Greetings:

Just a few quick corrections to Guest Hugo.

The first modern Zionist settlement in Palestine was Rishon Le-Zion, founded in 1882 on land owned by Tzvi Leventine -- a Jew, not an Arab or Turk -- and puchased from him by a committee of Jewish immigrants who had arrived in Jaffa that year. Edmond James de Rothschild, the French philanthropist, entered the picture four years later, when the settlement was floundering, and he gave it much needed financial and organizational support. This included helping the settlers develop citrus growing and wine making industries.

Rishon Le-Zion was not "disguised" as an agricultural setup; it was an agricultural setup. Thanks to Rothschild's early support, and thanks even more to the courage and determination of its early settlers, Rishon Le-Zion is now Israel's fourth largest city.

The name Rishon Le-Zion literally means "First to Zion," and comes from Isaiah 41:27. To wit: The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

--- Steve