Samuel Hirsch was a director at the first agricultural school, Mikveh Israel, near Jaffa. Among its staff were members of Biluim, a youth pioneer organization founded by Israel Belkind in Kharkiv. These youthful pioneers believed that the ideal revival of Israel should stem from agricultural communes. However, Hirsch didn't subscribe to the ideas espoused by Biluim. He appointed a chief, Abdul Aziz, from the neighbouring village of Yazur (now known as Azur) and assigned the Biluim a meagre salary for long work hours. As a result, all members of this organization relocated to Rishon LeZion.

In January 1883, the Biluim were joined by Menashe Meerovich, a native of Nikolaev. An agronomist by profession, Meerovich's knowledge and experience proved invaluable in Rishon LeZion. He proposed the idea of breeding silkworm caterpillars and attempting to produce silk. Furthermore, he penned a manual on "creating settlements for the middle class for 1200 rubles."

Meerovich spearheaded grape cultivation and wine production, laying the first gardens and orchards in the city park. He lived to the ripe old age of 89, passing away in 1949 in his home in Rishon LeZion, having witnessed the creation of the Jewish state in 1948. He was affectionately referred to as "the last of the Biluim."