In the early Zionist villages, postal services were under European auspices but had their own unique flavor – until the Turks cracked down
The first Jewish agricultural colonies were established in the Holy Land in the late 19th century, signifying the onset of modern Zionism. The Ottoman Empire had hitherto provided the Middle East with only the most basic and often unreliable postal services, but in the second half of the century European superpowers revolutionized them. As European citizens (mostly Jews of the first and second waves of Zionist immigration, 1882–1914) began frequenting the region, their countries of origin pressured the Turkish regime into granting European immigrants the same civil rights they’d enjoyed back home. The Europeans were thus authorized to operate private postal services, provided their rates were no lower than Turkish ones. Five European nations exercised this right, until World War I ended all diplomatic relations between the Ottoman Empire and most central European countries.
With such a range of providers, competition for customer loyalty was stiff. The main beneficiaries were Jewish immigrants, who relied on the postal services to keep in touch with friends and family they’d left behind in Europe.
Local Monopoly
Only large cities had post offices at the time, and small branches were rare. Settlers from agricultural villages such as Gedera and Rishon Lezion had to travel to the nearest town to send and receive mail. Realizing that Jewish farmers were potentially lucrative customers, the European postal agencies decided to set up shop in Jewish villages. The Austrian postal agency was the first to open its doors, in Rishon Lezion and Petah Tikva, using the same arrangement already serving rural areas in Austria.
Under this agreement, the local post office obliged itself to deliver mail to the nearest Austrian branch. In exchange, letters and postcards could be sent free of charge inside the Holy Land. This gave the Austrian postal service an effective monopoly on international mail services, for which it charged full price.