Israel Harel Recalls Mobilizing Leading Israeli Intellectuals for West Bank Settlement Movement

Israel Harel, founder of the Yesha Council and the journal 'Nekuda,' recounts his role in rallying prominent Israeli cultural figures of the last century to support the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria. His reflections are part of the Heritage Ministry and the Council for the Preservation of Heritage Sites in Israel's project "Documentation of Pioneers and Founders of the Settlements," which aims to preserve the stories of early settlers across regions including the Jordan Valley, Judea, Samaria, Benjamin, the Golan Heights, and the Galilee.

Harel describes how, after the 1948 war, he wrote about the critical need to bring hundreds of thousands of immigrants to Israel and emphasized the importance of the Immigration Ministry. This article caught the attention of Eliezer Livneh, a Mapai intellectual, who invited Harel to join a group of leading poets and writers such as Nathan Alterman, Haim Gouri, Moshe Shamir, and Uri Zvi Greenberg in founding the "Movement for a Complete Land of Israel."

Despite initial surprise, Harel quickly became a key activist. He recalls the intense discussions around recruiting members, including a notable meeting at Tel Aviv's Café Cassit with Alterman and others. Harel also attempted to include younger writers Amos Oz and A.B. Yehoshua, but Alterman rejected this, citing generational rivalries that later contributed to an ideological opposition to the Greater Israel idea. Harel notes that most founders of the movement were from the Labor movement and helped the Gush Emunim bloc gain influence within the government, which was also dominated by Labor figures.

The full interview is available as part of the "The Pioneers" series documenting the establishment of Israeli settlements.