In 1852, after a trial in which his wife sought to declare him insane, he returned to Jerusalem and actively supported efforts then being made for the agricultural regeneration of Palestine. In the fall, he announced his intention of establishing an agricultural colony in Emek Refaim. In March 1853, he began writing for the "The Occident" and sent a circular from Jerusalem soliciting assistance for his projects. Though interspersed with theology and quotations from the Bible, the circular is one that only a practical farmer and educator could have produced. Cresson believed that the prevailing distress could be relieved by the establishment of agricultural colonies, and that oppressed Jews from all parts of the world should return to Zion.