Yehoshua Hankin
Encyclopedia
Yehoshua Hankin was a Zionist
activist who was responsible for most of the major land purchases of the World Zionist Organization
in Ottoman
Palestine
.
Hankin was born in Kremenchuk
, Russian Empire
, and moved to Rishon LeZion with his parents in 1882. In 1887 his family moved to Gedera
, where he became friendly with local Arab
s, helping him negotiate the purchase of land. Hankin's first purchase was the land of Rehovot
, acquired in 1890. A year later he bought the land that later became the settlement and city of Hadera
. He then purchased territories for the Jewish Colonial Association
in the Galilee
.
In 1908, when the Zionist organization sent Arthur Ruppin
and set up the Palestine Land Development Corporation, Hankin joined. In 1909 or 1910, Hankin completed his first major purchase in the Jezreel Valley
. He bought some 10,000 dunams (10 km²) of land in Al-Fuleh, which became the home of Merhavia
. This purchase also marked the start of bitter disputes between Arabs and Jews over the rights of tenant farmers who had been evicted, and regarding the employment of Jewish or Arab watchmen for the land.
In his article, Buying the Emek, Arthur Ruppin
described the vicissitudes of this purchase:
Because of the reluctance of Zionist organizations to pay for land, Hankin frequently agreed to purchase lands and then convinced the Jewish agency or others to finance the "done deal." As Ruppin notes:
During World War I
, Hankin was exiled by the Turks to Anatolia
. Returning to Palestine, he soon resumed his work where he had left off. In 1920, he concluded a deal with the Sursuk family
of Beirut
for purchase of 60,000 dunams (60 km²) of land in the Jezreel Valley. He negotiated for this land when he had in fact not a penny to finance the purchase. The chairman of the Jewish National Fund
, Nehemiah De Lieme, refused to pay for the land, arguing that it was beyond the budget of the Fund, but he was overruled by the Zionist organization and in particular Chaim Weizmann
. This tract became home to numerous new kibbutz
im and other settlements, including Nahalal
, Djindjar, Kfar Yehezkel
, Geva
, Ein Harod
, Tel Yosef and Beit Alfa
. Half of this land was unirrigated and considered of low value, but the remainder contained about 500 Arab tenant farmers. These latter, though reimbursed above and beyond the requirements of the law, continued to complain of dispossession.
Subsequently, Hankin was involved in large scale purchases of land in and around Acco. In 1927, Hankin proposed an ambitious 20 year land purchase plan to the Jewish Agency for Israel
, a plan that was never carried out in full. In 1932 he became head of the Palestine Land Development Corporation.
Hankin understood the necessity to plan for Arab as well as Jewish settlement, and apparently intended to do so. In July 1930 he wrote:
Hankin died in Tel Aviv
and was buried in the Galilee
on Mount Gilboa.
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
activist who was responsible for most of the major land purchases of the World Zionist Organization
World Zionist Organization
The World Zionist Organization , or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization , or ZO, in 1897 at the First Zionist Congress, held from August 29 to August 31 in Basel, Switzerland...
in Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
.
Hankin was born in Kremenchuk
Kremenchuk
Kremenchuk is an important industrial city in the Poltava Oblast of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Kremenchutskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast, and is located on the banks of Dnieper River.-History:Kremenchuk was...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, and moved to Rishon LeZion with his parents in 1882. In 1887 his family moved to Gedera
Gedera
-External links:** *...
, where he became friendly with local Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s, helping him negotiate the purchase of land. Hankin's first purchase was the land of Rehovot
Rehovot
Rehovot is a city in the Center District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 112,700. Rehovot's official website estimates the population at 114,000.Rehovot was built on the site of Doron,...
, acquired in 1890. A year later he bought the land that later became the settlement and city of Hadera
Hadera
Hadera is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel approximately from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along of the Israeli Mediterranean Coastal Plain...
. He then purchased territories for the Jewish Colonial Association
Palestine Jewish Colonization Association
The Palestine Jewish Colonization Association, commonly known by its Hebrew acronym PICA , was established in 1924 and played a major role in supporting the Yishuv in Palestine until its disbandment in 1957....
in the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
.
In 1908, when the Zionist organization sent Arthur Ruppin
Arthur Ruppin
Arthur Ruppin was a Zionist thinker and leader. He was also one of the founders of the city of Tel Aviv, and a pioneering sociologist credited as being "The Father Of Jewish Sociology", directing Berlin's Bureau for Jewish Statistics and Demography from 1902 to 1907...
and set up the Palestine Land Development Corporation, Hankin joined. In 1909 or 1910, Hankin completed his first major purchase in the Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley
-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
. He bought some 10,000 dunams (10 km²) of land in Al-Fuleh, which became the home of Merhavia
Merhavia (moshav)
Merhavia a moshav in northern Israel. It falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council and in 2006 had a population of 722. Founded in 1911, it was the first modern Jewish settlement in the Jezreel Valley....
. This purchase also marked the start of bitter disputes between Arabs and Jews over the rights of tenant farmers who had been evicted, and regarding the employment of Jewish or Arab watchmen for the land.
In his article, Buying the Emek, Arthur Ruppin
Arthur Ruppin
Arthur Ruppin was a Zionist thinker and leader. He was also one of the founders of the city of Tel Aviv, and a pioneering sociologist credited as being "The Father Of Jewish Sociology", directing Berlin's Bureau for Jewish Statistics and Demography from 1902 to 1907...
described the vicissitudes of this purchase:
- In order to execute this plan the JaffaJaffaJaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
office communicated with Messrs. Kalvariski and Joshua Hankin. The latter, then a young man of twenty-five had already demonstrated his skill in such negotiations in the acquisition of land for the colonies Rehoboth and Hederah. By energetic work he succeeded, in 1891, in reaching an agreement with large owners in the Emek Jezreel and the Plain of AccoAcre, IsraelAcre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
for the purchase of 160,000 dunams [160 km²] at 15 francs per dunam [15,000 franc/km²]....Before the consummation of the agreement, however the Turkish Government, alarmed by the increasing inflow of Russian Jews, prohibited Jewish immigration entirely. This blow proved disastrous for the negotiations. The Russian societies formed for the purposes of purchasing land were dissolved, failed to send in the money they had promised, and the entire magnificent project fell through...It was only in 1910 that Hankin -- who, in the meanwhile, had purchased land in Lower Galilee for the ICA -- resumed his negotiations for land in the Emek.
Because of the reluctance of Zionist organizations to pay for land, Hankin frequently agreed to purchase lands and then convinced the Jewish agency or others to finance the "done deal." As Ruppin notes:
- Authorized by a Russian Jew, Elias Blumenfeld, to arrange for the purchase of 1,000 dunams [1 km²] on which he, Blumenfeld, intended to establish a farm with his own means, Hankin concluded an agreement for a stretch of 9,500 dunams [9.5 km²] in Fule, later Merchavia [Al-Ful in Arabic]. He hoped that the ICA, in whose employ he was at that time, would buy the remainder of the land. When, however, the ICA refused to do so, he inquired of me, who was then the director of the Palestine Bureau of the Zionist Organization, whether the Zionists would be prepared to purchase this land. Even before that it had occurred to me, whenever, going from HaifaHaifaHaifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
to NazarethNazarethNazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
, I had viewed the broad expanse of the Emek YizraelJezreel Valley-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
, that, because of its proximity to Haifa, its excellent railroad and highway connections, and the ease with which its soil could be cultivated, this land would be preeminently suited for Jewish colonization.
- But it was no simple matter to obtain the money for this purchase. Only the fact that Franz OppenheimerFranz OppenheimerFranz Oppenheimer was a German-Jewish sociologist and political economist, who published also in the area of the fundamental sociology of the state.-Personal life:...
was just then seeking land for the co-operative colonization society he had recently organized, and the simultaneous appearance of some private purchasers, made it possible to carry through this project. 3,500 dunams [3.5 km²] were taken over by the National Fund for the co-operative colonies, and the rest by the Palestine Land Development Company.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Hankin was exiled by the Turks to Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. Returning to Palestine, he soon resumed his work where he had left off. In 1920, he concluded a deal with the Sursuk family
Sursock family
Sursock is a Greek Orthodox, Lebanese family and one of Beirut's aristocratic families. The Sursock family made their money as traders. The Sursocks were also landowners and for many decades Lebanon's leading business family, joining forces with the Otis Elevator Company to manufacture elevators...
of Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
for purchase of 60,000 dunams (60 km²) of land in the Jezreel Valley. He negotiated for this land when he had in fact not a penny to finance the purchase. The chairman of the Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
, Nehemiah De Lieme, refused to pay for the land, arguing that it was beyond the budget of the Fund, but he was overruled by the Zionist organization and in particular Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952....
. This tract became home to numerous new kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
im and other settlements, including Nahalal
Nahalal
-External links:** UNESCO* Jewish Agency for Israel*, "Jews made a garden" - aerial photo of Nahalal , and a girl from Girls' Agricultural Training Farm , at Google Books....
, Djindjar, Kfar Yehezkel
Kfar Yehezkel
Kfar Yehezkel is a moshav ovdim in northern Israel. It is located in the Jezreel Valley, six kilometres southeast of Afula. It is under the jurisdiction of the Gilboa Regional Council. In 2007, the moshav had a population of 755.-History:...
, Geva
Geva
-External links:*...
, Ein Harod
Ein Harod
Ein Harod was a kibbutz in Israel. It was located in northern Israel near Mount Gilboa. It is notable for being built near the battlefield of Ayn Jalut , a battle of huge macro-historical importance where the Mongols were defeated for the first time, in 1260.-History:The kibbutz was founded by...
, Tel Yosef and Beit Alfa
Beit Alfa
Beit Alfa is a kibbutz in the Northern District of Israel, near the Gilboa ridge.-History:The kibbutz was founded in 1922 by Hashomer Hatzair volunteers. The first members came from Poland. In 1940 some of the members, affiliated with Hashomer Hatzair, moved to Ramat Yohanan kibbutz, in exchange...
. Half of this land was unirrigated and considered of low value, but the remainder contained about 500 Arab tenant farmers. These latter, though reimbursed above and beyond the requirements of the law, continued to complain of dispossession.
Subsequently, Hankin was involved in large scale purchases of land in and around Acco. In 1927, Hankin proposed an ambitious 20 year land purchase plan to the Jewish Agency for Israel
Jewish Agency for Israel
The Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora into the state of Israel.-History:...
, a plan that was never carried out in full. In 1932 he became head of the Palestine Land Development Corporation.
Hankin understood the necessity to plan for Arab as well as Jewish settlement, and apparently intended to do so. In July 1930 he wrote:
- ...Had we desired to disregard the interests of such workers of the land as are dependent, directly or indirectly, upon lands of the landlords, we could have acquired large and unlimited areas, but in the course of our conversation I have pointed out to you that this has not been our policy and that, when acquiring lands, it is our ardent wish not to prejudice or do harm to the interests of anybody. (Quoted by Sir John Hope Simpson in his report of 1930 ).
Hankin died in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and was buried in the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
on Mount Gilboa.