Netzer Sereni () 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 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 ...
. Located in the
Shephelah
The Shephelah () or Shfela (), or the Judaean Foothills (), is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel stretching over between the Judaean Mountains and the Coastal Plain. The different use of the term "Jud ...
between
Be'er Ya'akov
Be'er Ya'akov () is a city in central Israel, near Ness Ziona and Rishon Lezion. The town has an area of 8,580 dunams (~8.6 km2), and had a population of in 2019.
History
Be'er Ya'akov was established in 1907 on 2,000 dunams of land purch ...
and
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 ...
, it falls under the jurisdiction of
Gezer Regional Council
Gezer Regional Council () is a regional council in the Shephelah region of the Central District of Israel. The council's headquarters are located in the community settlement of Beit Hashmonai. Established in 1949, the regional council had a po ...
. In it had a population of .
History
Kibbutz Netzer Sereni was founded in 1948 by
Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
survivors liberated from
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...
, who had established themselves in 1945 as "Kibbutz Buchenwald", an agricultural collective designed to prepare Jews for life in Palestine, the first such
Hakhshara
Hakhshara (; also transliterated Hachsharah, Hachshara or Hakhsharah) is a Hebrew word that literally means "preparation". The term is used for training programs and agricultural centres in Europe and elsewhere. At these centers Zionist youth movem ...
group established in
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 ...
after the war. The kibbutz was established on the land of the
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
Bir Salim
Bir Salim () was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine. It was depopulated during the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 9, 1948, by the Givati Brigade. It was located 4 km west of Raml ...
, which was evacuated in 1948 under orders from authorities in nearby
Ramle
Ramla (), also known as Ramle (, ), is a city in the Central District of Israel. Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs.
The city was founded in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad caliph Su ...
, despite requests from the local mukhtar to the
Haganah
Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...
asking for protection.
The name was changed later to Netzer by the Buchenwald members. The kibbutz was named ''Netzer Sereni'' after
Enzo Sereni
Enzo Sereni (, 17 April 190518 November 1944) was an Italian Labor Zionist and one of the co-founders of kibbutz Givat Brenner. He was involved in promoting Jewish-Arab co-existence in Mandatory Palestine and served as an officer in the Jewish ...
, a
Jew
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
intellectual,
Zionist
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
leader and
Jewish Brigade
The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, more commonly known as the Jewish Brigade Group or Jewish Brigade, was a military formation of the British Army in the World War II, Second World War. It was formed in late 1944 and was recruited among Yishuv, Y ...
officer. Sereni was one of the founders of Givat Brenner. He was parachuted into
Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
-occupied Italy in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, only to be immediately captured by the Germans and executed in
Dachau concentration camp
Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...
;
[ in Hebrew ''netzer'' means sprout, shoot or branch.
Between 1948 and 1951 antagonism between the ]Mapam
File:Pre-State_Zionist_Workers'_Parties_chart.png, chart of zionist workers parties, 360px, right
rect 167 83 445 250 Hapoel Hatzair
rect 450 88 717 265 The non-partisans (pre-state Zionist political movement), Non Partisans
rect 721 86 995 243 ...
and Mapai
Mapai (, an abbreviation for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', ) was a Labor Zionist and democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger into the Israeli Labor Party in January ...
parties led to a split within the kibbutz movement,Givat Brenner
Givat Brenner (), is a kibbutz in the Central District of Israel. Located around south of Rehovot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Brenner Regional Council. Founded in 1928, it is named after writer Yosef Haim Brenner, who was killed in t ...
broke away for ideological reasons and moved to Netzer Sereni.[Daniel Gavron (2000]
''The Kibbutz: Awakening from Utopia''
Rowman & Littlefield, p59
In popular culture
The 2023 Israeli musical film ''Victory
The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...
'' focuses on two fictional couples from Netzer Sereni.Israeli Film Series: Victory HaMenatzchim
Toronto Jewish Film Festival. Retrieved on 8 July 2024
Notable people
*
Eyal Ben-Reuven
Aluf Eyal Ben-Reuven (; born 22 May 1954) is a retired major general in the Israel Defense Forces and commander of the IDF Military Colleges and senior field commander. He is the former deputy commander of the Northern Command, for which he sti ...
References
{{Authority control
Kibbutzim
Kibbutz Movement
Populated places established in 1948
Populated places in Central District (Israel)
1948 establishments in Israel
German-Jewish culture in Israel