1965 Jewish National Fund Hebrew-Language Map of Northern Israel

A scarce, remarkable work of persuasive cartography, this 1965 map with accompanying text and photographs was published by the Jewish National Fund (JNF). It advocates Zionist settlement in the Galilee region, a frontline in the frozen Arab-Israeli conflict that would again see large-scale fighting soon afterward in the Six-Day War.

A Closer Look

The sheet includes a map of Galilee and its environs, text, and photographs. The map displays settlements, including cities, towns, and kibbutzim, as well as roads, railways, waterways, elevation, and international and administrative boundaries. The text at the top discusses the 'Galilee Project' (מפעל הגליל) of the JNF, that is, encouraging settlement there, as well as facts and figures about the region. The larger text at the top-right and bottom is more overtly propagandistic, celebrating the occupation of Galilee (נכבוש שפפות הגליל) and proclaiming it as a homeland or motherland (במולדת) for the Jewish people.

At right are a series of photographs, including Mount Hazon (הר חזון), the Biranit Border Settlement (בירנית), agricultural work in Zar'it (זַרְעִית), and the early construction of Yodfat (יוֹדְפַת) in Lower Galilee. The Biranit and Yodfat photographs, in particular, reflect the tension and precarity of life on the frontier of the State of Israel, where military training was part and parcel of daily life.

The Galilee Project

Both before and after the Six-Day War (discussed below), the JNF raised funds to settle Jews in Galilee, known variously as the Galilee Project or Central Galilee Project. As far back as the 1930s, when the British indicated that the region might (but was not guaranteed to) end up in a Jewish zone under potential partition plans, the JNF focused on funding travel and settlement in the region (the United Nations partition plan, on the other hand, awarded much of Galilee to the Palestinians). After 1948, funding from abroad advocated greater Jewish settlement in the region; for instance, a November 5, 1963, brief from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency notes that the British wing of the JNF, at its annual conference, called for donations totaling ₤1,000,000 for settlement projects in Galilee. The Israeli government also helped fund and facilitate these efforts and similar settlement drives by the Jewish Agency, aiming to 'Judaize Galilee' and prevent the region from becoming an Arab sixth column within the State of Israel.

Wider Context

Galilee was somewhat distinct in the early decades of the Arab-Israeli conflict because of the significant population of Palestinians there, including Christians (mostly Druze). Many but not all Palestinian populations in villages and cities fled or were expelled in 1948. (For example, Biranit and a later settlement named Hazon were built in the vicinity of the former village of al-Mansura.) However, some 160,000 Arabs remained in Galilee after 1948, presenting a thorny problem for the State of Israel, which responded with policies designed to convince (or force) them to emigrate, among which were land confiscations. At the same time, the Palestinian movement pinned hopes on Galilee as buttressing claims for a right of return, while its proximity to Jordan and Syria made it an opportune battleground for continued armed resistance.

After 1948, Syrian forces sometimes shelled kibbutzim near the border in Galilee, and tensions remained high. In the years and months preceding this map's publication, Syria attempted to use tractors to redirect the Jordan River near Dan (דן in the extreme northwest of Galilee and Israel) and deprive the kibbutzim of water resources. In response, Israeli tanks targeted the tractors, and brief military clashes, known collectively as the 'Water War,' ensued.

Galilee During the 1967 Six-Day War

Though Syria did not initially plan to join the 1967 Six-Day War, the country's military mistakenly believed that Egyptian forces had achieved great success against the Israelis and were poised for an attack on Tel Aviv. The Syrian military hastily prepared attacks that made little headway, while Israeli jets counter-attacked Syrian airfields and destroyed some two-thirds of the Syrian Air Force on June 5. With the Israelis maintaining near total air superiority, in addition to a lack of planning and preparation, the Syrian offensive was a non-starter.

The Israelis then considered whether to attack the Golan Heights, a source of constant annoyance (namely Syrian artillery). However, the attack was expected to be difficult, charging uphill at a fortified enemy. Moreover, the Israelis were concerned about Soviet intervention. But these concerns subsided, and the Israelis launched on June 9-10. The result was intense close-quarters fighting, which saw the Israelis victorious, resulting in the still-controversial occupation of the Golan Heights.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared and published by the Jewish National Fund's Department of Education and Youth (המחלקה לחינוך ולנוער) in 1965 (תשכ'ה). It was printed by Offset 'Ziv' (אופסט זיו). The map is quite rare, with its only known institutional holding at the National Library of Israel (the OCLC includes a listing with no institutions noted, most likely a reference to the NLI example).