The Absorption of Immigrants from Muslim Countries in the Kibbutz, 1948-1954

Authors

  • Rachel Cohen-Friedheim Independent researcher Author

Keywords:

Immigrant absorption, Immigrants from Muslim countries, Kibbutzim, Youth Aliyah, Religious kibbutzim

Abstract

During 1948-1954, most of the new immigrants from Moslem countries came with their families. Very few wanted to live in a kibbutz (collective agrarian settlement), where members worked on the Sabbath, the food was not kosher, the children slept in special children’s houses away from the parents, and labor was without salary. But the kibbutzim did absorb a larger number of Jewish youth from Moslem countries, financing the outlay on their own because Aliyat Hanoar (the department in the Jewish Agency that brought Jewish youth to Israel) refused to pay for the education of youngsters who were not orphans.

After 1951 most of the new immigrants arriving in Israel were youngsters without families. Many of them were absorbed in the kibbutzim. Most did not stay long, leaving after a few months. The study also shows that the religious kibbutzim were most reluctant to accept immigrant youth from Moslem countries.

Published

2011-12-01

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

The Absorption of Immigrants from Muslim Countries in the Kibbutz, 1948-1954. (2011). IYUNIM: Multidisciplinary Studies in Israeli and Modern Jewish Society, 21, 317-338. https://iyunim.bgu.ac.il/index.php/iyunim/article/view/378