Manya Shochat

This weekend I was visiting my friends who are living at

“Manya Shochat” st’ Rishon Letzion.

I was thinking to myself that most of the streets aren’t on woman’s names( unfortunately) and it made me curious about her.

Manya Shochat (1880–1961) was a Russian-Jewish politician and the “mother” of the collective settlement in Israel, a leader and manager of  “בר גיורא”, “השומר” ,”הקיבוץ החשאי”.

She was accepted an invitation from her brother Nachum, who was the founder of the Shemen soap factory, to accompany him on a research expedition to some of the wilder places of Israel , she said about this desicion:

“I couldn’t see what direction I should take in my life. I agreed to join my brother’s expedition, because, in fact, I was indifferent to everything. For me it was just another adventure..”