The Peace Crusade

During the 19th century, after centuries of neglect, Palestine was thriving. The contribution of the masses of Jewish immigrants of the First Aliya in 1882 to this process is well known. Less known are the various Christian initiatives which, in some cases, preceded the First Aliya. The motivation of many of these Christians was religious, based on the belief that the return of Jews to the Holy Land would hasten the coming of The Kingdom of Heaven.

Of the 5000 European Christians (and a few Americans) who worked for this aim in Palestine until the outbreak of the First World War, at least half were Germans. Their contribution to rebuilding the land, known as The Peace Crusade, was very substantial. The communal centre of the Templars, the first building constructed by the German settlers in Palestine in 1869, today the Haifa City Museum, is clear expression of that contribution.

The exhibition included a variety of items and historical documents concerning the ten main German groups working in Palestine in the 19th century.
Acknowledgements:
An exhibition under the combined auspices of the Gottlieb Schumacher Institute of Haifa University and the University of Basel.