Petah Tiqwa, founded in 1878, is the…

Petah Tiqwa, founded in 1878, is the first village in the modern Jewish settlement of Palestine and is known as Em ha-Moshavot (Hebrew: ”Mother of Villages”).

Because the village has been founded in a swampy, malarial area, the first years of settlement will be unstable and dangerous.

Settlers first plant eucalyptus trees for drainage, then turn to truck and citrus farming; the first orange groves in modern Palestine are also planted in the village.