The “Second Aliyah” was the second mass wave of Jewish immigrants to arrive in the Land of Israel as part ofShivat Zion (the "Return to Zion"), which began in 1904 and lasted until the outbreak of WWI in 1914. During this decade, about 35,000 immigrants arrived, the vast majority coming from Eastern Europe, with a minority arriving from Yemen. Like the First Aliyah, the Second Aliyah took place on the backdrop of a global migration movement from Eastern to Western Europe, as well as to the Americas and Australia. Many of these immigrants were Jews, though only a minority chose to make their way to the Land of Israel. The scope of the Second Aliyah intensified with manifestations of antisemitism and pogroms that swept Eastern Europe.
The immigrant population was composed of four main groups: immigrants who joined the "OldYishuv" (traditional Jewish communities based mainly in the cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias and Safed); immigrants who settled in the new farming colonies and in new neighborhoods being built in various towns or cities; immigrants from Yemen, about half of whom went to work in the farming settlements; and young people from Eastern Europe who hoped to create a new Zionist national society in the country.
The Pioneers Who Left Their Mark
Most of the immigrants of the Second Aliyah joined the OldYishuv or settled in the new neighborhoods being built at the time. The population increase in the cities led to impressive urban development, with the most prominent being the establishment of Tel Aviv, which began as a neighborhood of Jaffa. Jerusalem and Haifa also received a boost with the development of new neighborhoods and important public institutions.
While the number of young ideological pioneers was relatively low, they left a deep imprint on Zionist history and produced a generation of leaders for the Hebrew settlement and eventually the State of Israel. They established the first communal agricultural settlements, which began as cooperative farms and developed into kibbutzim and moshavim.
An idea that took shape in those years called for the employment of immigrants in agriculture, in the belief that “Hebrew labor” was essential to national revival. In practice, however, there was friction between the immigrant workers and their employers, and many farmers continued to use Arab workers. Another ideology advocated Jewish defense of the settlements, which led to the establishment of the Bar Giora group that later became the Hashomer organization.
The difficult economic situation in the country and the poor living conditions dashed the hopes of many, leading to widespread frustration among the immigrants. It is estimated that at least half left the country within a few years. At the end of the period, the Jewish community numbered about 80,000 people.
The fascinating and complex story of the Second Aliyah is reflected in an abundance of archival materials preserved in the National Library, including many rare photographs, postcards, documents, letters, poems, books, posters and press clippings. These items provide an interesting and enriching picture of the faces and names of the people and leaders of the Second Aliyah, the settlement enterprise and its achievements as well as its difficulties, mistakes and conflicts.
In 1911, a revolutionary venture got underway with the establishment of Havat Ha’almot ("The Maidens’ Farm"), an agricultural training farm for women. The women’s farm was established next to Kinneret Farm, which was formed in 1908 as the first Zionist instructional agricultural farm. The name “Kinneret” was suggested by author S.Y. Agnon.
Until the establishment of Havat Ha’almot, women had been limited to service or kitchen work on the farms. Those wishing to be pioneers did not find their place. The agronomist Hana Meisel, who came up with the idea, aspired to provide girls with an education in agricultural work and household management, as well as convey to the other women that they too could engage in agriculture. The farm closed in 1917 after having trained about 70 young women, including the Hebrew poet Rachel, whose life and work were deeply influenced by her time in Kinneret.
In 1910, an agricultural farm was established on the site of the biblical settlement of Magdala, on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The farm was originally called Aḥuzat Moskva ("The Moscow Estate"), because the land had been purchased by wealthy Russian Jews. The farm developed rapidly and within a year, about 60 laborers were already working on it. After World War I, the farm became known as the settlement of Migdal.
The Merhavia Cooperative Farm was established in 1911, as a first attempt at establishing a new settlement model based on the teachings of the German-Jewish sociologist Franz Oppenheimer. The cooperative was established with the funding of the Zionist movement as a cooperative farm in which each member was paid differentially, based on his contribution. The farm was the first Hebrew settlement in the Jezreel Valley and was involved in many conflicts with the surrounding Arabs. The cooperative disbanded in 1918, and about a decade later Kibbutz Merhavia was established on the site.
Rehovot was founded in 1890, during the First Aliyah as a farming settlement. A building boom in the years of the Second Aliyah added new streets and neighborhoods. The orchards and vineyards were among the colony’s most prominent enterprises, and many of the Jews who arrived from Yemen were employed in them. The Yemenite Jews were not always received warmly, and several farmers housed their workers in shacks and barns. Subsequently, the workers were allotted plots of land to build homes, which eventually became the new neighborhoods of Sha'arayim and Marmorek.
In the summer of 1906, a group of Jaffa Jews who were tired of the city’s overcrowding and neglect began to promote the idea of establishing a Jewish neighborhood that would offer its residents a better quality of life. During Passover 1909, the idea came to fruition, and a lottery was held in which plots were raffled off to the 60 founding families who purchased the land. Two months later, the cornerstone was laid for the first house in the new neighborhood, called Aḥuzat Bayit. Later, the name Tel Aviv was chosen by a majority of votes, inspired by the name chosen by Nahum Sokolow for his translation of Herzl’s bookAltneuland. Eventually, the neighborhood developed into what is considered the first Hebrew city. In 1949, Tel Aviv was united with Jaffa.
The Hebrew Gymnasium is considered the first Hebrew high school in the Land of Israel. It was founded in Jaffa in 1905, and with the establishment of the new Aḥuzat Bayit neighborhood, moved to Herzl Street in the heart of the neighborhood and was renamed "The Herzliya Gymnasium". In addition to its educational goals, the Gymnasium also functioned as a local cultural and music center. In 1958, the Gymnasium moved to Jabotinsky Street. The original and impressive structure was demolished and the Shalom Tower was built in its place. The Gymnasium’s founding was a milestone in the history of Hebrew education, and among its teachers were intellectuals such as Yosef Haim Brenner and Haim Bograshov.
