Page 368 - המהפכה הימית

the non-socialist — and thus it was perceived as the embodiment of
capitalism, in contrast to the socialist-establishment perception. Finally,
the social-cultural perception touched on the questions of the image
and identity of the maritime professions. These were viewed as inferior,
appropriate for more aggressive people — as opposed to the farmers,
the pioneers, who made the desert bloom and constituted the standard-
bearers of labor settlements and Jewish labor.

Our approach focuses on the relationship that developed between
the Yishuv and the sea during the British Mandate from a geographical-
historical-cultural perspective — that is to say, it examines the changing
landscape as linked to human activity and culture, which took place
in a defined time and space. The landscape, as a product of human
activity, therefore reflects the cultural values of the group or society that
shaped it. In keeping with this approach, the research is inductive—that
is to say, it collects, identifies, and conducts individual studies of the
many sources that relate to the phenomenon. The specific materials at
our disposal included a variety of archival sources, including national
archives such as the Central Zionist Archives, municipal archives
such as the Haifa Municipal Archives, and company archives such as
Zim’s archive; all types of press at the time including daily, weekly,
and monthly publications as well as professional journalism and the
commercial press of, for example, shipping companies; biographies,
autobiographies, and memoirs of people at the time that include direct
or indirect reference to the various topics in our book. In addition to the
variety of primary sources used, we of course availed ourselves of many
secondary sources, primarily articles and general academic literature on
the sea and maritime professions in history of the Land of Israel, on the
events at the time that touch on the status of the sea, and on specific
studies that deal in one way or another with the sea and its professions
during the British Mandate period.