalem by the American Zion Commonwealth and the Palestine Land Development Company to 1929

21.Number of persons supported by Kollel America Tiffereth Yerushalaim for various years

22.Age of family heads of Kollel America, 1932

23.Floor area of new buildings in Tel Aviv, selected years from 1923–40

24.Palestinian exports of artificial teeth and industrial products, selected years from 1930–38

25.American Jewish emigration versus American Jewish immigration to Palestine, 1915–37

26.Relative rates of Jewish immigration to Palestine for selected countries, 1919–39

MAPS

1a.U.S. and Canadian applicants for immigration to Palestine, 1919–20

1b.Ratio of U.S. and Canadian applicants relative to the total Jewish population, 1919–20

2a.Land purchases from the American Zion Commonwealth and the Migdal Company, 1927–31

2b.Ratio of land purchasers to the Jewish population, 1927–31

3a.Raanana and its vicinity, 1938

3b.Plan of Raanana

4.Gan Yavne, 1933

5.American land purchases in Palestine to 1939

6a.Balfouria, plan of settlement and various structures, 1923

6b.Balfouria and Rub-El-Nazra purchases, 1926

7a.Plan and location of Herzlia, 1924, zones 1, 2, and 3

7b.Plan and location of Herzlia, 1924, zone 4

8a.Plan of Afula, 1925

8b.Afula in 1939

9.Purchases in Haifa Bay and the Jezreel Valley, 1926

10.Rosoff settlements, 1935

11.Settlement of American Halutzim, 1918–39

12.Development of Jerusalem to 1937

13.American activities in Tel Aviv to 1939

14.American activities in Haifa to 1927

15.Migdal garden city and estate plans, ca. 1925

16.Nahalat Itzhak, 1933

PREFACE

Over the past century, the aliyah (immigration to Israel) of American Jews has piqued the curiosity of both the residents of Israel and American Jewry. Why, it has often been asked, would one want to leave America, the land of opportunity and promise? Misconceptions and generalizations have tainted the image of American olim (immigrants). The absorbing population has often viewed them as wealthy, lacking a genuine commitment to remain, and not entirely cognizant of the challenges of life in their new homeland. While some American olim fit this description, for most the reality has been much different. A diverse population, they have chosen to relocate for a variety of reasons, with Zionist ideology as well as Jewish identification and commitment factoring into this decision. During the period covered by this study, American olim played a significant role—far beyond their actual numbers—in shaping the landscape and society of Palestine.

The purpose of this study is to understand and analyze the migration of American Jews to Palestine between the two World Wars and their contribution to the up-building of the land and its people. It follows a slightly different approach than is typically used in geographical writing. Its focus is strongly geographic in terms of migration and landscape transformation. Stories of the immigrants have been included as a humanizing factor and to supplement the quantitative information.

The research drew upon a variety of primary and secondary sources, including institutional and personal archives located in the United States, Israel, and Canada. Special attention was given to primary sources, such as correspondence and contemporary accounts in newspapers. These were combined with analysis of maps, plans, and photographs, as well as fieldwork at sites connected to American Jewish settlement in Palestine. The study is augmented by tables, maps, and illustrations that provide the reader with some of the raw data used in the study.

In the introduction, general demographic information lays the foundation for what follows, first by detailing the scope and scale of the migration, and then by outlining the characteristics of the immigrants. These parameters allowed the construction of four distinct group profiles. Chapter 1 examines the environment in which the immigrants made their decisions to migrate. Chapter 2 looks into the information available to the potential immigrants which was utilized to varying degrees in their decision-making processes. Chapter 3 categorizes the motivational factors and supplements the discussion through the use of contemporary examples. Chapter 4 explores technical and political barriers to migration. Chapter 5 describes immigrants’ encounters with the new environment and then outlines the processes of selecting a location for settlement. Chapter 6 tells of the estate or ahuza societies that were founded in the decade before World War I for the purpose of establishing American Jewish colonies in Palestine; it focuses on those that continued to operate during and after the war. Chapter 7 details the activities of the Zion Commonwealth (later the American Zion Commonwealth), an organization established in 1914 to purchase and develop land in Palestine. Chapter 8 portrays private initiatives for land purchase and settlement. Chapter 9 examines American Jewish settlement on Jewish National Fund land. Chapter 10 moves to the urban landscape, describing the contributions of American companies, organizations, and individuals to the development of cities and towns, and highlighting the professional activities of American settlers. The conclusion evaluates the migrational movement as a whole, placing it within the context of other ideological emigrations from the United States and the immigration of other Diaspora communities to Palestine. Further, it assesses the contribution of American Jews to the development of Palestine between the two World Wars.

This project began as a dissertation titled American and Canadian Jews in Eretz Israel: Settlement and Initiatives for the Development of the Landscape during the Beginning of British Rule (1917–1932). My doctoral work was supervised by Professor Ruth Kark of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Department of Geography and Professor Allon Gal of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Department of History. I am greatly indebted to them for their guidance and support in this project.

In addition, I would like to acknowledge the important contribution of the late Professor Moshe Davis, the founder of the America-Holy Land project at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry. He introduced me to this field of research and emphasized its importance as a way to understand the history of American Jewry. My personal connection with him and his wife, Lottie, nurtured a deep appreciation for this academic pursuit. The infrastructure that he laid down facilitated work in this field, particularly the four volumes of the Guide to America-Holy Land Studies, 1620–1948, and the five collections of articles, With Eyes toward Zion.

I would also like to acknowledge the support rendered by Professor Ruth Kark and Professor Yehoshua Ben-Arieh during my years in Israel. Both offered continual encouragement to my research and fostered my growing love of Eretz Israel, its people, and its history.

I also want to thank Professor Michael Brown of York University, Professor Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University, Professor Deborah Dash Moore of Vassar College, Dr. Menahem Kaufman of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Dr. Irit Amit of Bar-Ilan University, and Professor Yossi Ben-Artzi of Haifa University for their comments and suggestions. The late professor Aaron Antonovsky graciously assisted by providing some of the material he used in his earlier study.

I gratefully acknowledge the institutional support afforded by the Department of Geography, the Halbert Centre for Canadian Studies, and the Institute of Contemporary Jewry of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Moreover, important funding was provided by the Finesold-Sukenik Grant for Gender Studies, the Israel Association for Canadian Studies Research Grant, Morris M. Pulver Scholarship Fund, the Baruch Tal Scholarship, the Levi Eshkol Institute Research Fellowship, and the Theodor Herzl Fellowship.

In addition, I would like to thank the staffs of the Central Zionist Archives, Jerusalem; the Archives and Museum of the Jewish Labor Movement, Tel Aviv; Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People, Jerusalem; Canadian Jewish Congress National Archives, Montreal; Glenbow-Alberta Institute, Archives Department, Calgary; Haifa Municipal Archives; Hebrew University of Jerusalem Archives, Jerusalem; Jewish Historical Society of Western Canada, Winnipeg; Jerusalem Municipal Archives; Kibbutz Kfar Menachen Archives; National Archives of Canada, Ottawa; National and University Library Archives, Jerusalem; Shomer Hatzair Archives, Givat Haviva; Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipal Archives; Tel Aviv University Archives, Institute for the Study of the Diaspora; the Yad Itzhak Ben-Zvi Archives, Jerusalem; and the Map Library of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

At various stages of the project, assistance was also provided by friends and relatives. Thank you to my mother, Lucy, and my siblings Samuel, Tova, Berl, Rebecca, and Jonathan. Thank you to Tamar Helfand, the late Avram Greenbaum, Luba Greenbaum, Ruth Rischall, Dave and Essie Guttman, Oodee Eilat, Michal Link, Edit Luzia-Meidan, Julie Rabinowitz, Beverley Rubin, Amos Ron, Mark Staitman, Paula Philbin, Cathy Gurrertiez, Shoshana Migdal, and Sasha Yegorov.

The maps were adeptly prepared by the staff of the Cartography Laboratory of the Department of Geography of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tamar Soffer, and Michal Kidron. Likewise, the editorial skills and invaluable suggestions of Alifa Saadya are very much appreciated. A final thankyou goes to the staff at Wayne State University Press for their efforts in bringing this book to press.

INTRODUCTION

American Aliyah: Scope and Scale

How many American Jews made aliyah? How does one characterize the American olim? These and other questions have not been fully addressed by researchers. A number of attempts have been made to determine the exact number of American Jewish immigrants to Palestine, but these have been hindered by the lack of comprehensive and exact statistical information.¹ Some answers to these queries are merely conjectural, while others represent estimates based on assumptions not founded on any concrete information. Calvin Goldscheider was among the few researchers who took a critical view of the available figures, and he found no definitive answer to these questions.² For the purposes of this study, almost every available piece of statistical information has been compiled and compared in order to create a more complete portrait of the American olim and their migration.

American aliyah began in the mid-nineteenth century, motivated by traditional desires to study Torah in the Holy Land and eventually to be interred in its sacred soil. The movement was at first only a trickle, reflecting both the difficulties of moving halfway around the globe and the relatively small American Jewish population prior to the large-scale migration to America that began in the 1880s. Prior to World War I, the United States consulate in Jerusalem and the American Consular Agency in Haifa, under the jurisdiction of the consulate general in Beirut, reported on their nationals within these sections of the Ottoman Empire. In 1878 there were 119 Americans registered at the Jerusalem consulate. As of 1899 there were some 800 American protégés in the Jerusalem district. These figures include both Jews and non-Jews. Most of these Jews had never been in the United States, but they were extended protection by the American consul. In 1913 there were eight Americans in Haifa and ten in the Jewish colony of Zichron Yaakov.³ It should be noted that under United States law, effective 2 March 1907, naturalized American citizens who remove to other countries and reside there for five years are presumed to have abandoned their American nationality. Accordingly, some American citizens were obliged to relinquish their citizenship, and thus not all those considered American in this study—i.e., persons having resided in the United States for more than five years and having the right to register for citizenship—were registered by American consular representatives. In 1911, for example, of the twenty-seven Jews residing at Jaffa with registration of their citizenship approved by the U.S. Department of State, fifteen were subject to losing their citizenship on 2 March 1912.⁴

More exact figures are available from the Census of the Jews of Eretz Israel, conducted in Judaea between spring 1916 (Adar 5676) and spring 1918 (Adar 5678) in the midst of the war. The numbers are smaller than might be anticipated, since some American citizens had fled Palestine as refugees or had been forced to migrate; others had starved or perished from various plagues. The census listed approximately 700 American Jewish nationals, of whom the majority—546—resided in Jerusalem; the remainder lived in Jaffa and the moshavot. The census also provided information on the immigration of 138 American nationals to the moshavot (including exiles from Jaffa): fifteen up to 1900, thirty-six between 1901–10, seventy-seven between 1911–14, and ten whose immigration dates were unknown. Of course, these figures did not take into account the deceased and emigrants, but they did point to an increasing rate of migration in the years leading up to World War I.⁵

Between the summer of 1917 (Av 5677) and the summer of 1919 (Tammuz 5679), the Jewish census was extended to northern Palestine. In 1919 the American Jewish population there totaled only forty-seven. This figure does not, however, reflect the actual number of Americans who resided in this area before the war. The United States entered the war in 1917, and some of its nationals were expelled from Turkish territory or were forced to relocate to other Turkish controlled areas. In northern Palestine, too, the rate of American Jewish migration increased before World War I: two up to 1900, eleven between 1901–10, twenty-two between 1911–14, nine between 1915–18, and three of undetermined dates.⁶

Statistics regarding the immigration of American Jews during the period of British rule in Palestine were compiled by two bodies, the Mandatory government of Palestine and the Palestine Zionist Executive (later the Jewish Agency for Palestine). The total immigration to Palestine recorded by the two is almost identical, but the breakdown into countries of origin shows great discrepancies.

Eric Mills, in charge of the 1931 census of Palestine, was critical of the figures presented by the government of Palestine immigration officer: It is only to be expected, in the circumstances of Palestine, that the records of migration should be defective. On the one hand, there is an intense pressure among Jews to enter Palestine; and on the other hand, the country is landlocked in three directions and the frontiers are therefore difficult to control. An additional complication [is that] … incoming persons are exclusively classified as immigrants, returning residents and travellers.⁷ Furthermore, the figures provided by Zionist bodies in their various publications are dissimilar, at least partly because the Jewish Agency for Palestine, for example, used a variety of collection methods over this period. There were inconsistencies regarding the numbers in different publications, and it is difficult to determine which figures are accurate.⁸

TABLE 1

American and Jewish immigration to Palestine, 1919–39, according to the Jewish Agency for Palestine and the government of Palestine

As explained in one of the reports from the Jewish Agency’s Department of Statistics, one reason for the discrepancies was that some Americans changed their status from tourist to immigrant after they had been in Palestine for awhile. For example, for January 1932, the Jewish Agency’s Department of Immigration registered eight American immigrants, while the Mandatory government’s Department of Migration registered twenty individuals; the difference of twelve represents tourists who entered the country in 1930 and 1931 and changed their status to resident in January. This explanation may account for some of the discrepancies, but it does not sufficiently clarify larger deviations in the numbers. Another reason for the inconsistencies results from the unclear distinction made between country of origin and nationality. One finds individuals classified as Americans who resided in the United States for over five years but did not possess American passports. Often such persons retained their Eastern European passports or possessed no documents at all. When immigrants arrived in Palestine, government authorities registered them according to their country of origin—that is, where their visas had been issued by British consular authorities. By contrast, the Palestine Zionist Executive registered immigrants according to their citizenship. Thus the number of American immigrants cited by the British authorities was usually higher than that furnished by the Palestine Zionist Executive or the Jewish Agency for Palestine. Jewish Agency statistician David Gurevich pointed out that for the years 1926–34 there was a 5 percent discrepancy between citizenship and country of last residence for emigrants from the United States. This deviation is relatively low when compared to figures for Russia and Germany, where the discrepancies were 25 and 20 percent respectively.⁹

Neither of these sources provides complete statistics for the period of 1918 to 1939. For the years 1919 and 1920, no data is available at all. Yet evidence exists of a number of Jewish Legionnaires from America who were demobilized in Palestine and settled there. According to records of the Beit Hagdudim Museum at Avihail, at least twenty-five Americans remained in Palestine after the end of the war.¹⁰ Sam Friedlander, chairman of the Jewish Legionnaire’s Association, claimed in 1929 that over 200 American Jewish Legionnaires were living in Palestine, some of whom were demobilized in the United States and subsequently immigrated to Palestine.¹¹

In an attempt to verify immigration statistics, figures for emigration of Jews from the United States were examined for this study. Information on emigration—with no distinction made for race or religion—to Turkey or to Syria, Palestine, and Iraq is available for 1917–24. The American government also listed emigrants according to race or people, providing a grouping called Hebrew. Neither of these two listings of emigration from the United States corresponds with those of the American Jewish immigration to Palestine. For example, in 1924 the government of Palestine registered 324 American Jews as having settled in Palestine. Yet this exceeds the 260 Hebrews that left the United States that year.

Between 1920–39, an average of some 400 American Jews immigrated annually. A general trend can be seen during 1922–31, when an average of 277 Americans—between 125 to 570 in any given year—immigrated to Palestine. For 1932–35, immigration increased dramatically to an annual average of 1,258 (ranging between 864 and 1,826). From 1936 to the beginning of World War II, the number of immigrants steadily decreased from 357 to 29, for an annual average of 162.

The ratio of American Jews to the total Jewish immigration to Palestine also varied during this period. From 1920 to 1939, American Jews comprised approximately 2.5 percent of the total Jewish immigration. According to Mandatory government figures, immigration ranged from a low of less than 0.5 percent in 1923 to a high of over 10 percent in 1928. There was a different rhythm for the migration of American Jews. During the years of particular economic hardship in Palestine (1927 and 1928), American immigrants continued to come to Palestine, thus increasing their overall proportion. During the Great Depression, Palestine drew more Americans. In the first years of the period of this study, 1920–25, the percentage was below average; from 1926 to 1933 it was above average; 1934–35 was also slightly above average; and 1936–39 was again below average.

TABLE 2

Emigration from the United States by future country of residence, 1917–24

TABLE 3

Emigration of Hebrews from the United States, 1917–24

American immigration figures were exceptional in 1926–27, when the general immigration was relatively low and there was high Jewish emigration from Palestine. The flow from America was against the tide of general migration. Although these two years stand out as years of economic difficulty or crisis in Palestine, Americans possessed the necessary funds to allow them to settle there despite the adversities. Other unusual years were 1932–35, a period of hardship in America as a result of the Great Depression. Changes in the American social climate, together with relative economic prosperity in Palestine, motivated many Americans. The drastic decline in immigration toward the end of the period of study was the result of two factors. First, fewer halutz certificates were allotted to Americans. In addition, the 1936–39 disturbances in Palestine deterred the migration of Americans, particularly those who were middle-aged and older as well as those who had sufficient resources to obtain capitalist certificates. This trend worried the Zionist establishment in the United States. The 1938 Convention of the Zionist Organization of America, held in Detroit, addressed the issue:

Since June, 1936, approximately 2,500 persons have applied to the Palestine Department for information and consular assistance. The majority of these applicants consists of persons ranging in age from 45 to 60 years, each of whom is in possession of an average capital from $5,000 to $15,000. The bulk of the applicants comprise middle class elements who plan to invest their capital in building enterprises, in mortgages, orange plantations or in smaller domestic enterprises.

Would the situation in Palestine have followed its normal course and enabled these elements to fulfill their life-long dream, the capital brought into Palestine during the last two years by these applicants would have amounted to many millions of dollars. Under the present conditions these applicants are inclined to postpone their departure for a later date, when order and security will have been restored in the country.¹²

Within a smaller section of the population, the immigration patterns of the membership of Kollel America Tiffereth Yerushalaim (an organization established to provide assistance to Orthodox American and Canadian Jews in Palestine) are noteworthy; it appears that their immigration did not fluctuate greatly over time. Although the data is not conclusive in this regard, apparently there was a constant flow of this group into Palestine, for it was not dependent upon the variation of American or Palestine economies, the social environment, or other factors. Though allowance must be made for the higher death rate of this generally elderly population, American Kollel members’ responses to a 1932 questionnaire are instructive. According to the 137 respondents, forty-eight heads of families arrived in Palestine between 1927–31, forty heads between 1922–26, and thirty-two heads between 1912–21.¹³

Fig. 1. Letter regarding the decrease in need for capitalist certificates in 1938. Dr. S. Berstein, Director, Palestine Department, Zionist Organization of America, New York, to the Jewish Agency for Palestine, Jerusalem, 28 June 1938. (CZA S6/3,216)

So how many American Jews immigrated to Palestine between the two World Wars? The Jewish Agency for Palestine figures indicate a total of 6,379 American Jewish immigrants from 1920 to 1939. The government of Palestine immigration authorities reached a higher figure of 8,438 for the shorter period of 1922–39. The 1931 census of Palestine, in fact, suggested that the government of Palestine’s figures were incorrect and attempted to adjust the defects in the migration records. It asserted that the annual balance of migration recorded between the censuses of 1922 and 1931 should be increased by a ratio of 1.23 to 1. Records for the period before 1925 were considered even more defective. For the years following the census, the coefficient suggested in the census was 1.1. Using these adjustments, American immigration for 1922 to 1939 would have been 9,654.¹⁴ Another form of adjustment may be made by comparing these two totals to information from other sources (see notes to table 1). If adjusted for the maximum difference, Jewish Agency figures would reach 8,958 and government figures might drop to 7,897 or rise to 9,177. A safe estimate for American aliyah for the period of study would be 9,000—slightly above government figures because it does not include those who did not register as immigrants. This figure would adjust the percent of total Jewish immigration slightly upward—from 2.55 percent according to government sources and 2.61 percent according to Jewish Agency sources, to 2.63 percent and 3.05 percent respectively.

However, not all Americans remained in Palestine. Determining the number of emigrants or the rate of emigration is extremely complicated. Almost no records were kept regarding the citizenship or nationality of emigrants. Thus no concrete conclusions can be drawn for the emigration of American Jews from Palestine. The limited information available is presented below to provide at best an extremely general picture.

One Palestine Zionist Executive Department of Immigration report deals with emigration for the period of May 1922 to May 1923. During this period, 1,170 Jews departed Palestine, 185 were residents of Palestine, 906 were new immigrants, and 76 were tourists. These categories are not well defined and are therefore unclear. Of new immigrants leaving the territory, 2.9 percent or 26 individuals were Americans. The ratio of American emigrés to immigrants was 5 percent. When compared to other national groups, this figure is low, with higher figures for Latvia, at 24.6 percent; Austria, 13.1; Ukraine, 10.7; and Poland, 9. The figures are lower for Romania, 2.9; Russia, 1.8; and Lithuania, 0.4.¹⁵

Yet Americans were stigmatized as having a high rate of reverse migration. Numbers, not based on any statistical information, were freely thrown out that suggested a return rate of one in three.¹⁶

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS

The main source of information on the characteristics of American Jewish emigrés is the 1931 census of Palestine. It lists 672 persons born in the United States and 2,222 American citizens.¹⁷ The ratio of American-born to American citizenship is 1:3.10. At least two-thirds of the immigrants had lived part of their lives somewhere other than the United States. Keeping in mind that many of those born in America were children of immigrants strengthens the hypothesis that much of American aliyah was really a process of re-emigration.

Figures regarding American citizenship do not provide an accurate portrait of the American population in Palestine at this time. Some immigrants relinquished their citizenship, although there is no way to calculate the exact number who did so. On the one hand, it appears that American citizens were in no hurry to give up their citizenship for that of Palestine; a 1926 report mentions 2,000 Americans who did not opt for Palestinian papers. However, over time, a growing number of Americans forfeited their passports. The 1931 census lists 36 Americans who were granted Palestinian citizenship between 1 January 1929, and 31 December 1931—a rate of 4 per 1,000. If this rate is applied to the naturalization of 27,509 Jews between 1925 and 1931, the estimated number of Americans who relinquished U.S. citizenship for Palestinian citizenship would be 130.¹⁸ American consular records from May 1924, however, list 216 individuals who up to that date had obtained provisional certificates of Palestinian citizenship.¹⁹ Taking this into account, the ratio of American-born to citizenship would be even higher, at least 1:3.43.

The implication of naturalization in Palestine for an American citizen was that under section 2 of the United States Citizenship Act of March 2, 1907 any American shall be deemed to have expatriated himself when he has been naturalized in any foreign State in conformity with the laws of that State, or when he has taken an oath of allegiance to a foreign state.²⁰

The Palestine census provides no information as to the date of the arrival of Jewish immigrants, i.e., before or after World War I, as illustrated by information in the Census of the Jewish Population in Haifa of 1938. Residing in Haifa that year were 272 persons who had emigrated from the United States, representing 0.5 percent of the city’s Jewish population. Five persons had arrived from the United States before World War I, 50 persons between 1918 and 1931, and the remainder between 1931–38.²¹ If these figures are compared to the population recorded for Haifa in the 1931 census, a great variation is evident. There were 52 persons born in the United States and 94 American citizens.²² This points to a decline in the number of Americans resident in Haifa in 1931: 96 in all, with 59 remaining in Haifa until 1938. Reasons for the decrease might include emigration, internal migration, or death.

TABLE 4

Length of residence in Palestine of American citizens in Jerusalem, 1939

The 1939 Jerusalem Jewish Census also details the length of residence of that city’s 824 American citizens, 115 of whom had arrived in Palestine before World War I. The years of their immigration are listed in table 4. In addition, the 1939 census lists the years of residence in Palestine of 730 individuals who had formerly resided in the United States. These figures are not analogous with the citizenship numbers, but their division into categories provides greater detail with regard to the years of residence during the pre-World War I period: 166, 0–4.9 years; 293, 5–9.9 years; 110, 10–14 years; 77, 15–19 years; 33, 20–29 years; 7, 30–39 years; 9, 40–49 years; 5, 50+ years; 30, unknown.²³

Fig. 2. Members of Kollel America Tiffereth Yerushalaim praying at the Western Wall. (Central Zionist Archives pamphlet 50,398)

More precise information has been found for one subgroup, persons affiliated with Kollel America Tiffereth Yerushalaim, which provides some insight into the characteristics of this segment of the American population. This subgroup was generally elderly; of the 148 heads of families surveyed in 1932, 73 percent were over 51 years old.²⁴ This was disproportionate to the general American Jewish population, raising the average age cited in the 1931 census. This subgroup is indicative of the motivation of an elderly religious population in America to spend their last years in the Holy Land and be buried there.

In 1941–42 the Jewish Agency surveyed the resident rural Jewish population. Since American Jewish immigration in 1940 and 1941 was insignificant—only two American citizens immigrated in those years according to Jewish Agency records—this information provides a portrait of the situation at the end of the period of study. Originating from the United States were 848 persons, with 5.1 percent immigrating before 1915, 25.5 percent between 1915–29, and 69.4 percent between 1930–41. Those originating in America made up only 0.6 of the Jewish rural sector.²⁵

With regard to gender, one figure stands out: in 1931, 20.41 percent of the total population were females in the age group 25–40, where 11.70 percent were males of the same age group. This weighs heavily on the general male to female ratio, skewing an otherwise normal ratio to 1 to 1.226. No explanation has been found for this disproportion. American women did not demonstrate a tendency to search for opportunities in Palestine, nor was there a high proportion of widows among the immigrants.

In his study of the demographic structure and natural growth of the Jewish population of Palestine, Roberto Bachi attempted to estimate the average number of children women gave birth to according to their country of birth. His calculations for the years 1938–40 point to a rate of 1.83 children for women from the Americas (the United States was the dominant component of this group); this figure is below the national average of 2.16. Austrian and German women had the lowest rates, at 1.32 and 1.37 respectively. The rate for Palestinian-born Jewish women stood at 3.40. Yemenite and Moroccan women had the highest rates, at 7.28 and 7.04 respectively.²⁶

There is insufficient data regarding the professions of American emigrés to categorize them properly into groups or to evaluate them numerically. However, one clue can be found in the census of Jewish professionals from 1922 and a second one in the applications for immigration in 1919–20. In the early years of the British Mandate, there were thirty-nine North American professionals in Palestine—approximately 3 percent of the total Jewish professionals enumerated.²⁷ These 1922 figures include immigrants before the war and those who arrived during the first years of British rule. In 1919–20 a large number of American Jews applied for immigration to Palestine. As detailed and grouped by the Palestine Service and Information Bureau, the primary occupations of the 1,803 family heads were: 385 in agriculture, 368 in commerce, 124 in education, 62 in engineering, 159 in the medical professions, 21 in social work, and 684 listed as general or miscellaneous. This last group included 131 tailors, 67 laborers, 56 carpenters, 48 machinists, 43 clerical workers, 33 students, 28 painters, 24 stenographers, 17 bookkeepers, 17 insurance agents, 16 electricians, 15 rabbis, 14 bakers, 14 shochetim (ritual slaughterers), and others in 62 different vocations. Very few of these applicants actually immigrated to Palestine, but their vocations point to the large cross section of professions of the American Jewish population intent on immigrating.²⁸

The lists of persons who received labor schedule certificates, compiled by the Palestine Bureau in New York for the Jewish Agency’s Immigration Department, include details of the occupations for some of the American immigrants. The lists of capitalist visa recipients, on the other hand, only provide their declared capital, not their vocations. Thus the occupations of only a small sector of the immigrant population are available. One example furnishes insight into the vocational training of the halutzim (pioneers). During the period of January to March 1933, sixty certificates were granted to Americans, who had twenty-one dependents (wives and children). Classified by their occupations, there were twenty-one laborers, nine farmers and agriculturalists, nineteen craftsmen and tradesmen, five white collar professionals, three bookkeepers, one merchant, and two with unspecified occupations. This reflects the growing number of young American Jews who prepared themselves for migration by training in various vocations deemed necessary to receive a certificate and partake in the Zionist endeavor in Palestine. Unfortunately, similar lists for all the years of this study are not available.²⁹

TABLE 5

Age-gender distribution of American Jewish nationals in Palestine, 1931

Although not conclusive because of their incomplete, inconsistent, and inexact nature, the statistics presented above point to a number of characteristics of the American Jewish population that migrated to Palestine. The immigrant population may be subdivided into four distinct groups: the Orthodox population, halutzim (pioneers), middle-class agriculturalists, and urban professionals.

For the most part, the Orthodox population was older. It included families, elderly couples, widows, and widowers. Exceptional within this generally aging population were yeshiva students—unmarried young adult men. The incomes of this Orthodox group varied from the lower percentiles—those who needed financial assistance while they lived in Palestine—to a handful of the wealthy. Most of them were not American-born, but originally from Eastern Europe.

TABLE 6

North American (NA) professionals in various cities, 1922

The halutzim represented a much younger population, and the majority of them were single. Most of the couples in this group were at the beginning of the productive stage of their lives; they usually had very little capital and no children. The majority had graduated from high school, and some had attended university. Many had been trained in agriculture or in skilled professions. The majority were American-born, and some even had American-born parents. Ideologically, they were affiliated with socialism and communism, as indicated by their desire to join cooperative settlements in Palestine.

Fig. 3. American halutzim playing volleyball at Kibbutz Ein Hashofet, December 1938. (CZA photograph collection 6,005/57)

The middle-class agriculturalists consisted mainly of families. More often than not, they lacked agricultural experience but dreamed of owning farms in the Holy Land. They came from urban centers in the United States and had worked as merchants, professionals, or craftsmen. Married couples in this group were in their middle years, and their children ranged in age from infancy to adolescence. Some couples had children over the age of eighteen. These families usually possessed sufficient capital to maintain themselves during their first years in Palestine, to purchase land, and to plant and maintain it until it became productive. For some, the realities of agricultural life were too hard to overcome or the limited amenities did not suit their needs, so they resided and worked in urban areas and occasionally visited their rural properties.

Fig. 4. Three generations of pioneers: (top) Lifting a heavy stone with a light heart: An old Jew helping in the construction of his home in the new settlement of Kfar Ivri situated on the Jerusalem-Shechem Road; (middle) Springtime has come in Palestine: American Jews in Kfar Ivri planting seed in their garden. Every year sees an increasing number of well-to-do Jews from America settling in Palestine; (bottom) Two little farmers sitting in a row: Jewish children of Kfar Ivri working in their garden. This work inculcates in them a love for the healthy and vigorous life on the soil. (Palestine Pictorial 1 [April 1927])

Fig. 5. Judah and Beatrice Magnes in front of their Jerusalem home, ca. 1930. (Courtesy of the Hebrew University photo archive)

The fourth group—urban professionals—were characterized both by their vocations and their new place of residence. They had received postsecondary education and were trained as doctors, lawyers, accountants, nurses, educators, engineers, social workers, bankers, journalists, rabbis, administrators, and as other professional workers. They included single males and females as well as couples with children. Most were American-born or had been raised in the United States from an early age. They possessed the tools to integrate into mainstream American society but decided to uproot themselves to Palestine.

In summary, the absolute number of American Jewish immigrants to Palestine was approximately 9,000 in the years 1919–39. This represents just under 3 percent of the total Jewish immigration for the period. The rate of immigration of American Jews was not consistent with other immigrant groups. Their agenda differed from the others, and it was dependent upon economic and political conditions in America and in Palestine. Particular events affected American immigration: the Balfour Declaration, the liberation of Palestine, the 1929 riots, and the Great Depression. The majority of American Jewish immigrants to Palestine were first-generation Americans. Only in the very late 1920s did the proportion of second-generation Americans increase. The immigrant population comprised a disproportionate number of the elderly and consisted mainly of families. The former fact reflects the traditional motivation to spend one’s last years in the Holy Land, either for religious or secular reasons, and the latter form of relocation was termed retirement. The large number of families points to a middle-class migration to both urban and rural environments. There was indeed some re-immigration. Although no conclusive figures about this can be determined, re-immigration reflected a gap between expectations and realities of Palestine, and the difficulties some Americans found in trying to integrate into the local society and economy.

In all, although it appears that this migration was numerically insignificant from the American perspective and small from the Yishuv’s (Jewish community in Palestine) perspective, it is asserted that this migration contributed to the development of Palestine in proportions well beyond their numbers. These emigrés comprised a relatively well-educated, professional population, possessing comparatively greater capital than other Jewish immigrants. Furthermore, since it was a free migration, as opposed to the German Jewish immigration from 1933 onward, these emigrés were likely more ideologically motivated to the goal of building the Yishuv.

1

Attitudes toward American Jewish Migration to Palestine

Gabriel shoved his plate away with his sandwich still on it. I’ve always assumed that Palestine was to serve as a haven for the suffering Jew, said Gabriel. "American Jews should contribute their money to build up Palestine so that their oppressed brothers in Europe can go there. So that Jews living in Nazi Germany, where anti-semitism is now running rampant and unrestrained, may have an asylum to flee to.

But why should we, from our democratic U.S.A. go to Palestine? Gabriel continued. I won’t say that at times one doesn’t encounter anti-semitic manifestations here, but it certainly is not government policy. Why, we Jews in the U.S.A. are well off, as well off as most other minorities and even better than some. You’ll agree with me on that, I hope.

Hillel was becoming annoyed. Good arguments for bourgeois materialists. My dear fellow, we are not building a homeland only for others, but also for ourselves. We must strike root anew. In Palestine we’ll establish a free, independent, working socialist society and I, Hillel Brenner, am going to have the satisfaction of taking part in creating it. It will provide for me that sense of accomplishment that you are craving for.

Ruhama Morahg and Mordecai Morahg, Towards Joy Profound

In this passage from their semi-fictional novel with an autobiographical undertone, Ruhama and Mordecai Morahg recreate a discussion dealing with attitudes toward American Jewish migration to Palestine. Gabriel, a friend of the protagonist Hillel, expounds one of the prevalent attitudes of American Jewish society regarding migration to Palestine: Life is satisfactory, if not agreeable, for Jews in America, so why leave? Implicit in Hillel’s words is the outlook of a fringe group in American Jewish society, the Labor Zionists—Poale Zion. These two perspectives constitute only part of the spectrum of opinions held by American Jewry with regard to migration to Palestine. A review of this broad variety of opinions will help us understand the scope and scale of the American Jewish migrational movement to Palestine; moreover, it also will afford insight into questions of Jewish identity in American society.

Jews residing in the United States faced a dilemma when deciding whether to migrate to Palestine. For most, it was a nonissue, and easily resolved. They saw no need to remove themselves from their permanent place of residence. For others, it was a pertinent issue with which they would grapple, and then ultimately decide to remain in America. A limited number chose migration to Palestine. The decision making process about migration to Palestine was complicated, based upon a number of factors and various levels of consciousness. Despite the difficulties in fully comprehending all the components in this process, a number of components can be discerned and described. These factors are recorded in written and oral statements made by individuals either at the time they migrated or in the years following their arrival in Palestine.

The potential American Jewish migrant heard many messages, articulated by different individuals and organizations, expressing support, opposition, or neutrality. The potential migrant was often drawn to the option that best suited his personal needs, and he would adopt a particular attitude as a personal credo. In certain cases, the various stances on American Jewish migration to Palestine caused some vacillation, reevaluation, and even a sense of personal conflict.

The first determinant of opinion on migration to be discussed here is American Jewish society—the environment in which most potential immigrants resided and interacted. The sentiments of members of the international Zionist organizations represented the second group of determinants. These organizations often facilitated the migrational process, and their encouragement and patronage—or lack thereof—greatly influenced the movement of American Jews to Palestine. The third and fourth groups represent the viewpoints of the two communities in Palestine: Jews (the Yishuv) and Arabs—the absorbing societies for the American Jewish immigrants. Their attitudes significantly affected the process of integration of immigrants into the new environment.

AMERICAN JEWISH ATTITUDES

The American Jewish community was divided along religious, ideological, and ethnic lines, with different groups holding varying opinions about migration. Indeed, it was not uncommon for members or leaders of the same group or organization to adopt opposing positions. Furthermore, many groups believed such a population movement would affect the present and future situation of Jews in America. The following overview expresses some of the points of view vis-à-vis the question of American Jewish migration to Palestine. The discussion does not attempt to illustrate all opinions but rather to illuminate general perspectives: denominational, nationalistic, ideological, and practical.

During the years between the wars, American Jewry was subdivided into three major denominations—Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform—and each group formulated its own tenets with regard to immigration to Palestine. It is important to keep in mind, however, that not all American Jews were affiliated with an organized religious group.

The American Orthodox sector held no single, clear-cut attitude toward immigration to Palestine, though certain elements opposed Jewish immigration. Like their Eastern European counterparts, many American Orthodox Jews feared that in the process of developing Palestine, establishing settlements, and creating a Jewish political entity, migration would also prematurely bring about messianic redemption. For example, in the late nineteenth century, Abraham J. G. Lesser, an Eastern European rabbi who held different pulpits in the United States, argued that God alone could bring about the redemption. A clear message was