ICA's
interest in Palestine, which dated from 1896, first took the form of help to
farmers of settlements recently founded (such as Rehovot, Nes Ziona, etc.). From
1900, the Association took charge of the administration of the colonies set up
by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, at the same time establishing a few settlements
of its own. New land for cultivating was purchased every year, and by 1921, the
population of the settlements in Palestine administered by ICA had risen to
about 11,000. In 1924, PICA (The Palestine Jewish Colonization Association) was
created and took over the work. ICA resumed activities in Palestine in 1933,
when it formed the Emica Association in conjunction with the Emergency Fund for
Palestine, which had been founded following the Arab riots of 1929. Emica's
first activity was the establishment of two moshavim, Beer Tuvia and Kfar
Warburg, and the preparation of the great project for the draining of the
malarial Huleh swamps, which, after the establishment of the State, was taken
over by the JNF.
In
1955, by which time Emica's finances were being provided exclusively by ICA, the
name of the Emica Association was changed to the Jewish Colonization Association
(ICA) in Israel. The Association continued to establish new settlements, now in
cooperation with the Jewish Agency.
In 1960, a program for the consolidation of 21 settlements In the Beer
Tuvia-Lachish area was put into operation by ICA.
By
1974, ICA was working with a similar number of settlements in Galilee, helping
them to overcome the handicaps of hilly terrain and scarcity of cultivable land.
In recent years, the Association has also turned its attention to the Arava,
where it has joined the Jewish Agency in establishing eight new settlements.
Since
the establishment of the State of Israel, ICA has assisted in the founding,
extension or consolidation of 72 moshavim and kibbutzim, and continued to
facilitate their further development, where needed, through such measures as
development loans and credit for revolving capital.
ICA
has also assisted in the education of children in rural areas as well as in the
education of underprivileged children in the towns, chiefly by developing
facilities in agricultural boarding and rural regional schools. In the past, it
has made grants and loans to educational Institutions for a variety of purposes.
Most projects were carried out in conjunction with the Department for
Agricultural Education of the Ministry of Education and Culture, and some
jointly with WIZO, NA'AMAT and regional councils.
ICA is taking part in financing selected agricultural research projects aimed at
the development of crops and technologies in Galilee and the Negev.
The
Association's governing body, the Council, consists of representatives from
Jewish communities and organizations In England, France, Belgium and Israel,
together with a number of elected members from these countries as well as from
the U.S.A.
Today,
the Jewish Colonization Association is doing again what it did at its beginning,
helping Jews to become farmers in a free country, but this time in a country of
their own.