Bilu

Bilu (Hebrew: ביל"ו ) is a Hebrew acronym for a verse from the Book of Isaiah ( 2:5 ): " O house of Jacob, goes, let's get us!" - " Beit Yaakov Lekhu Ve - nelkha ". It refers to a group of Jewish idealists who wanted to settle in Eretz Israel in order to found a Jewish homeland.

The wave of pogroms in Russia in the years 1881-1884 and the anti-Semitic " May Laws " of 1882, the. Under Tsar Alexander III were issued, caused the mass emigration of Russian Jews. More than two million Jews fled 1881-1920, most of which went to the U.S.. However, some opted to emigrate to Israel; this one called later than the first aliyah.

The first group of Biluim was formed in 1882 by 14 former university students from Kharkov and arrived in July in Palestine, which was still a province of the Ottoman Empire at that time. In the same month they founded Rishon LeZion ( "First to Zion " ) as an agricultural cooperative on the abgekauften areas of the Arab village Eyun Kara. There, however, there was not enough fresh water and within a few months had the most threatened by hunger, leave the cooperative.

They turned to Baron Edmond James de Rothschild with a request for help, and he provided them with funds for establishment of a wine industry in Palestine. In 1886, the construction of Rishon -Le- Zion winery, from which later developed the still existing Carmel wineries began.

With the help of the Rothschilds Biluim Zichron Yaakov also founded. In 1884, eight members of the group name in Gederah was offered.

There is also the Kfar Bilu moshavim south of Tel Aviv (1933 founded the 50th anniversary of the Bilu movement) and Talme Bilu in the northern Negev ( founded in 1953 for 70th anniversary )