.On Friday 12/30/2022,a tour of the American-German colony in Jaffa-Tel Aviv, an old Part of the city. was organized under the guidance of our friend Shosh Itzhaki-Cohen.

We visited one of the most fascinating and intriguing colonies in the history of Jaffa. The American-German Colony was established in the middle of the 19th century by American settlers from the state of Maine in the USA. In 1866, members of the “Community of Messiah” arrived, numbering 157 settlers imbued with Protestant Christian religious faith. At the head was a charismatic priest and former actor – George Adams. He convinced the members of his congregation that their settlement in the land would pave the way for the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, bring back Jesus and bring salvation.

They arrived in a ship loaded with a lot of equiעדent that included wooden houses, disassembled for construction, agricultural equiעדent and more. But the attempt to settle encountered many difficulties which included diseases and deaths, bureaucratic difficulties and internal conflicts. They were forced to leave two years later, leaving behind 10 wooden houses and a luxurious hotel.

The houses were purchased from them by other settlers, who were already in Israel earlier in Haifa, the Templar community that came from Germany, they also came to Israel for religious reasons and asked to establish agricultural colonies here that would be a model for the local residents at that time. They renovated and expanded the abandoned colony, adding public buildings and a church. That is why it was also called the German colony. With the rise of Nazi rule in Germany, and the revelations of the Templars’ identification with the regime, they were expelled from the country by the British mandate that ruled the country at the time.
These two communities left behind a neglected abandoned colony, which underwent restoration and renovation and today is a coveted gem in Jaffa Tel Aviv.
We saw the beautiful houses in American and German styles, Beit Emanuel hostel and church, the community center, Maine Friendship House, …