ABSTRACT
The wave of immigration into Palestine in the early twenties of the present century, emanating mainly from Poland, brought a considerable number of settlers belonging to the so-called middle-class. According to the classification conventional in Israel, farm-owners in the ‘moshavot’ are included in the category of ‘private settlers’, as distinct from ‘kibbutzim’ and the ‘moshavim’ which together comprise the ‘workers’ settlements’. The Jewish Agency for Palestine created a special Division of its Settlement Department, the function of which was to foster middle-class settlement on the land. The absorption of new settlers in the existing villages has facilitated the integration of the former in their new way of life, and has accelerated the pace of agricultural development. The middle-class co-operative settlements constitute a distinct segment of Israel’s agricultural economy. New middle-class villages in the Bashit area have been proclaimed a region block, with a District Council exercising jurisdiction in the economic and cultural spheres.
