The textile industry in Israel began within frameworks of vocational training and was developed through initiatives by Jewish immigrants who established family-model industries. After the establishment of the State of Israel, the textile industry expanded with the encouragement of state institutions. In the late 19th century, on the eve of Zionist immigration to the Land of Israel, when the old Jewish community numbered approximately 20,000 people, the "Torah and Craft" school was founded. Established in 1889 by the French-Jewish Alliance network, the school operated until 1918. Its goal was to provide vocational training and livelihoods for the Jewish community in Jerusalem. It included a cotton weaving factory equipped with the first 51 mechanical looms in the country, powered by steam, and a workshop for dyeing threads.
The fourth wave of immigration from Europe to the Land of Israel in the 1920s is also known as the "Textile Aliyah." .Among the factories established were the Palestine Textile Prints workshop by artist Leo Kahn; the Lodzia knitting factory led by Aryeh Shenkar; the ATA complex by the Muller family; the weaving factory Aton under Dr. Paul Horn; and family-run knitting factories such as Eld, Dorina, and others.
By the 1940s, there were over 1,200 textile factories and workshops in the country, operating on a family model that continued to develop until 1955. One of the factory is "Rikma" (1951), which became a fashion brand under the family designer Rozy Ben-Yosef.
By the encouraged of the government knitting factories such as Oman in Ofakim and Gibor in Kiryat Shmona were established, along with weaving factories like Polgat in Kiryat Gat, Bashan for fabric dyeing and printing in Beit Shean, and Kitan in Dimona. The Delta factory for knitting underwear was established in Karmiel in 1975 and continues to operate today.
Until the 1990s, the textile industry was among the leading sectors in the Israeli economy. With the signing of global trade agreements, factories began to close, and today, the industry's share in the local economy is significantly reduced.
Printed Fabric, 1936–1938
PTP – Palestine Textile Prints
PTP was a textile printing workshop established in 1937 by artist Leo Kahn (1883–1994), who specialized in textile design in Germany. PTP was considered the first factory in the country to use mechanical silk-screen printing. Located in the Nahalat Yitzhak neighborhood of Tel Aviv, the factory eventually failed and was sold. However, Kahn continued working there as a designer, training young designers until 1960.
The factory designed and printed fabrics using a wide range of traditional and modern visual motifs, including representations of local landscapes, agriculture, labor, and settlement.
Industrial Knitwear
Eld Knitting Factory, 1960s
The Eld factory was founded in Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, in 1898 by Austrian industrialist Alfred Edelstein. Following Austria's annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938, his four daughters immigrated to the Land of Israel with limited knitting equipment and established a family factory in Pardes Katz, which operated until 1985.
The factory produced knitwear for fashion and apparel, targeting both domestic and international haute couture markets. In its early years, the factory also exported knitwear to Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Turkey. Many early designs were the creations of family member and textile engineer Lili Malchi. The designs reflected contemporary trends, appealing to an urban bourgeois society. Later, prominent designers outside of the family like Gideon Oberson and Dorin Frankfurt also contributed. In the post-statehood years, the factory thrived, exporting goods worth approximately one million dollars annually. The Eld family was among the pioneers of the Shenkar College of Engineering, Design, and Art, founded in 1970.
Molidor Fabric, 1975, "Rikma"
In the 1960s, the government provided support and customs relief for importing advanced technological production tools to factories in development areas, with textile factories leading this trend. "Molidor" fabrics were produced using Malimo machines, imported from East Germany in 1962 by Muller Textiles. The company was established in Nahariya in 1949 by Erich Muller, founder of ATA (1934-1985), and his son Jonathan. The name "Molidor" is a combination of the surname "Muller" and the name of a technician, "Dror," who first produced the fabric at the factory in Nahariya. This fabric is a type of knit combined with a system of warp threads, giving it thickness, stability, and a slightly coarse appearance.
Muller Textiles, who also owned a spinning mill and produced threads, manufactured the fabric from raw cotton threads. Because the fabric was absorbent and stable, it was considered suitable for towels or tablecloths.
In collaboration with the factory, Ben-Yosef changed the warp threads' color to black and the knitting loops to stripes in various colors, adapting the fabric for clothing. For the purpose of colorful development, Muller Textiles also established a factory for dyeing threads. The collaboration between Rozy Ben-Yosef and Muller Textiles brought economic success to both companies and positioned "Rikma" as an Israeli and international fashion brand.
