1935 Brawer Zionist Map of Tel Aviv during the Fifth Aliyah

A rare Zionist Hebrew language Abraham Jacob Brawer map of Tel Aviv, Israel, dated to 1935, just one year after Tel Aviv became an independent municipality separate of Jaffa. The map illustrates early development of the new Jewish city north of old Jaffa in response to housing demands associated with the Fifth Aliyah. Development of blocks, lands owned by the National Jewish Fund, the growing street grid, and public transportation networks. It even notes the placement of donated trees! Forty-seven important buildings are numbered and correspond to a table on the right side of the map.

Tel Aviv and Fifth Aliyah

Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 as a residential area by Yishuv Jews (Jews living in Israel under Ottoman Syria). From the beginning it was intended to be a new modern city in the 'garden city' model then prevalent. Wide swathes of land were acquired by the National Jewish Fund and other organizations for primarily Jewish settlement. The rise of the Third Reich in Germany led to a new wave of Ashkenazi Jewish immigration to Israel - the Fifth Aliyah - much of which settled in Tel Aviv, leading to the explosive urban chronicled on this map. By 1930, the population of Tel Aviv exceeded the population of old Jaffa port. It was formally declared a separate municipality in 1934, just one year before this map was published.

Publication History and Census

This map was surveyed by Ben Nissam (מודד) and issued by Abraham Jacob Brawer, the father of Israeli cartography, in 1935. The map is rare. We note just one other example, located in the Central Zionist Archives.