In the year 5687 (1927) a group of Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Jews from Jerusalem established a community called “Migdal-Eder after the verse “And Israel journeyed and spread his tent beyond Migdal-Eder” (Genesis XXXV: 20)

 Mr. Yitzhak Greenwald – a scholar and a man of vision -was the originator of the plan and the dominant figure in the Zikhron-David company that founded the community.  Amongst the Jewish settlers were immigrants from Yemen, imbued with a fierce popular belief in the redemption of the Jewish people in its own land, and with devotion to settling the land.  This welcome private enterprise led to the establishment of a pioneering community, but the official “settlement institutions” did not look kindly upon an attempt to establish a community by private initiative and the community was beset with difficulties and privations.

Migdal Eder

  For two years the settlers developed an agricultural community that would be based on fruit trees and dairy farming.  In the year 5689 (1929), during the bloody disturbances that led to the destruction of the Jewish community of Hebron, “Migdal-Eder” was destroyed.  The last residents, who remained isolated, were compelled to flee for their lives.  Arabs from the neighboring Arab village of Beit Umar, rescued them from the rioters and helped them get to Jerusalem safely.

The Migdal Eder Gallery

To the next chapter: Holtzman and “El HaHar”