The history of the Templers dates back to 1869, when they first began settlements in Palestine. They established seven colonies across the country, from 1869-1906; Sarona, Jaffa, Wilhelma, Jerusalem, Haifa, Waldheim and Bethlehem of Gailee.
A religious group with roots in Christianity, the templers believed that the Holy Land was their second homeland, and by establishing communities there they would encourage the Second Coming of Christ.
Unlike Germany, Palestine was greatly undeveloped, with a vastly different climate and industrial landscape. Forming settlements here required work from the ground up, and they toiled laboriously to turn the arid desert into something resembling the German towns from which they hailed.
The initial focus was farming; planting fields and vineyards, orchards and the first groves of “Jaffa oranges”, which were grown in my Opa’s own settlement of Sarona. The Templers brought with them modern farming techniques, as well as equipment previously unknown to the Arabs of Palestine, introducing European modernism to the Holy Land.
