Milestones in the Settlements. The Map of the First Settlements.
- Title:
- Milestones in the Settlements. The Map of the First Settlements.
- Alternate Title:
- Milestones in the Settlements. The Map of the First Settlements.
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Unknown
- Other Creators:
- The Teachers Council of the Jewish National Fund, publisher
- Date:
- 1960
- Date 2:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2378.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2378_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1960 - Present
- Subject:
- Politics & Government
Pictorial
Ethnocentrism - Measurement:
- 66 x 48 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This is a pedagogical map, intended to teach Israeli school children about Jewish settlements established throughout the country during Ottoman rule. The map reinforces an important argument in the enduring fight over the competing claims of Israelis and Palestinians.
Following is a rough translation of the text on the map:
“Subject of the Year: Milestones in the Settlements.”
“In this year which is the centenary since Jewish settlements have begun, the Teachers’ Council for benefit of JNF [Jewish National Fund] has decided, in coordination with the Education and Culture Ministry, to commemorate this important event in the schools, so that pupils will get to know about the founding fathers of the settlements, learn about their aspirations and the hardship they suffered during the early days of their settlement in a barren and neglected land, a land of sand, rocks and swamps.”
“The Turks, the rulers of the land of Israel at the time, made things difficult for these early settlers; the environment was hostile and malaria hurt them very badly. . . . In spite of all these difficulties, slowly but surely, settlements were established until the the land was settled; many magnificent villages were built in which settlers lived with dignity. We should respect these early settlers and their achievements; we shall build living monuments to commemorate their accomplishments in the form of tree groves that we shall plant throughout the land in the vicinity of these first original settlements.”
The map was distributed to classrooms, along with 30 stickers, one to be pasted on the location of each of 30 settlements. A contribution of 5 Israeli Pounds was asked for each sticker, and classes that contributed the full 150 Pounds were promised a copy of “The Album of the Early Settlements.”
The map is undated, but the text says it was produced on the centennial of the first Jewish settlements during Ottoman rule. The first settlements are often dated to the “First Aliyah,” a period of Zionist migration to Palestine in the last two decades of the 19th century. During this time, a number of settlements were formed, the first in 1879. Tucker 2016, 97. However, the text on the map uses Hebrew words and expressions that were long out of date by 1880 and more typical of the language of the 1950s. It seems unlikely that the Teachers Council would use this language, particularly in something aimed at young students.
It is more likely that the mapmakers considered the first settlement to be Mishkenot Sha’ananim, built for the poor by the British banker and philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore. This community, on a hill directly across from Mount Zion, was completed in 1860. Although not an agricultural settlement like those of the First Aliyah, Mishkenot Sha’ananim is acknowledged as “the first Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem to be built outside the ancient city walls.” Ibid.
The Collection includes a number of maps related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Search > "israel* AND palest*".
Cornell University Library is pleased to present this digital collection of Persuasive Maps, the originals of which have been collected and described by the private collector PJ Mode. The descriptive information in the “Collector’s Notes” has been supplied by Mr. Mode and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cornell University. - Format:
- Image
- Rights:
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