Long before branded summer camps, ninja parks, tech learning and family vacations abroad, summer vacation in Israel looked very different. Children rode tractors through newly established farming communities, cooled off in small concrete pools between the homes and gathered beneath the trees to watch impromptu performances accompanied by an accordion.
A collection of photographs from the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) Archive offers a rare glimpse into Israeli summers before the establishment of the State of Israel and during its early years. Together, the images capture a childhood that was simple, community-centered, rugged and far removed from today’s routines.
One of the earliest, taken in August 1930 by photographer Joseph Schweig, shows children from Kibbutz Tel Yosef sitting atop a large haystack on the threshing floor. There are no playgrounds, no elaborate backdrops, no organized activities—just a group of children, the sweltering Middle East and the open agricultural landscape.
Another, taken in 1935 at Kibbutz Beit Keshet by photographer Avraham Malevsky, captures local children sitting together on a large tractor. For children of that era, the agricultural tool was not merely a working vehicle but an integral part of the landscape, everyday life and childhood play.
“When you look at these, you realize just how closely summer vacation was connected to the environment in which children grew up,” said Efrat Sinai, director of Archives at KKL-JNF.
She notes that “the forest, the fields, the tractor, the threshing floor and the local swimming pool were all part of childhood. These weren’t carefully staged vacation moments; they were everyday life.”
Another photo, taken in 1940, shows children at a pool surrounded by open fields. In the background are the community’s homes and the expansive landscape that defined summer life in those years. Long before water parks and large swimming complexes became commonplace, a small pool, a few friends and plenty of imagination were often all that was needed.
Fast-forward to the late 1960s, and Israel had changed, yet the spirit of summer remained remarkably familiar. Images taken in 1969 by photographer Dafnai-Ish Shalom show kids from the Beit She’an Valley attending camp in Ben Shemen, a moshav in central Israel.
In one, they sit beneath the shade of the trees, watching a young accordion player perform. In another, they gather outside the camp building beneath a sign welcoming all the children of the Beit She’an Valley. Israel was already more than 20 years old, but summer still unfolded at a slower pace—spent outdoors, shared with friends and centered on human connection.
“These photographs evoke nostalgia, but they are also an important historical record,” Sinai adds. “They tell the story of everyday childhood in Israel not through historic milestones or official ceremonies, but through the small moments. They remind us of summers before the age of screens and rapid technological advancement. Those days may seem simple by today’s standards, but they created meaningful, enriching, and formative experiences.”
According to Sinai, the significance of the photographs extends well beyond nostalgia.
“The archive preserves our national history not only through ceremonies and defining historical moments, but also through everyday life,” she says. “When people see children sitting on haystacks or gathering around a small performance in the forest, they recognize something deeply Israeli, nostalgic and heartwarming.”
