34 / 41
abstracts
vi
geography, was often referred to in the scientific sections of various Hebrew periodicals of that
time, references that distinguished him from other contemporary scientists and researchers.
The agent who introduced Humboldt to Hebrew readers was Hayim Zelig Slonimski, the
founder and first editor of the Hebrew periodical
Ha-zefira
, and one who laid the foundations of
popular scientific writing in Hebrew. Besides the references to Humboldt in
Ha-zefira
and other
Hebrew periodicals, Slonimski wrote a book in 1858, dedicated to Humboldt, his life and his
scientific achievements.
Slonimski, himself a mathematician and physicist, gained the esteem of Humboldt as fellow
scientist, and through his editorial work managed to acquaint the traditional orthodox world of
Eastern European Jewish society with contemporary “secular” knowledge. This paper examines
the background and reasons that lead Slonimski to introduce Humboldt’s geographical work to
the Hebrew reader.
Keywords
: Alexander von Humboldt, 19
th
century Hebrew periodicals, popular science writings
in Hebrew, Haim Zelig Slonimski.
THE CEMETERIES OF KIBBUTZ EIN HAROD
Yoram Bar-Gal
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Haifa
The article examines two cemeteries and the graves of Kibbutz Ein Harod (Meuchad), located in
Jezreel Valley. The old cemetery was opened in 1921, at the foot of Gilboa mountain, and in 1938
a new cemetery was built, attached to the kibbutz residential area, after the assassination of one
of the Kibbutz leaders, Chaim Shturman, a victim of Arab terror activity. The paper discusses
the creation and changes of the cemetery landscape as a function of planning processes and
historical events. Also shown is the gradual shift of the cemetery from a marginal to central
position in the social and cultural life of the kibbutz. The cemetery can be regarded as a “history
book” of the settlement, by shedding light on one of the important principles of a socialist
kibbutz community: the value of equality, as can be derived from the study of the cemeteries.
The mapping of the graves at the Ein Harod (Meuchad) cemetery between 1921-2010,
demonstrates that the value of equality was not kept dogmatically throughout the years.
The cemetery reflects the social segregation policy which the kibbutz members adopted by
separating themselves from their parents. In cases of particular outstanding members of the
kibbutz, who where popular during their life and recognized on a national scale, the shapes
of their tombstones are extraordinary and different from those of “regular” Kibbutz members.
Keywords
: kibbutz, Kibbutz Ein Harod, cemetery, Jezreel Valley, pioneers.