Hazore'a | |
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  Hazore'a | |
| Coordinates:32°38′41″N35°07′15″E / 32.64472°N 35.12083°E /32.64472; 35.12083 | |
| Country | Israel |
| District | Northern |
| Council | Megiddo |
| Affiliation | Kibbutz Movement |
| Founded | 1936 |
| Founded by | GermanWerkleute Members |
| Population (2023)[1] | 1,045 |
| Website | www.hazorea.org.il |
HaZore'a (Hebrew:הַזּוֹרֵעַ,lit. The Sower, named after the neighbouringTel Zariq,Hebrew:תל זריק) is akibbutz in northernIsrael established in 1936 byGerman Jews. It is the only kibbutz that was established by members of theWerkleute [de] movement. Located in the western rim of theJezreel Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction ofMegiddo Regional Council. In 2023 it had a population of 1,045.[1]
HaZore'a is located on the western rim of theJezreel Valley, surrounded by HaZore'a Forest to the south and west of the kibbutz,Yokneam Moshava to the north and the fields of the Jezreel Valley to the east.
HaZore'a Forest is a section of the Ramot Manasseh Park planted onMenashe Heights by members of the kibbutz, working for theJewish National Fund.[2] The forest has around 20 million trees (Eucalyptus,Pinus halepensis,Cupressus sempervirens,Ceratonia siliqua and more). In the forest there are several recreation facilities such as paths to the Shofet River which leads to the Ein Ami spring and several lookouts.[3]
Ein Hashrat is a cave located next to the Ein Ami spring, used as a burial site, with tunnels and rooms containing inscriptions from theRoman andByzantine periods and burial tombs dating as early as the lateBronze Age. East of the cave is the site of an ancient settlement calledTel Qiri, where remains from theNeolithic,Chalcolithic, Middle and Late Bronze Age and theIron Age were found.[3]
The kibbutz is the only one in Israel established by the German Werkleute movement, a Jewish socialist movement that sought to find alternatives for Jews in Germany, but in 1933, after the rise ofAdolf Hitler, adopted aLabour Zionist vision of joining theYishuv inMandatory Palestine and establishing a kibbutz.[4]
In early 1934, the first group of pioneers arrived in Palestine. The sixty members split into two groups who received agricultural training inMishmar HaEmek of theKibbutz Artzi movement, andGivat Haim of theKibbutz Meuhad movement, to learn the difference between the two movements. On 15 April 1934 the group reunited and concentrated in a Kibbutzim site inHadera,[4] where they chose the nameHaZore'a. In Hadera the members established a tents and shacks camp, and they earned a living in Hadera's orchards, construction and laundry.[4]
TheJewish National Fund chose an area of 3,500dunams next to themoshava ofYokneam on the foot of theMenashe Hills andMount Carmel, as the location for the kibbutz and a fund was raised in Germany to purchase the land from thePalestine Land Development Company, which purchased the land earlier from Arab landlords fromHaifa andLebanon.[5][2] On 3 December 1935 the community, which had 30 members, settled in akhan which was abandoned by the residents ofQira, located between Yokneam and the land purchased for the kibbutz. Because of the slow evacuation of the Arab tenants, the community first received a narrow plot of 70dunams.[6] On 15 April 1936 the construction of tents and a carpentry shop was completed and all of the members moved to the land and began fencing their territory. In July 1936 the rest of the Gar'in members joined the kibbutz. In 1938 the kibbutz members decided to join theKibbutz Artzi movement.[4]
In the wake of the slow evacuation process of the tenants, at one night in September 1936 the members expanded the kibbutz's boundaries, without obtaining permission from the authorities.[7] The agriculture in the kibbutz began to develop in the sectors of cattle, crops, nursery and vegetables. The members brought water to the kibbutz via horse-drawn carriage fromMishmar HaEmek. The financial hardships caused by the lack of land led the members to go work inHaifa as carriers, housewives and housekeepers. In 1937 a cowshed was established and first cows were purchased. In 1938 a vineyard was planted. Some members of the kibbutz earned their living inMishmar HaEmek's bakery, forestry work for theJewish National Fund and the construction of theTegart's Wall. The British authorities agreed to expand the kibbutz's boundaries in hundreds of dunams. This allowed the kibbutz to build a chicken coop and develop the fruit and vine sectors. The first water well was drilled.[4]
Days after the establishment of the kibbutz the1936–1939 Arab Revolt broke out, forcing the members to temporarily sleep at the carpentry shop, whose walls were covered in gravel. The members set up a watch tower made out of wood and following shootings by Arab gangs more guard posts were set around the place which were manned all day. In 1937 a spotlight was installed in the watchtower and a weapon storage was built in the tower's first floor with permission from the authorities. DuringWorld War II members of the kibbutz served in the British Army and thePalmach. The kibbutz was used during the war as a paratrooper training camp.[4]
In 1937, the members built the first fortified concrete building: the kitchen. A shack was set up and used as a dining room. The members began paving roads around the kibbutz. In 1938, the members built a structure used for laundry and public showers. In the next years the construction and development continue as children's houses and residential buildings were built. The kibbutz was connected toMekorot's water supply.[4]
On 6 September 1938, the British government issued an order that was supposed to allow the kibbutz and Yokneam to acquire the lands designated for the settlements on the plain region, blocked by Arab militants during the Arab Revolt. The British sent a large police and military force and the boundaries of both settlements was increased.[8] HaZore'a received an additional 500 dunams.[4] The order solved the land problem for HaZorea once and for all.[9]
The kibbutz began absorbing Jewish groups which enriched its social fabric with a wide range of cultural views and languages:[2] a youth group from Germany arrived to the kibbutz (1939) and later moved toYakum; a group of Werkleute members called "Mishmar HaDarom" moved to the kibbutz (1942) after they failed to integrate intoShamir; a group of Werkleute members who participated in theDutch resistance (November 1944); a youth group from Bulgaria (1947); a group called "Erez" fromSyria andLebanon who arrived during theAliyah Bet (1947); a group ofHashomer Hatzair members from theUnited Kingdom (1948); a group ofHolocaust surviving teenagers named "HaOgen" fromPoland,Yugoslavia,Romania andHungary (1948).[4][3]
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After the end of the1948 Arab–Israeli war the territory of HaZore'a was increased in thousands of dunams, which allowed further development of the agriculture. In 1961 the kibbutz built a plastic factory called "Plastopil" and the carpentry shop was turned into a company called "HaZorea Furniture"[4] Thereparations fromWest Germany after the Holocaust helped in the construction of these facilities.[3]
The arrival of new groups continued after the establishment of Israel. In 1952, "Bnei Ephraim", a youth group fromNorth Africa, aged 10 and 11 were educated in the kibbutz and some of them chose to stay.[2] In 1956 the kibbutz established anulpan (Hebrew school) and some of its graduates chose to settle in the kibbutz.[4] A group ofHashomer Hatzair members from theUnited States settled in the kibbutz in 1958 and 1959.[3]
During the 1950s it was a center ofHashomer Hatzair attempts to work with the local Arab population.[10]
HaZore'a industries include a plastics factory ("Plastopil"), a cowshed, anaquaculture complex ("HaZore'a Aquatics"), aquality control centre ("Maba") and various field crops.
HaZore'a is undergoing a complex process of change from the model of the traditional kibbutz, where everything is equally shared, to a more modern form of settlement. Essentially, HaZore'a still operates as a socialistic society, providing uniform living conditions to kibbutz members. Nevertheless, several changes of individualistic nature have already taken place, such as privatization of services like the dining room and the electricity utility. Another example is official recognition of certain "residency" statuses, which allow some populations to reside in the kibbutz without being part of the economic collective.
HaZore'a is headed by the Secretariat with two officials in charge of social issues. The Community Council of 15 kibbutz members meets once a week to discuss matters needing further attention. The final decisive authority of the kibbutz is the ballot, for which all members are eligible to vote.
HaZore'a maintains a communal dining hall and an auditorium for cultural and communal activities, such as celebratingJewish holidays. The kibbutz issues a weekly paper titled "Ba'sha'ar" (English: "At the gate"), which serves as a medium for a variety of material concerning everyday life in the kibbutz.
HaZore'a is home to Plagim Elementary School (established 1991), where children from the kibbutz and five other settlements study 1st to 6th grade. The school belongs to Megiddo Regional Council, and is part of the Israeli state education system.
Another option, open to both Jews and non-Jews, is thevolunteering program, offering a less obligating frame for young people to experience kibbutz life. There is also Garin Tzabar and lone soldier programs that reside on the kibbutz.[11]
HaZore'a is home to theWilfrid Israel Museum, an archaeology and art museum whose kernel is the Asian art collection ofWilfrid Israel. The museum was designed byAlfred Mansfeld.[12] SignificantBronze Age archaeological finds, some displayed at Wilfrid, have been made on-site at Hazorea.[13]
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