Beit Nir (, ''lit.'' House of tilled soil) is a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

in the Lakhish region of south-central

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Beit Nir falls under the jurisdiction of

Yoav Regional Council Yoav Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Yoav'') is a regional council in the Southern District of Israel. It is located near the cities of Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Malakhi and Ashkelon. It was founded in 1952, covering an area of 230,000 dunams (23 ...

and is a member of the

Kibbutz Movement The Kibbutz Movement (, ''HaTnu'a HaKibbutzit'') is the largest settlement movement for kibbutzim in Israel. It was formed in 1999 by a partial merger of the United Kibbutz Movement and Kibbutz Artzi and is made up of approximately 230 kibbutzim. I ...

. In its population was .

History

Beit Nir was established in August 1957 by members of

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair (, , 'The Young Guard') is a Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary. It was also the name of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party, the ...

on land that belonged to the depopulated

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

village of Kudna. It was named for

Max Bodenheimer Max Isidor Bodenheimer (; 12 March 1865 – 19 July 1940) was a lawyer and one of the main figures in German Zionism. An associate of Theodor Herzl, he was the first president of the Zionist Federation of Germany and one of the founders of the Jew ...

, a prominent German Zionist (''Boden'' means "ground" in German and ''Heim'' means "home").

Economy

The kibbutz economy is based on agriculture, a

soft drinks A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) carbonated, and typically including added sweetener. Flavors used to be natural, but now can also be artificial. The sweet ...

factory, and a

jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

workshop that sells its wares in Europe and the United States. The kibbutz merged with Gat to form the corporate entity "Ganir", which manufactures fruit juice for export and sale in Israel. In Israel the juice is sold under the brand name Primor (פרימור). The kibbutz grows wheat, watermelons and cotton, and produces olive oil. Beit Nir also operates a cattle ranch.

Moshe Shek Museum

The museum displays ceramic works and bronze sculptures by Moshe Shek (1935-2011). Shek, who was born in Poland, became a founding member of the kibbutz and a member of the

organisation, and studied at the New Bezalel art school. His wife Shula offers guided tours of the museum.Website of the Moshe Shek Museum
accessed 25 Jan 2022.

Gallery

File:Entrance to Beit Nir.jpg, Sign post at entrance to Kibbutz Beit Nir File:Green lawn in Beit Nir.jpg, Kibbutz Beit Nir File:Kibbutz Beit-Nir - 1.jpg, Kibbutz Beit Nir File:Kibbutz Beit- Nir - 2.jpg, Greenery in Beit Nir File:Water tower in Beit-Nir.jpg, Water tower in Kibbutz Beit Nir

References

External links

Official website

Photos of Beit Nir
{{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1957 Populated places in Southern District (Israel) 1957 establishments in Israel