Last year while I was visiting the Bialystok area, I took a side
trip on my way to Sokolka and saw the village of Palestyna, which
is very near the Belarus border. What was this town? In his book,
Jewish Bialystok and Surroundings in Eastern Poland, Tomasz
Wisniewski explains that Palestyna, Kolonia Izaaka, and Kolonia
Chanaan were three Jewish agricultural colonies established about
1850. Apparently, Palestyna is the only one that still exists.
Today, it appears to be a very poor farming community with only
dirt roads leading to the village.

If I recall correctly, I was told that these three colonies were
setup to train Zionists to farm -- sort of a training ground for
Kibbutzniks.

Does anyone have any more information about these Jewish
Agricultural colonies?

Mark Halpern