Real photo postcard of students of the agricultural school Mikveh Israel near Jaffa (Palestine) during the period of Ottoman rule in the Land of Israel. Early 20th century. Locally published in Jaffa by Joseph A. Mitri. Rare.
The seated figure at the far left of the second row has been tentatively identified as Alexander Aaronsohn—the prominent Zionist activist and brother of Sarah Aaronsohn and Aaron Aaronsohn, founder of the NILI underground.
The Mikveh Israel agricultural school was founded in 1870 by the Alliance Israélite Universelle (Kol Yisrael Chaverim). Charles Netter, one of the Alliance’s founders, was the initiator and first director of the school. He believed that only agricultural labor could bring about a real transformation in the condition of the Jewish people. The school was located south of Jaffa. Mikveh Israel played a key role in the development of agriculture within the Jewish Yishuv, and according to some historians, the founding of the school marked the beginning of modern Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel.
9×14 cm. Upper left corner missing. Stains. Good condition.
