/ The Economic Role of Ashkenazi Jews in the Immigration to Palestine: A Historical-Analytical Study (1882–1939)

Abstract

Palestine was under Ottoman rule when Jews began migrating there at the end of the nineteenth century. Ashkenazi Jews coming from Eastern and Western Europe played a prominent role in these migrations, not only in terms of numbers but also in shaping the economic and political structure of the Zionist movement.

This research aims to provide a historical and analytical study of the economic role left by Ashkenazi Jews in Palestine during the late Ottoman era and throughout the British Mandate up to the end of 1939, against the backdrop of the global economic crisis and the rise of Nazism. The study raises several questions: Why did Ashkenazi Jews emigrate from Eastern Europe? Why was Palestine chosen over other destinations? Did European countries and Britain play a role in strengthening the economic position of Ashkenazi Jews? What was the economic impact of Ashkenazi Jews on Palestine and the Zionist movement? These and other questions are addressed through three main chapters: the first outlines the theoretical and historical framework of Ashkenazi Jewish migration to Palestine; the second examines European and British support for Ashkenazi Jewish economic projects in Palestine; and the third analyzes the economic policies of Ashkenazi Jews in Palestine, followed by a conclusion that presents the main findings, and a bibliography of key Arabic and foreign sources, as well as contemporary articles and newspapers relevant to the period of study.

It appears from the foregoing that the Ashkenazi Jews played a fundamental economic and political role in the immigration to Palestine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. What distinguished them was their expertise in trade, industry, agriculture, and financial services. The financial support provided by Zionist organizations such as the Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Agency to Ashkenazi Jews in Europe and North America—whether through donations or investment in settlement projects—contributed to the establishment of banks such as Bank Leumi and Keren Hayesod, which were responsible for organizing immigration, distributing land, and coordinating economic activity, in addition to developing modern agriculture, labor organization, and education.

The Ashkenazim established an integrated financial system to support their economic projects and to build a semi-closed Jewish economy that was separate from the surrounding Arab economy through the policy of “Hebrew labor.” This came alongside the weakening of the Palestinian Arab economy, supported by European and British backing of the economic projects run by Zionist institutions established by the Ashkenazim in Palestine since the First Aliyah..