Beit Zera () 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 northern

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 ...

. Located on the southern shore of the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of Emek HaYarden Regional Council. As of it had a population of .

History

In 1920, pioneers from

Degania Alef Degania Alef (, ) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. The Jewish communal settlement ('' kvutza'') was founded in 1910, making it the earliest Labor Zionist farming commune in the Land of Israel. Its status as "the mother of all kibbutzim" is some ...

founded kibbutz Degania Gimel south of Degania Bet at the site of the future kibbutz Beit Zera. Separately, another group of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

pioneers from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, who belonged to the Blau-Weiss movement and had prepared for their task at the Markenhof Farm from southwest Germany near

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

, was established in 1921 in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

. In 1922 Degania Gimel was disbanded and its residents moved to the

Jezreel Valley The Jezreel Valley (from the ), or Marj Ibn Amir (), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. It is bordered to the north by the highlands o ...

where they founded kibbutz Ginegar. In 1926 the Markenhof group moved to the Galilee and settled at Umm Juni, the place where Degania Alef once started from at the end of 1909. The community founded in 1926 was a kvutza, was first known as Markenhof or Kfar Gun, was financed at least in part by Keren Hayesod, was allotted 1,500 dunam of land, and had (either in 1926 or in 1933) 38 inhabitants. In 1927 the huts at Umm Juni were destroyed by an earthquake and the group moved in September 1927 to the old Degania Gimel site, where they established a new, permanent kibbutz settlement which they called Kfar Nathan.Beit Zera - Kibbutz
Labour Movement In 1947, Beit Zera had a population of 500. During the

1948 Arab–Israeli war The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

, the villagers continued their agricultural work despite shelling from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i troops as well as from the

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Ar ...

Economy

In addition to agriculture, Beit Zera owns Arkal, a plastic products factory.Kibbutzim successfully embrace the capitalist spirit
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Notable people

* Deni Avdija (born 2001), NBA professional basketball player

References

External links

Beit Zera official website

Map
showing the site "Kefar Gun", 1943. The

National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; ; ), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; ), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Judaism, Jewish Cultural heritage, heritage. The library holds more ...

, Eran Laor Cartographic Collection {{Authority control Jewish villages in Mandatory Palestine Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1927 Populated places in Northern District (Israel) 1927 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Austrian-Jewish culture in Israel German-Jewish culture in Israel