Description:

Jewish American Female Angeleno Purchases Land in Mandatory Palestine

A 2pp retained copy of a land contract authorizing the sale of a parcel of land in British-controlled Mandatory Palestine through the auspices of the New York-based real estate corporation Migdal Garden Villa, Inc. September 3, 1925, [Los Angeles, California.] The double-sided document, No. 578-1024-1025, is partially printed and partially typed with several manuscript notations in English and Hebrew. It is unsigned and marked "Duplicate" verso. Expected wear including paper folds, a few isolated wrinkles, and a staple. Else near fine. 9.25" x 15."

This contract stated that Lena Greenberg of Los Angeles, California purchased approximately .77 acres of land (3220 square meters or 33810 square feet) in Migdal, Mandatory Palestine for $505. Migdal was located in the Northern District of Mandatory Palestine about 60 km east of Haifa. It was near the resort area of Tiberias on the shores of a massive freshwater lake, the Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Kinnareth. This area of modern day Israel was originally settled by Russian Jews around 1920. Greenberg's land parcel was part of a community being built by an American real estate firm called Migdal Garden Villa, Inc.

In late July 1924, American Jewish diaspora newspapers reported that ground had been broken on the site of the Migdal Garden Villa complex. Its twelve cottages, complete with orchards, would become the nucleus of a settlement that would include a water reservoir, electric plant, and hotel by 1926. The July 25, 1924 issue of the "Ohio Jewish Chronicle" noted the transnational nature of the Migdal Garden Villa, Inc. project: the land was owned by American Jews; the American builder had recently immigrated to Palestine; the homes were made of Palestinian bricks produced at an American-owned brick factory.

Historian Joseph B. Glass, in his monograph "From New Zion to Old Zion: American Jewish Immigration and Settlement in Palestine, 1917-1939" (Detroit: Wayne State University, 2002) demonstrates that the early settlement at Migdal Garden Villa, comprised of 12 original households, would grow exponentially over the next few years. Glass's research shows that in 1932 at Migdal Garden Villa, 8 American Jews owned land parcels of between 5-20 dunams (1 dunam equals about 1/4 of an acre); and 205 American Jews--including Lena Greenberg--owned land of between 1-3 dunams.

It is uncertain whether Lena Greenberg remained in her 3rd Avenue home in southwestern Los Angeles or immigrated to Mandatory Palestine to enjoy her land parcel in the Migdal Garden Villa settlement. 10 of 12 of the original Migdal Garden Villa landowners were absentee. There was no Jewish neighborhood per se in Los Angeles during the period from 1900 to 1926, but the city had attracted about 65,000 Jews by the mid-1920s.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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September 28, 2022 10:30 AM EDT
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$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
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$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
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