The Creation of the Nahal Settlement Enterprise

Abstract

During the days of the British Mandate in Palestine, the leadership of the Hebrew Yishuv developed the concept of security settlements, i.e., settlements established on the frontier to provide security along the borders of the future state. The concept was put into practice with the Nahal (acronyms of Pioneer Youth Warrior) Brigade settlement enterprise which set up dozens of settlements from 1951 onwards. The first six settlements were founded by ‘lone’ soldiers: immigrants from Eastern Europe and Islamic countries, and natives who did not have a youth movement or pioneering background. The article offers an account of the creation of the Nahal settlement enterprise which adds to the existing research on the subject in two ways. Firstly, it identifies some of the stages in the historical process that have not as yet been adequately described. Secondly, contrary to existing research which claims that the attempt to integrate lone soldiers within the Nahal settlement enterprise failed and had no long-term effects, we argue that the integration achieved most of its goals.