Mesilot () 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 in the

Beit She'an Valley The Beit She'an Valley ( or ) is a valley in Israel. The valley lies within the Beit She'an rift, part of the Afro-Syrian Rift (Jordan Rift Valley), which opens westwards to the Harod Valley. It is a middle part of the Jordan Valley. The valle ...

near the city of

Beit She'an Beit She'an ( '), also known as Beisan ( '), or Beth-shean, is a town in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level. Beit She'an is believed to ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Valley of Springs Regional Council Emek HaMa'ayanot Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Emek HaMa'ayanot'', lit. ''Valley of the Springs Regional Council'') is a regional council (Israel), regional council in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel that encompas ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

was initially formed as an

urban kibbutz An urban kibbutz (, ''Kibbutz Ironi'') is a form of kibbutz located within an existing city. There are currently just over 100 in Israel, totalling around 2,000 members. Although there were attempts to form urban kibbutzim in the early 20th century ...

in Givat Michael near

Ness Ziona Ness Ziona (, ''Nes Tziyona'') is a city in Central District (Israel), Central District, Israel. In it had a population of , and its jurisdiction was 15,579 dunams (). Identification Lying within Ness Ziona's city bounds is the ruin of the Arab ...

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

- who were members of the "BaMesilah" group from which the kibbutz takes its name -, and

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

- members of the "Bulgaria -

Tel Hai Tel Hai ( , "Hill of Life") is a name of the former Jewish settlement in northern Galilee, the site of an early battle between Jews and Arabs heralding the growing civil conflict, and of a monument, tourist attraction, and a college. It is curren ...

group" -, with both groups belonging to the

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 ...

movement. The kibbutz itself was established on 22 December 1938, as a tower and stockade settlement. 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 kibbutz was bombed by an Iraqi airplane. One member of the kibbutz was killed in the bombing, and some other members were injured. On 16 April 1957 two guards of kibbutz Mesilot were killed by

Palestinian terrorists Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence or terrorism committed by Palestinians with the intent to accomplish political goals in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Common objectives of political violence by Pal ...

who came from the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, then part of

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Economy

Mesilot is the home of Wire Ropes Works Messilot Ltd., one of the largest producers of wire rope in Israel and the Middle East. The kibbutz also engages in various forms of

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, including livestock (milking cows and raising chickens), a fishery, an orchard, plantings of olives and dates, and other vegetables.

Education

1st to 6th grade

The children of the kibbutz are educated in the regional school within the kibbutz, which also serves children from the nearby kibbutzim

Reshafim Reshafim () is a kibbutz in northeastern Israel. Located two kilometres to the south of the city of Beit She'an in the Beit She'an Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. In , it had a population of . His ...

Nir David Nir David (, ''lit.'' David's Meadow) is a kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley in northern Israel. Founded on 10 December 1936 as Tel Amal, the first of the tower and stockade settlements, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Region ...

, Beit Hashita,

Sde Nahum Sde Nahum (, ''lit.'' Nahum Field) is a kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley in northern Israel. Located around 4 km northwest of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. In it had a population of . ...

and

Beit Alfa Beit Alfa (; also Beit Alpha, Bet Alpha and Bet Alfa) is a kibbutz in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel, founded in 1922 by immigrants from Poland. Located at the base of the Gilboa (ridge), Gilboa ridge, it falls under ...

School for children with autism

Next to the elementary school, based on the donation of Yehudit ben Moshe (who was a member of Mesilot and the first principal of its school), a special school was founded for children with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

7th to 12th grade

Typical children from grades 7 through 12 used to be educated at the Gilboa School, which was founded next to Kibbutz Beit Alfa and was run jointly by Mesilot, Reshafim, Nir David and Beit Alfa. In 2005 this school was closed, so the students of Mesilot transferred to the regional school at

Neve Eitan Neve Eitan () is a kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley in northern Israel. Located about east of Beit She'an and west of Maoz Haim, it is under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. In , it had a population of . Etymology The ...

Sports

The club was home to a football team, which was sponsored by the local Wire Works factory and played under the name Hapoel Kvalim Mesilot. In 2009 the team was merged with Hapoel Beit She'an to form Hapoel Beit She'an Mesilot,לתשומת לב אוהדי הפועל ת"א: בית שאן חוזרת
One, 22 July 2009 which play its home games in nearby Beit She'an.

Notable people

Orly Levy Orly Levy-Abekasis (; born 11 November 1973) is an Israeli politician and former member of the Knesset. Formerly a model, Levy-Abekasis first entered the Knesset in 2009 as a representative of Yisrael Beiteinu, but left the party in 2017 to sit ...

(born 1973), politician *

Nahum Tevet Nahum Tevet (; born 1946, Kibbutz Mesilot, Mandatory Palestine) is one of the leading Israeli artists whose work was among the earliest to respond to the minimalist canon by introducing into his installations everyday domestic objects, metaphors ...

(born 1946), sculptor

References

{{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1938 Populated places in Northern District (Israel) 1938 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Bulgarian-Jewish culture in Israel Polish-Jewish culture in Israel