Historical Background and Interviews
III. A New Beginning A New Beginning
of world Jewry, and increased it to 45 percent of the reservoir of likely immigrants to Israel.” 1 The Yemenites arrived first, with assistance from Israel in the form of Operation Magic Carpet. They were followed in quick succession by massive airlifts and other operations carrying Jews from Iraq (Operation Ali Baba), Libya, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, and Iran. “In the eighteen months following the Declaration of Inde- pendence, 340,000 Jews arrived in Israel.... During the Mandate, the rate of immigration had averaged 18,000 a year. During the first three years of statehood, the average reached 18,000 a month.... Between May 15, 1948, and June 30, 1953, the Jewish population of the country doubled.” 2 Immediately, of course, there was a housing and employment crisis. New refugees were provided with housing in abandoned Arab neighborhoods and in the few remaining British barracks, most of which had been systematically destroyed by the British before their departure, but this filled up quickly. Sha’ar HaAli - yah was turned into a tent city and other tent cities were erected. Newcomers had no work, and there was little social continuity. Dispersing and integrating them into the country and finding work for them were huge challenges; only a small percentage of the new immigrants had professional training. Inflation hit the country hard, and there were severe shortages of staples; in response, the government instituted austerity measures, including the rationing of clothing and food, between 1949 and 1951. Despite the obsta- cles and the suffering, however, “by the end of its first decade, Is - rael was feeding itself in the key staples of dairy products, poultry, vegetables, and fruit.” 3 Today, some of the well-established kibbutzim have maintained their size and lifestyle. With about twelve hundred members, Ya- gur is still one of the largest kibbutzim in Israel. Its combination of agriculture, industry, and members’ outside incomes has contin- ued to be effective and has eased its transition into the twenty-first century. Yagur admits a new group of immigrants every four years,
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