Alumot - the newsletter of the young class - the movement of HaNo'ar HaLomed B'Eretz Israel, the immigrant camps, the Jerusalem camp. [1942]. Stencil printing. The first issue to be published. The children of the younger class, 8th graders, among them, Prof. Eliezer Shvaid at the age of 13!, express their fear of a German invasion of Eretz Israel, and call to train and be prepared for the worst. extremely rare.
Before us is the first issue published by the youth group "Alumot" of the movement "Helomed in Eretz Yisrael - Machanot Ha'Olim", in 1942. The editor is written: "For a long time we waited for the publication of the newspaper until we saw it was ready... The newspaper should be used as a disguised for the young class as a tool which will concentrate all of man's conscience in it... write to the newspaper, express yourself and enrich it...".
At the beginning of the issue under the heading "Words to the Youth" writes "Eli Shvaid" - [later Prof. Eliezer Shavid of the Israeli Thought Scholars, thinker and educator, recipient of the Israel Prize for the Study of Machshevet Israel for the year 1994] being a member of the movement, a teenager At the age of 13: "The situation in the world is loose. We do not know what will happen the next day. The fronts are not permanent and the Land of Israel is also in terrible danger. Therefore we, the Hebrew youth, must train and prepare for a German invasion. If such an invasion takes place, we, the Jewish community in Eretz Israel, will be in danger. Our Arab neighbors are ready and willing at any moment to make riots with us, destroy the Hebrew economy and uproot our entire position in Eretz Israel. They are only waiting for a signal, and a German invasion of the country is the best sign for that. In such a case, we, the youth at the age of 12-13, will be assigned many very responsible roles. Children in our age are fighting on different fronts and we are asleep. We all need to wake up and start in training. We appeal to every boy and girl in Eretz Israel of our age to stand up and join the youth movement. During the time off, he will not see a boy or girl walking around idly. Every boy and girl in the country must prepare for any eventuality that may come. We must not entertain hopes. Train, and you will be ready". Eli Shvaid, HaZoreah.
In another article written by Dani, it is written: "Now, when Hitler is dancing and Europe is dancing and the whole world is dancing one big and strange dance that is creeping closer and closer to us, let's sit down for a moment and think: when the dance comes to us how will we dance?" ... Dani, Nir.
The boy Yehuda Yehudai writes in article named: "Our reaction to the situation in the world": "This year, with the German invasion of Russia and the increase in operations in Africa and the Far East, the danger of an invasion of our country is increasing. Do we have the option of surrendering? The people of Israel have one and only place, and that is the Land of Israel. We have no option of surrender. If the invaders let us down, then the Arabs, our cousins, will attack us and there will be riots against us every day. If so, the settlement in Israel needs many people trained in weapons, this number should reach at least a few tens of thousands of people... The adults will go to the farm and work there. The young people will travel, they will climb mountains, they will learn to stay in the field, use a compass, etc., so that will help to the settlement wherever it is... who to the farm and who to the Weapon...." Yehuda Yehudai, HaZoreah.
In addition, the authors describe the activity of training in the mountains, the final exams of the 8th grade, the decisions of the stratum council, the admission of additional members to the "stratum", the preparations for Lag Ba'omer, Mesada and the heroes of Mesada as a role model, and more.
The year of publication was not specified in the booklet itself, But there are several articles in which it is stated that the writers are 8th graders. One of the writers as mentioned is Eliezer Shvaid. Shvaid was born in September 1929. Since the writers are eighth graders, the booklet was published around 1942 when he was about 13 years old. Also in the records of the National Library it appears that the first issue was published in 1942, and as we know, fears about the German invasion of the Land of Israel rose in Israel in 1942 when the Germans advanced in their conquest of North Africa towards the Land of Israel.
During World War II, Eretz Israel under British Mandate rule twice faced the danger of an invasion by the Nazis and their allies. The first danger began in June 1940 when Germany occupied France, and control of France and its colonies was in the hands of the pro-Nazi Vichy regime. Syria and Lebanon came under pro-Nazi rule. The British working assumption was that a German invasion of Eretz Israel from the north was a viable option. In the summer of 1940 the British began to build fortification lines to protect the country from invasion and to prepare acts of resistance to the occupiers, should it falls to the enemy. Later in 1942, General Rommel's Africa Corps advanced in North Africa to the east and the fear of the fall of the Suez Canal increased. Due to this fear, the British devised the "Palestine final fortress" plan. To create a line of defense in the mountainous areas of the north of the country. As the Corps of Africa advanced toward the Suez Canal, anxiety prevailed in the settlement, and the leadership of the settlement began to formulate a "Masada on the Carmel" plan to concentrate all the people of the settlement on Mount Carmel and its environs for a heroic and possibly final defense battle. This period in the history of the settlement was nicknamed "Two Hundred Days of Anxiety." Finally, as is well known, in light of the British victory in the Battle of El Alamein II and the repulsion of the enemy from North Africa in November 1942, the threat of Nazi occupation was removed from Eretz Israel. The booklet before us is a historical testimony to how much fear permeated those days, so much so that even the young boys saw it as their duty to prepare and prepare themselves for a face-to-face war with the Nazi enemy in the Land of Israel.
[16] pages. One page at the end, and back cover may be missing. Good condition.
