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Templers (religious believers)
Encyclopedia
The Templers are sometimes confused with the unrelated Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, a Crusader
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
order.
Etymology
The word Templer is derived from the concept of the Christian Community as described in the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, see 1 Corinthians and 1 Peter , where every person and the community are seen as temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
s in which God's spirit dwells.
History
Christoph HoffmannChristoph Hoffmann
Gottlob Christoph Jonathan Hoffmann was born in Leonberg in the Kingdom of Württemberg, Germany. His parents were Beate Baumann and Gottieb Wilhelm Hoffmann , chairman of the Unitas Fratrum congregation in Korntal.Christoph Hoffmann had a Pietist-Christian background and enjoyed a Christian...
and Georg David Hardegg (1812-1879) founded the Temple Society at Kirschenhardthof near Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants...
in 1861. This religious society has its roots in the Pietism
Pietism
Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...
within the Lutheran Evangelical State Church in Württemberg. Called "Deutscher Tempel" by its founders, their aim was to promote spiritual cooperation to advance the rebuild of the Temple in the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
(Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
), in the belief that their foundation promotes the second coming of Christ. On their course to achieve that goal, their contributions towards raising the standards of agriculture, crafts, scientific research, business and building in an undeveloped province under Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
rule were significant. Many see them as an indispensable aid in the early establishment of the Yishuv
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
, and perhaps a role model for the Zionist Movement
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
of the time.
While the Lutheran state church in Württemberg condemned and fought the Templers as apostates, the Prussian Protestant position was somewhat milder. Their settlement in the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
found a warm support through Wilhelm Hoffmann (1806-1873), who was no apostate from the official church, like his younger brother Christoph. Wilhelm Hoffmann served as one of the royal Prussian
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
court preachers at the Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church in Berlin and was a co-founder and first president of Jerusalem's Association , a charitable organisation founded on 2 December 1852 to support Samuel Gobat
Samuel Gobat
Samuel Gobat , was a Swiss Lutheran who became an Anglican missionary in Africa and was the Protestant Bishop of Jerusalem from 1846 until his death....
's effort as bishop of the Anglo-Prussian Bishopric of Jerusalem
Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem
The Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem was an episcopal see founded in Jerusalem in the nineteenth century by joint agreement of the Anglican Church of England and the united Evangelical Church in Prussia.-Background:...
.
Christoph Hoffmann fell out with his fellow leader Hardegg, so that in June 1874 the Temple denomination underwent a schism
Schism (religion)
A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...
with Hardegg and about a third of the Templers seceding from the Temple Society. The schismatics around Hardegg searched to join another Christian denomination. To this end they addressed the Lutheran Church of Sweden
Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden is the largest Christian church in Sweden. The church professes the Lutheran faith and is a member of the Porvoo Communion. With 6,589,769 baptized members, it is the largest Lutheran church in the world, although combined, there are more Lutherans in the member churches of...
(1874) and the Anglican Church Missionary Society (1879), but both refused to take care of the schismatics. In 1878 Hardegg and most of the schismatics founded the Temple Association (Tempelverein), but after Hardegg's death in the following year the cohesion of its adherents faded. Then envoys of the Evangelical State Church of Prussia's older Provinces successfully proselytised among the schismatics, gaining most of them. Thus some colonies became a place of partisans of two different Christian denominations and their respective congregations (Haifa, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Sarona).
While in Germany the Templers were regarded sectarians, the Evangelical
Prussian Union (Evangelical Christian Church)
The Prussian Union was the merger of the Lutheran Church and the Reformed Church in Prussia, by a series of decrees – among them the Unionsurkunde – by King Frederick William III...
proselytes gained major financial and mental support from German Lutheran and united
United and uniting churches
United and uniting churches are churches formed from the merger or other form of union of two or more different Protestant denominations.Perhaps the oldest example of a united church is found in Germany, where the Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of Lutheran, United and Reformed...
church bodies
Landeskirche
In Germany and Switzerland, a Landeskirche is the church of a region. They originated as the national churches of the independent states, States of Germany or Cantons of Switzerland , that later unified to form modern Germany or modern Switzerland , respectively.-Origins in the Holy Roman...
. This created an atmosphere of mistrust and envy among the colonists of different denominational affiliation.
Early settlement in Palestine
Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel ; , Kármēlos; , Kurmul or جبل مار إلياس Jabal Mar Elyas 'Mount Saint Elias') is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. Archaeologists have discovered ancient wine and oil presses at various locations on Mt. Carmel...
and established a colony
German Colony, Haifa
The German Colony was established in Haifa in 1868 by the German Templers. It was the first of several colonies established by the group in the Holy Land...
there in 1868. At the time, Haifa had a population of 4,000. The Templers are credited today with promoting the development of the city. The colonists built an attractive main street that was much admired by the locals. It was 30 meters wide and planted with trees on both sides. The houses, designed by architect Jacob Schumacher
Jacob Schumacher
Jacob Schumacher was an architect and engineer who later served as a United States diplomat.Shumacher was born in Württemberg, Germany and emigrated to the United States where he resided in Zanesville, Ohio. He later emigrated to Palestine as a member of the "Tempelgesellschaft" , arriving in 1869...
, were built of stone, with red-shingled roofs, instead of the flat or domed roofs common in the region. Hard work, the harsh climate and epidemics claimed the lives of many before the colony became self-sustaining. Hardegg stayed in Haifa, while Hoffmann established colonies in Sarona near Jaffa a year later, in the Valley of Refaim Jerusalem.The Templer's first agricultural colony was Sarona
Sarona, Palestine
Sarona was a German Templer colony northeast of the city of Jaffa. It was one of the earliest modern villages established in Palestine. Today it is a neighborhood in Tel Aviv, Israel.- History :...
on the road from Jaffa to Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
. The colony's oranges were the first to carry a "Jaffa orange
Jaffa orange
The Jaffa orange, also Shamouti orange, is a sweet, almost seedless orange variety. Originally developed by Palestinian farmers in the mid-19th century, it takes its name from the city of Jaffa where it was first produced for export. It became a primary citrus export of the State of Israel...
" brand, one of the better known agricultural brands in Europe, used to market Israeli oranges to this day.
The Templers established a regular coach service between Haifa and the other cities, promoting the country's tourist industry, and made an important contribution to road construction.
Templer colonies
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. It enabled the settlers to acquire land for new settlements by offering them low interest loans. A second wave of pioneer settlers founded Wilhelma (now Bnei Atarot
Bnei Atarot
Bnei Atarot is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Yehud, around 15 kilometres east of Tel Aviv, it is situated in fertile plain at the eastern rim of Tel Aviv metropolitan area next to Ben Gurion Airport and falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council...
) in 1902 near Lod
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
, Walhalla (1903) near the original Jaffa colony, followed by Bethlehem of Galilee (1906) and Waldheim (now Alonei Abba
Alonei Abba
Alonei Abba is a moshav shitufi, or semi-cooperative village, in northern Israel. It is located in the Lower Galilee near Bethlehem of Galilee and Alonim, in the hills east of Kiryat Tivon. Alonei Abba falls under the jurisdiction of the Jezreel Valley Regional Council...
) in 1907. At its height, the Templer community in Palestine numbered 2,200.
In July and August 1918 the British sent 850 Templers to an internment camp at Helouan near Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. In April 1920, 350 of these internees were deported to Germany. All the property of the Templers of enemy nationality (thus except of that of few US citizens among them) was taken into public custodianship. With the establishment of a regular British administration in 1918 Edward Keith-Roach
Edward Keith-Roach
Edward Keith-Roach . British Colonial administrator during the British mandate on Palestine. served as the governor of Jerusalem from 1926 to 1945. Nicknamed "Pasha of Jerusalem"...
became the Public Custodian of Enemy Property in Palestine, who rented out the property and collected the rents.
In April 1920 the Allies convened at the Conference of San Remo and agreed on the British rule in Palestine, followed by the official establishment of the civil administration on 1 July 1920. From that date on Keith-Roach transferred the collected rents for property in custodianship to the actual proprietors. On June 29, 1920, the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Curzon, informed the British Upper House
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
that Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
agreed in principle to their return to Palestine.
The League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
legitimised the British administration and custodianship by granting a mandate to Britain in 1922 and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, the Ottoman successor, finally legalised the British Mandate by the Treaty of Lausanne
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
, signed on 24 July 1923 and becoming effective on 5 August 1925. Thus the public custodianship ended in the same year and the prior holders achieved the fully protected legal position as proprietors.
The Mandate government and the Public Custodian of Enemy Property paid them 50% restitution for war losses of livestock and other property. The Bank of the Temple Society, formed in 1925 with its head office in Jaffa and branches in Haifa and Jerusalem, became one of the leading credit institutions in Palestine.
Affiliation with the Third Reich
During the 1930s, when the NaziNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
party rose to power, Nazi youth movement
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
s were established in the Templer colonies. Some Templers enlisted in the German army. By 1938, 17% of the Templers in Palestine were members of the Nazi party. According to historian Yossi Ben-Artzi, "The members of the younger generation to some extent broke away from naive religious belief, and were more receptive to the Nazi German nationalism. The older ones tried to fight it."
In 1939, at the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the British authorities declared the Templers enemy nationals, placed them under arrest and deported many of them to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. During the war the British government brokered the exchange of about 1000 Templers for 550 Jews under German control. "The swap, Bauer stresses, stemmed primarily from British and German interests: Just as the British wanted to get the Germans out, Germany was happy for the chance to rid itself of a few hundred more Jews. The exchange, however, was not an even one. The number of Germans deported from Palestine was greater than the number of returning Jews." In 1962 the State of Israel paid 54 million Deutsche Marks in compensation to property owners whose assets were nationalized.
Timeline of the Temple Society
- 1861 The Temple Society was founded in south-west Germany by Christoph HoffmannChristoph HoffmannGottlob Christoph Jonathan Hoffmann was born in Leonberg in the Kingdom of Württemberg, Germany. His parents were Beate Baumann and Gottieb Wilhelm Hoffmann , chairman of the Unitas Fratrum congregation in Korntal.Christoph Hoffmann had a Pietist-Christian background and enjoyed a Christian...
(1815-1885) and others, following a split with the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg(7/10/1859) over dogmatic rituals. Plans for a move to Palestine were considered.- The centre of the new movement was from 1856 on at Kirschenhardthof, where a community hall and a school were commissioned in July that year. The community consisted of 9 properties of approximately 5ha each. It could at most accommodate 132 residents.
- Attempts by impatient members in 1867 at settlement in PalestineShimronShimron was a major city in the north of the Land of Israel, in antiquity. Shimron is mentioned in the bible by this name, and in other period sources as Shim'on. The city is identified with the tell called Tel Samunia in Arabic. The tel rises 60 meters above its surroundings, north-east of moshav...
on their own had tragic consequences. Of the 25 persons in the group who tried to settle in the north, 15 died within a year, 7 in Medjedel and 8 in Samunieh.
- 1868 Beginning of carefully planned migration of Templers to the Holy LandHoly LandThe Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
(then part of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
). Over many years urban and rural settlements with church halls and schools, and commercial, trade, farm and transport enterprises were established in a number of locations including Jerusalem, HaifaHaifaHaifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
and JaffaJaffaJaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
. - The faith and ideas of the Templers also spread to the Russian Mennonite settlement of MolotschnaMolotschnaMolotschna Colony was a Russian Mennonite settlement in what is now Zaporizhia Oblast in Ukraine. Today is called Molochansk with a population of under 10,000. The settlement is named after the Molochna River which forms its western boundary. Today the land mostly falls within the Tokmatskyi and...
where Johann Lange, former student from Württemberg, formed the Tempelhof congregation in Gnadenfeld after years of bitter controversy. - 1874 schism of the Temple Society, with a third of the members seceding and founding the Temple Association (Tempelverein) in 1878, later joining the Evangelical State Church of Prussia's older Provinces
- 1875 Publication of 'Occident und Orient, Part 1' by Christoph Hoffmann. English translation 1995 'The Temple Society and its Settlements in the Holy Land' [ISBN 0-9597489-4-6], Occident and Orient, Part 1.
- 1921 Templers who had been interned in Helouan, Egypt, towards the end of World War I returned to their settlements in Palestine, now a British Mandate. The settlements soon flourished again.
- 1939 German Templers were interned in Palestine at the outbreak of World War II.
- 1941 Over 500 Templers from Palestine were transported to Australia, where internment continued in Tatura, Victoria, until 1946-7.
- 1948 Formation of the State of Israel. Templers cannot return there, those left had to leave. most live in Australia and Germany.
Temple Society Australia
- 1948-50 Australian Templers consolidate around MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. Over the years church halls and community centres were established at BoroniaBoronia, VictoriaBoronia is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 29 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Knox...
, BayswaterBayswater, VictoriaBayswater is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 28 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Knox. At the 2006 Census, Bayswater had a population of 10,738.-History:...
and BentleighBentleigh, VictoriaBentleigh is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Glen Eira. At the 2006 Census, Bentleigh had a population of 14,271.-History:...
in Melbourne, MeadowbankMeadowbank, New South WalesMeadowbank is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Meadowbank is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde and part of the Northern Suburbs area...
in Sydney and at TanundaTanunda, South AustraliaTanunda is a town situated in the Barossa Valley region of South Australia, 70 kilometres north east of the state capital, Adelaide. The town derives its name from an Aboriginal word meaning water hole. Town population is approximately 3500.-Settlement:...
near Adelaide. - 1950 Formation of the Temple Society AustraliaTemple Society AustraliaThe Temple Society Australia was formed in August 1950 as an autonomous community of the Temple Society. It brought together the Templers shipped in 1941 from Palestine and interned for the duration of WWII in Tatura, Australia, the 300 still in Palestine at the formation of the State of Israel,...
with Dr. Richard Hoffmann as Regional Head - 1970 Australian and German Templer Regions linked formally by appointment of Dr. R. O. Hoffmann as President of the Temple Society
- 1972 Templer Home for the Aged opened in Bayswater
- 1979 Tabulam Nursing Home, located next to the Templer Home for the Aged, begun as a joint undertaking with the Australian-German Welfare Society.
- 1981 New Youth Group club room and school rooms completed at Bayswater.
- 1986 Templers in Germany and Australia celebrate 125 years of Temple Society.
- 1987 Sydney Templers secure places in the St. Hedwig Homes for the Aged of the Catholic German Community of St. Raphael in Blacktown NSW, opened in 1989.
- 1988 Dr Richard Hoffmann retires. Dietrich Ruff is elected as the new President of the Temple Society
- 1990s New initiatives: Templer residential unit development in Bayswater, Kids' Club, Australian-German Templer Exchange, Country Victorian Templer Groups
- 2001/2 Dietrich Ruff retires. Peter Lange is elected as the new President of the Temple Society
- 2002 A new Temple Chapel is built in the Bayswater Community Centre. Extensive Remodel of the TTHA.
- 2005 TSA Constitution changed to reflect the lifestyle of its members in Australia. It is no longer a community-based organisation, but one consisting of many focus and interest groups.
Tempelgesellschaft in Germany
- 1949 After a pause of 10 years, publication of Die Warte des Tempels is resumed in September. Rundschreiben keeps members informed.
- 1950 Management office installed at Mozartstraße 58, where meetings and religious services were held. Treffpunkt Mozartstraße became hub of social activities.
- 1954, at a General Meeting in September a revision of the 20 year-old constitution is proposed.
- 1962, on January 27 the new constitution was finalised and accepted and the Tempelgesellschaft in Deutschland e.V. (TGD) instituted. A move to larger premises initiated.
- 1967 New community centre officially opened in Felix-Dahn-Straße, Degerloch
- 1970 the Australian and German Templer Regions formally linked by the appointment of Dr. R. O. Hoffmann as President of the society.
- 1976 TGD joins Bund für Freies Christentum.
Templers' settlements in Palestine
- Bethlehem of Galilee, a monodenominational settlement of only Templer colonists
- German Colony, HaifaGerman Colony, HaifaThe German Colony was established in Haifa in 1868 by the German Templers. It was the first of several colonies established by the group in the Holy Land...
, a settlement of mixed denominational affiliation - German Colony, Jerusalem, a settlement of mixed denominational affiliation
- SaronaSarona, PalestineSarona was a German Templer colony northeast of the city of Jaffa. It was one of the earliest modern villages established in Palestine. Today it is a neighborhood in Tel Aviv, Israel.- History :...
, a settlement of mixed denominational affiliation - WilhelmaWilhelma, PalestineWilhelma was a German Templer colony in Palestine located southwest of al-'Abbasiyyah near Jaffa.Wilhelma-Hamîdije was named in honour of King William II of Württemberg, Emperor Wilhelm II and Sultan Abdul Hamid II, however, only the first half of the name prevailed...
, a monodenominational settlement of only Templer colonists - WaldheimAlonei AbbaAlonei Abba is a moshav shitufi, or semi-cooperative village, in northern Israel. It is located in the Lower Galilee near Bethlehem of Galilee and Alonim, in the hills east of Kiryat Tivon. Alonei Abba falls under the jurisdiction of the Jezreel Valley Regional Council...
, a monodenominational settlement of only Protestant-church affiliated colonists