Wilhelma (Hebrew: וילהלמה, originally in German: Wilhelma-Hamîdije) was a German Templer colony in Palestine located southwest of al-'Abbasiyyah near Jaffa.
Wilhelma-Hamîdije was named in honour of King William II of Württemberg, Emperor Wilhelm II and Sultan Abdul Hamid II, however, only the first half of the name prevailed.[1] Wilhelma was established by German settlers in 1902 in Palestine then under Ottoman rule.[2]
In July 1918, the German residents of Wilhelma were interred at Helouan, near Cairo in Egypt.[3] They were returned to Palestine in January 1921.[4]
During the inter-war years the colony produced dairy goods and wine in collaboration with the German colony at Sarona.[5]
At the time of the 1922 census of Palestine, Wilhelma had a population of 186 Christians, 36 Muslims and 1 Jew.[6] By the 1931 census, there were 65 occupied houses and a population of 231 Christians, 84 Muslims, and 4 Jews.[7]
During World War II, Wilhelma was transformed into an internment camp by the British Mandatory authorities where German settlers from Wilhelma and other localities such as Sarona as well as other enemy aliens (such as Hungarians and Italians) were concentrated and held.[8][9] In World War II, guarded by Jewish police, the camp was under an early night curfew.[9] Detainees were held there until April 1948 when the last of them were moved out to Germany or resettled in Australia.[9]
Three Jewish settlements of the Moshav were established on this land in 1948. The first was abandoned on May 15, 1948 after being overrun by the Arab Legion. The second was established by a Hapoel Hamizrahi group. The third was established by the Tehiya group of the Hapoel Haizrahi. [10]
Wilhelma is now the site of the Israeli locality of Bnei Atarot.[11]
What is now Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport was originally named "Wilhelma Airport" when it was built in 1936 near the Templer community.