Degania Bet () 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 to the south 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 ...

adjacent to

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 ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Emek HaYarden Regional Council Emek HaYarden Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit 'Emeq HaYarden'', ''lit.'' Jordan Valley Regional Council) is a regional council comprising much of the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, the southern parts of its eastern shore, and the north ...

. Degania Bet was established in 1920. As of it had a population of .

History

Degania Bet was founded in 1920 by immigrants from the

Second Aliyah The Second Aliyah () was an aliyah (Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel) that took place between 1904 and 1914, during which approximately 35,000 Jews, mostly from Russia, with some from Yemen, immigrated into Ottoman Palestine. The Sec ...

, led by Levi Brevda (Levi Ben Amitai). It was the first planned kibbutz and was designed and built by the German Jewish architect Fritz Kornberg. One of its founders was

Levi Eshkol Levi Eshkol ( ;‎ 25 October 1895 – 26 February 1969), born Levi Yitzhak Shkolnik (), was the prime minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. A founder of the Israeli Labor Party, he served in numerous seni ...

. During the

1920 Palestine riots The 1920 Nebi Musa riots or 1920 Jerusalem riots took place in British-controlled part of Occupied Enemy Territory Administration between Sunday, 4 April, and Wednesday, 7 April 1920 in and around the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City of Jerusale ...

it was attacked and abandoned for several months. In the

1931 census of Palestine The 1931 census of Palestine was the second census carried out by the authorities of Mandatory Palestine. It was carried out on 18 November 1931 under the direction of Major E. Mills after the 1922 census of Palestine. * Census of Palestine 1931, ...

Degania Bet had a population of 138, all Jews, in a total of 39 houses.Mills, 1932, p
82
/ref> During the 1936–39 Arab revolt it served as a base for establishing tower and stockade settlements. Its population had increased to 290, still all Jewish, by the 1945 census.Department of Statistics, 1945, p
12
/ref> Zoltan Kluger

On 20 May 1948, during the

Battles of the Kinarot Valley The Battles of the Kinarot Valley (), is a collective name for a series of military engagements between the Haganah and the Syrian army during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, fought between 15–22 May 1948 in the Kinarot Valley. It includes two ...

, in one of the first battles of 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 residents of Degania Alef and Bet, assisted by a small number of military personnel, repelled a

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 attack and succeeded in halting the advance of the

Syrian army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

into the Jordan Valley.

Economy

In addition to its 350 cow dairy herd, crop fields, almond orchards, banana, date and avocado plantations, Degania Bet industrialized in the 1960s with Degania Sprayers, now a green industry; in 1984 it opened the Degania Silicone factory. An additional source of income is its kibbutz cottage tourist accommodation, and it specializes in organized bicycle tours.

Notable people

(1895–1969), third Prime Minister of Israel (1963–69); Degania Bet member *

Michael Kolganov Michael "Misha" Kolganov (or Kalganov, , ; born 24 October 1974) is a USSR-born Israeli sprint kayaker and former two-time world champion (1998 & 1999). Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won the bronze medal in the K-1 500 m event ...

, Soviet-born Israeli

sprint canoeist Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, bronze medalist at

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

; Degania Bet non-member resident in the 2000s *

Kadish Luz Kadish Luz (; 10 January 1895 – 4 December 1972) was an Israeli politician who served as Minister of Agriculture between 1955 and 1959 and as Speaker of the Knesset from 1959 and 1969.Gabi Teichner Gabriel "Gabi" Teichner (; born November 21, 1945) is an Israeli former basketball player. He spent his club career playing in the Israeli Premier League, and he also represented the Israeli national team. Club career Teichner, who is 2.03 m (6 ...

(born 1945), basketball player

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Kvutza website
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 6
IAAWikimedia commons
{{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1920 Populated places in Northern District (Israel) 1920 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Sea of Galilee