Kindergarten in Ein Harod
Kibbutzim—their childcare facilities included—were organized as collectives. Nurturing the young invariably features prominently in nation-building efforts. Established in 1921, Ein Harod, located 25 km southeast of Nazareth, close to Mount Gilboa, was apioneering kibbutz and for many years home to one of the largest kibbutz associations, Hakibbutz Hame’uhad (United Kibbutz, established in 1927). It sought to foster kibbutzim combining the advantages of rural and urban existence and offering an ambitious intellectual and cultural life. Ein Harod created one of the first art museums—and the first purpose-built museum—in the Yishuv. Overseen for many years by the painter Haim Atar (1902–1953), it focussed on avantgarde rather than folk art. Its purpose-built premises were erected during the War of Independence—indicating how doggedly the project was pursued even at times of crisis. It houses works—often rescued before the Germans could loot them—by Jozef Israëls, Szmul Hirszenberg, Max Lieberman, Leonid Pasternak, Hermann Struck and Ephraim Moshe Lilien. The museum, which has since been enlarged, exists to this day.
Published by Pinhassowitz & Schwartz, Tel-Aviv (Palestine). Made in Austria.
Postcard from the book: Jews in Old Postcards and Prints