Planting Eucalyptus Trees in the New Settlements in Nineteenth- to Twentieth-Century Palestine as Reflected in Rabbinic Documents

I

In the new Jewish moshavot in Palestine (nineteenth to twentieth centuries), eucalyptus trees were used for the wood industry, to drain swamps, to give shade and block the wind, and to delineate fields in order to prevent trespassing. Rabbis dealt with two issues concerning eucalyptus trees: (A) whether they could be planted during a shmita (sabbatical year when planting is forbidden) in order to drain swamps and eradicate malaria, or to delineate lands owned by Jewish pioneers and thus prevent trespassing by Arab neighbors; and (B) the consideration of ecological regulations aimed at preventing the damage caused by the large trees and their roots to the settlers’ homes and fields.

Eucalyptus trees were brought to Palestine beginning in the early 1860s. At that time attempts were made to grow eucalyptus trees from seeds sent from the botanical gardens in Victoria, Australia, to the British Consul in Jerusalem. The first seeds were probably of the Eucalyptus globulus, called “Blue Gum” in Australia. They were brought to Palestine under different circumstances than those commonly assumed. At first they were brought for forestation purposes and to serve as shade trees and wind breaks rather than to drain swamps.¹ In fact, however, Eucalyptus globulus proved to be unsuitable given the climate of Palestine and many attempts to acclimate it failed.

A second attempt to introduce the eucalyptus in Palestine was made in the 1880s. Some E. globulus seeds were brought in 1882 and 1883 from Tasmania to the American Colony in Jerusalem, and from there they were sent to Charles (Karl) Netter at Mikve Israel.² A year later, Netter brought seedlings of E. camaldulensis, apparently from Algiers, and this species caught on well and served as a basis for subsequent plantings. Until the present day this remains the common eucalyptus species in Israel.³ It is clear that despite the major role of E. camaldulensis in draining swamps and purifying the air, it was conceived at an early stage as a source of wood for many different usages, for instance as an industrial raw material (for the manufacture of tools, railway sleepers, and telegraph poles) and as fuel (to heat homes or for boilers and train engines). ⁴

II

Draining swamps using eucalyptus trees

Extensive planting of eucalyptus trees is associated with the major endeavor of establishing Jewish agricultural settlements (moshavot) in the coastal plains and valleys of Palestine during the nineteenth century.⁵ The land purchased by the first Jewish settlers, on which they founded their settlements, was second-rate, peripheral, and unsuitable for agricultural and residential purposes. The plots were located in the vicinity of swamps (Petach Tikva, Hadera), on sandy land (for example, Rishon Lezion, Nes Ziona, and Rehovot), on rocky ground (Zichron Yaakov), as well as on plateaus with little access to water (in the Golan). The question is: What was the rationale underlying these problematic purchases?

Yehoshua Ben Aryeh mentioned several reasons why certain geographical areas were chosen for the Jewish settlements: (A) The Arabs considered these lands inferior and untillable, as the best land for Arab villages was hilly land, and particularly inner drained valleys, terraces, and soft chalky soil on the hillsides. These lands absorbed considerable amounts of rain during the winter and even managed to retain some moisture in the summer season. Naturally, therefore, the peripheral lands were those offered for sale and their price was relatively low. (B) The first settlements were usually established in the vicinity of previous sites of Jewish settlement and centers of economic activity. (C) Priority was given to purchasing large blocks of land rather than to land already occupied, in the most part by Arabs, such as the Jerusalem area⁶

Major planting of trees was effected mainly in the last decade of the nineteenth century in Hadera, Petach Tikva, and Rosh Pina, and subsequently all over the country. The trees were planted to drain swamps that served as the habitat of the Anopheles mosquito, a major malaria vector. However, it was later discovered that the swamps in these areas were effectively...