The dominance of nucleation: The Jewish experience in the early phase of Jewish settlement

The dominance of the nucleated pattern among Jewish settlement in Palestine is not merely the outcome of central planning. The early colonies, established between 1882 and 1914, were already nucleated, although there was some experimentation with other patterns. The main type of settlement established in this period, with which the present study deals, was the moshava. This freeholder family-farm village was strongly nucleated, and practically all the types which were created after it reveal the impact of its nucleted spatial plan. The attempts to establish dispersed private farms were few, but, even so, their owners resided within the existing moshavot. They were not, therefore, seperate settlements. Publicly funded training farms were also set-up, and an early, unsuccessful, attempt to establish a cooperative farm also dates to this period. But these were also not "genuine settlements". There were, in addition, a number of workers' quarters which were attached to plantation centers or worker settlements attached to existing moshavot. All these settlement types tended to be nucleated. The discussion of the reasons for the dominance of nucleation is based on an analysis of documents and other sources of the 1882-1914 period. The factors are cultural, communal, and ideological as well as economic. The need for grouping together was stimulated by security and religious needs, but also by lack of experience and insufficient familiarity with the land and its political system. Other factors were the intricate tenurial regulations and farm land use strategies. The availability of adequate documentation for this case provides a fairly unique opportunity for understanding the process of pattern formation.