Between the Galilee and its neighbouring isle: Jules Rosenheck and the JCA settlements in Cyprus, 1897-1928

The Jewish Colonization Association organized Jewish rural settlements at the beginning of the twentieth century all over the world. Its colonization effort in Cyprus, although minor and doomed is nevertheless important, as it is widely documented and thus helps to understand essential dynamics and conceptions of the JCA administration.The present article is based on a report prepared by Jules Rosenheck, a high official of JCA in nearby Palestine, where the JCA's activity was much more intensive. Rosenheck's report reviews a wide scope of local characteristics, from agricultural techniques to medical conditions. On the human scale, it gives a thorough introspection of pettiness and generosity, thriftiness as well as laziness and carelessness. Moreover, the report exposes in detail the inner logic of the JCA, and through it of philanthropie associations in general at that period, about management, technical and agricultural as well as personal. It also contributes to a better understanding of the JCA's conceptions concerning its Palestinian settlements, as Rosenheck refers to them constantly.