Heroes in search of homes: housing demobilized soldiers in early statehood Jerusalem

ABSTRACT

The housing shortage faced by demobilized soldiers after the 1948 War was especially grave in Jerusalem, where they had to compete with refugees, immigrants, and civil servants over abandoned properties. Public construction of new homes for them in the city was belated, limited, and slow when compared to other localities in Israel. Despite public sympathy and institutional aid, organizational circumstances and political considerations resulted in a solution for some, yet no affordable and timely solution for all. The prioritization of various groups of home seekers often sidelined demobilized soldiers, highlighting the erratic nature of Jerusalem’s postwar repopulation process and the spatial manifestations of social capital.

KEYWORDS:

• Demobilized soldiers
• Jerusalem
• social capital
• 1948 war

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Bourdieu, The Forms of Capital, 93–111; Dreher, The Social Construction of Power, 53–68.

2. Bourdieu, The Forms of Capital, 101.

3. Naor, “The 1948 War,” 47–59; Kabalo, Israeli Community Action, 250–283.

4. Golan, Shinui merhavi, 57, 72.

5. Ben-Gurion, Be-hilachem Yisrael, 8.

6. “Milyon LI ta’aleh bniyat ha-kirya bi-Yerushalayim [The Construction of the New Jerusalem Neighborhood will Cost a Million Liras],” Al Ha-Mishmar, April 10, 1950, 1; Ben-Gurion, Be-hilahem Yisrael, 319–320.

7. Kabalo, Israeli Community Action, 3.

8. Koller, Yosef Gurion, 159–161, 164–165, 169–170; Daniel, Be-darkei shikum, 42.

9. “Bikur be-merkazei ha-shikum [A Visit to the Rehabilitation Centers],” Al Ha-Mishmar, December 24, 1948, 2; The Regional Office in Jerusalem of the Ministry of War Casualties, Nizkey milhama, 8.

10. David Ben-Gurion, diary entry, January 3 and 4, 1949, the Ben-Gurion Archive [hereinafter: BGA]; Daniel, Be-darkei shikum, 32; Eldar, Abraham Ziegel, 28.

11. David Ben-Gurion, diary entry, February 10, 1949 and May 20, 1949, BGA.

12. Rivlin and Prath, David Ben-Gurion, pages not numbered.

13. Jewish Agency Executive meeting, February 7, 1949], BGA, item 227639; Ma’ariv, April 17, 1949. For an overview of authorities’ suspicion toward an association set up by veteran overseas volunteers (Mahal), which among other things was to help veterans with housing, see Kabalo, Israeli Community Action, 278–280.

14. “Ha-tokhnit le-shikum ha-hayalim (skira),” 16–21.

15. Naor, “The 1948 War,” 50.

16. Segev, 1949, 152; Defense Committee meeting, January 14, 1949, Israel State Archive [hereinafter: ISA], ISA-Knesset-ForeigDefeCommittee-001f3sx.

17. “Hok ha-hayalim ha-meshuhrarim bifnei ha-knesset [The Knesset to Vote on the Veterans’ Law],” Ha-Tzofe, March 22, 1949, 1.

18. “Rak 1600 hayalim meshuhrarim nirshemu betor zkukim le-diyur [Only 1600 Soldiers have Registered as Elligible for Housing],” Haaretz, May 29, 1949, 4.

19. Reshumut [Official Gazette], no. 13, The Law for the Protection of the Soldier (Apartment), Chapter A, July 1, 1949, https://main.knesset.gov.il/activity/legislation/laws/pages/lawbill.aspx?t=lawreshumot&lawitemid=147323 (accessed October 11, 2020); Naor, “The 1948 War,” 50.

20. “Hok tfisat nehasim yakel al shikun olim ve-hayalim meshuhrarim [The Assets’ Seizure Law Will Help Immigrants and Veterans Get Housing],” Davar, July 6, 1949, 1.

21. Shilo to Ben-Gurion, April 4, 1950, ISA, G-5471/10 (in this document, Shilo refers to Ben-Gurion’s order of September 1948, but this is most probably a typing error).

22. “Tusar herpat ha-azuva me-ha-hayal ha-meshuhrar be-shetah ha-shikun [Let Us Remove the Shame of Squalor from Veterans in Housing],” Ha-Tzofe, November 8, 1949, 2.

23. Annals of the Ninety-First Session of the First Knesset Plenum, November 29, 1949, https://fs.knesset.gov.il/1/Plenum/1_ptm_250213.pdf (accessed October 11, 2020).

24. “Metzukat meshuhrarim hasrei gag [The Plight of Unhoused Veterans],” Haaretz, February 8, 1950, 2.

25. “Ha-hayal ha-meshuhrar ba-hityashvut [The Settlement of Veterans],” Ba-Mahane, June 8, 1950, 10; David Ben-Gurion, diary entry, May 31, 1949, and May 28, 1950, BGA; Naor, “The 1948 War,” 50–51.

26. Koller, Yosef Gurion, 162; Defense Committee meeting, January 14, 1949, ISA, ISA-Knesset-ForeigDefeCommittee-001f3s×; “Ha-memshala mesakemet pe’ulot ha-shikum, ko’ah adam, refu’a ve-yahalomim [A Summary of the Government’s Action in regard to Housing, Manpower, and Medicine and Diamonds],” Ha-Boker, September 11, 1951, 4.

27. Drin (Drabkin), Housing in Israel, 90.

28. Swenarton, Homes Fit for Heroes, 1, 112.

29. Aalen, Homes for Irish Heroes, 305–307.

30. Vale, From the Puritans, 15, 99, 241–243; von Hoffman, “Housing and Planning,” 235–236.

31. “Tohniot ha-memshala le-klitat hayalim meshuhrarim [The Government’s Plans for the Absorption of Veterans],” Ha-Mashkif, October 1, 1945, 4; “Ha-shikun ha-amami be-Eretz Yisrael – ba’ayotav ve-hesegav [Popular Housing in the Land of Israel – Its Problems and Achievements],” Yediot Iriyat Tel Aviv, February 15, 1948, 17; Defense Committee meeting, January 14, 1949, ISA, ISA-Knesset-ForeigDefeCommittee-001f3s×.

32. Zalman Lavon, “Shikun be-medinat yisrael [Housing in the State of Israel],” July 15, 1948, Labor Party Archive [hereinafter: LPA], 2-004-1948-204.

33. “Eegeret la-hayalim [Letter to Soldiers],” no. 3, January 10, 1949, LPA, 2-002-1949-55b.

34. Meeting of Mapai Members Presiding in the Knesset’s Economic Committees, December 7, 1949, LPA, 2 -01101949-4.

35. Golan, Shinui merhavi, 123.

36. ”1000 dirot le-hayalim meshuhrarim [1000 Apartments for Veterans],” Haaretz, June 28, 1949, 2.

37. “Ha-memshala mesakemet pe’ulot ha-shikum, ko’ah adam, refu’a ve-yahalomim,” Ha-Boker, September 11, 1951, 4; Drin (Drabkin), Housing in Israel, 90–91.

38. Ben-Gurion, Be-hilachem Yisrael, 339.

39. “Meshahrerei Yerushalaim tov’im karka le-shikunam [The Liberators of Jerusalem Demand Land for Housing],” Ha-Boker, November 21, 1951, 3.

40. Central Bureau of Statistics, Mirsham ha-toshavim; Schmelz, “Ha-uchlusia ha-Yehudit,” 135.

41. “Be-makot gersha ha-mishtara olim ve-hayalim me-binyan [The Police Used Violence to disperse Immigrants and Veterans],” Al Ha-Mishmar, September 1, 1950, 6.

42. Administration Officer of the Jerusalem District to commanders in the field, November 18, 1948, Archive of the Israel Defense Forces and the Security Establishment (hereinafter: AIDF), 111–959/1949, 19.

43. Eldar, Abraham Ziegel, 28.

44. Kabalo, Israeli Community Action, 275–276.

45. “Hukam irgun hayalim meshuhrarim be-Yerushalaim [A Veterans Organization has been Established in Jerusalem],” Kol Ha-Am, February 25, 1949, 7.

46. Naor, “The 1948 War,” 50.

47. Teperberg to the Jerusalem District Commander, the District Officer, the Jerusalem Office of the Absorption Department and the Custodian of Abandoned Property, November 4, 1949, Central Zionist Archive [hereinafter: CZA], S84/297.

48. “Ha-ir ha-atika be-katamon [The Old City in Qatamon],” Haaretz, February 28, 1953, 3.

49. “Zichron dvarim me-siha she-hitkaima ben anshey mahleket ha-klita be-mehoz Yerushalaim le-ktzinei sa’ad be-nos’ei shikun, December 15, 1948 [Memorandum of a Conversation between Personnel of the Jewish Agency’s Absorption Department in the Jerusalem District and Army Welfare Officers Regarding Housing, December 15, 1948],” CZA, S84/70/1, 80; Eliner to the Absorption Department of the Jewish Agency, January 6, 1949, CZA, S84/70/1, 34; Lufven, Ish yotze, 127–130; Yisraeli to the welfare squad by the Jerusalem City Officer, January 17, 1949, CZA, S84/311, 55.

50. Goldstein to Eliner, September 2, 1951, CZA, S84/73, 61; “Doh yeshiva im ovdey Givat Sha’ul Bet [Report on Metting with Staff at Givat Shaul B],” October 17, 1949, CZA, S84/28, 121.

51. Shilo to Friedman, February 27, 1950, ISA, GL-3061/2; Shilo to Sapir, February 23, 1950 and Shilo to Avitzur, March 22, 1950, IDFA, 7–1291/1951, 76 and 87; “Doh al ha-tipul be-hayalim meshuhrarim be-mehoz Yerushalim, March-April 1953 [Report on Treatment of Demobilized Soldiers in the Jerusalem District, March-April 1953],” CZA, S84/311, 13.

52. Custodian of Abandoned Property to the District Officer, May 8 1951, CZA, S84/147; Golan, Shinui merhavi, 43–44.

53. “Pgisha artzit shel ba’ei koah ha-snifim ba-moshavot, be-yeshuvey ha-olim ve ha-yeshuvim ha-ironi’im likrat ha-ve’ida ha-shvi’it, February 12, 1950 [Protocol of the Nationwide Meeting of Mapai Representatives in the Moshavot, Immigrant Settlements and Urban Settlements in Lieu of the Seventh Mapai Convention, February 12, 1950],” LPA, 2-021-1949-31.

54. Golan, Shinui merhavi, 66.

55. “Gilui da’at shel ha-va’ad le-nehei milhemet ha-shihrur, November 14, 1949 [Opinion Statement, Committee for Invalides of the War of Liberation, November 14, 1949],” CZA, S84/246; “150 hayalim meshuhrarim ve-nehim palshu le-dirot be-shehunat Der Abu-Tor bi-Yerushalaim [150 Veterans and Disabled Persons are Squatting in Apartments in the Abu Tor Neighborhood in Jerusalem],” Kol Ha-Am, November 15, 1949, 4; “Al ma ragshu nehei Yerushalaim? [What Has Made Disabled Persons in Jerusalem so Worked Up?],” Yedioth Aharonoth, December 16, 1949, 6.

56. “Piku’ah al rehush natush [Overseeing Abandoned Property],” Davar, January 7, 1949, 4.

57. Shilo to Friedman, February 27, 1950, ISA, GL-3061/2.

58. Shilo to Sapir, February 23, 1950, AIDF, 7–1291/1951.

59. “Din ve-heshbon al ha-bikoret ba-hevra diur le-meshuhrarei ha-milhama be’am, January 1, 1959 [Report on an Inspection of the Diyur Ex-Servicemen Housing Co. Ltd, January 1, 1959],” ISA, G-2375/34.

60. For a detailed description of the ailments of the Jerusalem Municipality in early statehood, see Brin and Charney, “Planning as Political Declaration.”

61. Hoffman to the Jerusalem City Engineer, November 26 and December 15, 1948, Jerusalem City Archive (hereinafter: JCA), 1697/4.

62. “Hukam irgun hayalim meshuhrarim be-Yerushalaim”, Kol Ha-Am, February 25, 1949, 7.

63. David Ben-Gurion, diary entry, January 28, 1951, BGA.

64. Naor, “Hazit ha-oref,” 38; Naor, “Israel’s 1948 War,” 241–243; Strachan, “Essay and Reflection,” 341–345.

65. Naor, “Hazit ha-oref,” 47.

66. The Regional Office in Jerusalem of the Ministry of War Casualties, Nizkey milhama, 8.

67. Rabinowitz, “Ha-optzia she-nishkeha,” 125–32.

68. “Ha-medina ve-Yerushalaim [The State and Jerusalem],” Davar, June 24, 1949, 2.

69. Givon to Meirson, June 26, 1950, ISA, G-6164/29.

70. Gurion to Shafrir and others, July 11, 1949, ISA, G-2375/22.

71. Gurion to Shafrir and others, October 19, 1949, ISA, G-2375/22.

72. Goldstein to Eliner, September 2, 1951, CZA, S84/73.

73. Drin (Drabkin), Housing in Israel, 91.

74. Daniel, Be-darkei shikum, 44; “Ha-memshala mesakemet pe’ulot ha-shikum, ko’ah adam, refu’a ve-yahalomim”, Ha-Boker, September 11, 1951, 4; Golan, Shinui merhavi, 123–124.

75. “Hafgana so’eret shel hayalim meshuhrarim ha-dorshim shikun be-Yerushalaim [A Turbulent Protest of Veterans Who Demand Housing in Jerusalem],” Ha-Tzofe, November 22, 1951, 4.

76. “Hayalim meshuhrarim kovlim neged ikuv haspakat homarim le-shikunam [Veterans are Protesting the Delay in Providing Material for Housing],” Herut, May 21, 1952, 2; Cohen, Yerushalayim asher katavti, 53.

77. “Tazkir shel mishtaknei shlav bet be-Yerushalaim, ‘Me’onot David’ May 11, 1952 [Memorandum of the ‘David Housing’ Phase Two Tenants, May 11, 1952],” ISA, G-2375/22.

78. “Mafginim hishbito ha-avoda be-iriat Yerushalaim [Protester have Stopped the Work in Jerusalem’s City Hall],” Ma’ariv, December 28, 1952, 3; “Nehim ve-hayalim meshuhrarim nidreshu le-ha-hpil ha-tashlum al shikunehem [Disabled Persons and Veterans were Asked to Pay Twice as Much for Their Housing],” Herut, November 5, 1957, 4.

79. “Ha-hayal ha-meshuhrar mehapes ktovet … [The Veteran Looking for an Address],” Ma’ariv, April 17, 1949, 3.

80. (Unidentified name) to the Ministry of Finance’s representative office in Jerusalem, October 5, 1949, Labor Movement Archive, 192-3-333-IV; Levine to Guttman, June 29, 1953, ISA, G-5441/24.

81. Golan, Shinui merhavi, 68–71; Krystal, “Salmat beton va-melet”, 66–67.

82. Durkheim, Suicide; Simmel, Conflict; Malešević, Nationalism; Horowitz, Tkhelet ve-avak, 46–47.

Additional information

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Eldad Brin

Eldad Brin holds a PhD in geography from the University of Haifa (2020), is a post-doctoral candidate at the university’s Herzl Institute for the Study of Zionism, co-teaches at the Hebrew University and has taught at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. His recent publications include “Not in the City, nor in the Village: Lower Lifta, 1948-1967” with Arnon Golan (Cathedra, 177, 2021, in Hebrew) and “The Limits of Symbolic Capital: The Case of Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter Evacuees in Qatamon” (Israel Studies, 27 [1], 2022).