Oranges

The citrus industry in Palestine became prominent the local economy in the 18^th century. In the 1870's, before the first Aliyah, a significant portion of Palestine oranges was designated for export. This trend intensified with the integration of Jewish immigrants into the agriculture. In 1890, representatives of the Baron de Rothschild became prominent in the plantation of orange groves, and became the economic core of many of the colonies supported by the Baron. In 1900, 2000 out of the 10,000 acres of orange groves in Palestine belonged to Jewish immigrants. This was also the era of the "discovery" of the Jaffa orange, whose sweet taste and unique aroma made Palestine oranges popular the world over.

During the British Mandate, the citrus industry continued to grow. In 1938 orange export stood for 84% of all local export. 110,000 of the 500,000 Jews of Palestine worked in the industry.

With the entrance of new competitors into the citrus market, such as Spain, and following the adoption of other industries in Israel, Israeli oranges lost their prominence in the market. But as is often the case with fields that lose their position in the physical world, their position in the symbolic world rose. The growing of the "Golden Orange" became the symbol of the flourishing of the "new Jew" in Palestine, sturdy and suntanned as he was from working the land, and the orange groves became engraved in the communal memory, as the landscapes of childhood, before concrete monsters ruled the earth.