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This article suggests a re-periodisation of the transit camps in which hundreds of thousands of immigrants were housed in Israel's first three decades. It anchors the meaning of these temporal housing spaces – known as Ma'abarot – and rebuts the perception of their temporality, presenting new data about institutional policies regarding these allegedly temporary living spaces and the everyday reality of their inhabitants. It suggests a re-periodisation that includes not only the initial handling of the massive Jewish immigration wave during the 'Mass Aliyah' (1948–51) but also the longer-term settling of the immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]