Abstract
The history and identity of Israel is incomplete without its local heritage. While its importance is admitted, there is still a clear preference for preservation of monuments connected with historic events, of outstanding structures, and of ancient sites related to glorious historical events. An example of the neglect which is the lot of local heritage are the remains of the Mordechai Farm, established in 1935 to the south of the Ayanot agricultural school and to the west of Highway 42. It was established in memory of the brother of Yitzhak Volcani, Mordechai Eliezer Volcani, who directed the field crops department of the agricultural experimental station — at first in Ben-Shemen and then in Rehovot — and had passed away that year. It was intended to serve as an experimental farm for the advancement of agricultural settlement in the northern part of the southern coastal plain, to the west of the veteran colonies (all of them cities today) of Gedera, Rehovot, Nes Ziona, and Rishon Le-zion. What makes the Mordechai Farm unique is the story of its establishment, the persons involved, the recollections of those who lived and worked there, and the value system it reflected. The objective of this article is to arouse interest and encourage research, in the hope that in their wake some persons or institutions will give such historical remnants the interest and attention they deserve.
Translated title of the contribution | Relics tell a tale: the case of the Mordechai Farm |
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Original language | Hebrew |
Pages (from-to) | 118-128 |
Journal | Cathedra: For the History of Eretz Israel and Its Yishuv |
Volume | 138 |
State | Published - 2009 |