Imitation or original? Shaping the cultural landscape of pioneer Jewish settlement in Eretz Israel (1882-1914)

The beginning of rural planning of the Jewish settlements in Eretz Israel* was always related to the well known kibbutz and moshav types of settlement. Yet, during the first 40 years of this settlement process, another type of settlement dominated the Jewish activity in the land. It was the moshava - the Hebrew term for village. The moshava (pl. moshavot) was based on private ownership of land, and on the family as the unit of production and consumption. The moshavot made a Jewish imprint on the landscape, by creating a unique form of settlement, by original dwellings and by many public institutions. The process of shaping the cultural landscape of the moshavot is described in this paper, in order the place them properly in the history of Jewish settlements in Eretz Israel.