"HaRakevet" means "The Train" or "The Railway" in Hebrew. Since March 1989, it has been a quarterly newsletter specializing in news and historical material about the railways of the Middle East, and especially those of Israel. This material will now be accessible on the web to those interested in railways, in Israel, in the Middle East and in the history of this area.

Updated March 19th, 2011

It has been quite a long time since the last update. Three more issues have been added to the "Downloads" section and there is more to come.

We urge interested visitors to the site to consider taking a subscription and ensure they will get the latest issues, which are not yet added to the site. The costs of producing the magazine are not fully covered by subscriptions. The amount is quite small - see "Subscription Form" on the "Downloads" page.

              About

"Harakevet" was established and is edited by Rabbi Walter Rothschild. It benefits from a large number of contributors in Israel and around the globe. One of the more prolific, until his untimely death in May, 2007, has been Paul Cotterell, the railway historian and author of the book "The Railways of Palestine and Israel". The railway age in this region began in 1892 with the line from Jaffa to Jerusalem, which gave this previously isolated hill town access to the sea and the world. The Hedjaz Railway, beginning in 1895 and linked to Haifa in 1905, opened up the Arab hinterland to movement of goods and people. In 1917, the rapid construction of a line from Egypt to Gaza played a major role in the defeat of the Ottoman Turkish army by the British forces. But railways can and should be a means to bring people closer together, and perhaps contribute to the sorely needed peace in this part of the world.

Plans for the site

The Internet Edition of "HaRakevet' is getting underway alongside the printed version.

1) On this site we shall build an archive of material from the earliest issues of the journal to those of some two years ago. This will take quite some time to convert to electronic form; initially it will be limited to a few complete issues and some specific articles. Access to this material will be free.

2) An electronic version of the latest issue in PDF file format which will be available for a modest subscription fee. In addition, all subscribers (to both the printed and electronic editions) will be able to receive PDF files of back numbers from the last two years at a nominal charge.

3) The printed edition will continue to be available to subscribers as before to those who prefer a paper copy.

Download Issues 66 (Sept. 2004) to 90 (December 2010) complete, in PDF form. These "free samples" will show the quality and convenience of the electronic edition. Also some earlier issues are now being added in PDF or Word form.

NEW on the site

March 19th, 2011:  Issues 5, 18, 77 to 86 now in PDF form on Downloads page

 Details of Paul Cotterell's new book, published posthumously by Israel Railways  "Make Straight the Way"  (Contents page).

The Hebrew version may be ordered from Israel Railways, price NIS 85 including postage in Israel. Download the form at http://www.rail.co.il/HE/FUN/Pages/Book.aspx

NEW! The English version may be ordered for delivery both in Israel and abroad for NIS 85 including delivery in Israel or $32 abroad. Go to    http://www.rail.co.il/EN/Fun/Pages/Book.aspx and download the form.

Note: Issue 40:9 -  An article from "Scribner's Magazine", 1892  on the "New" Jaffa-Jerusalem Railway (mentioned in Paul's Book) - Contents page

(Jan 21 2009) Review of the new book by Anthony Travis about the Jaffa-Jerusalem Railway - "On Chariots with Horses of Fire and Iron" - Contents Page

(Dec 30th) Our Appreciation of Paul is now on the Contents page

Go to "CONTENTS" to select the material you wish to read on-line or to "DOWNLOADS" for files and for the subscription form.  

Comments

We welcome comments and suggestions. These can be sent to our email, webmaster@harakevetmagazine.com. Questions may also be sent, but we cannot promise to answer them all in a short time.