Kibbutz 1929

For Jewish immigrants to Palestine, the return from the "diaspora" - the "scattering" of Jews round the world meant quite literally a return to sacred soil. By 1914, 85,000 of them had arrived to redeem their ancient homeland. Grouped in dedicated co-operative settlements (kibbutzim), they began to make the desert bloom, while their 500,000 Arab neighbours, mostly herders and subsistence farmers, looked on with growing envy and concern.