Ein Harod (Hebrew:עֵין חֲרוֹד) was akibbutz in northern Israel nearMount Gilboa. Founded in 1921, it became the center ofMandatory Palestine's kibbutz movement, hosting the headquarters of the largest kibbutz organisation,HaKibbutz HaMeuhad.[1][2][3]
In 1923 part of the community split off intoTel Yosef, and in 1952 the rest of the community split intoEin Harod (Ihud) andEin Harod (Meuhad).
It was named after the nearbyspring then known in Arabic as Ain Jalut, "Spring of Goliath",Hebraized as "Ein Harod", nowMa'ayan Harod. It was built on land formerly belonging to the villages ofQumya andTamra.
The original kibbutz was located near the 1260battlefield of Ayn Jalut, a battle in which theMongols suffered their first defeat at the hands of theMamluks, which arguably saved the Mamluk sultanate from annihilation.
In the early 20th century the spring and the surrounding area were owned by theSursock family fromBeirut, which had bought the land from the Ottoman government in 1872 and who established a small village in the area.[4][5]
In 1921, when the land was sold by the Sursocks, the nine families who lived here petitioned the new British administration for perpetual ownership, but were only offered a short lease with an option to buy,[6] and the land was instead acquired by the Jewish community as part of theSursock Purchases.
Named the "Nuris Bloc" after a nearby Arab village, the area was bought by theZionist activistYehoshua Hankin through thePalestine Land Development Company.
The kibbutz was founded in 1921 by Russian Jewish pioneers of theThird Aliyah.[7]
In 1921, members of theGdud HaAvoda "Work Battalion", at a time when their road work was decreasing, set up a work camp in theHarod Valley, the eastern extension of theJezreel Valley, at the foot ofMount Gilboa.[8][9] In 1921, 35 young people from the Gdud pitched tents at theHarod Spring.[10]
Shlomo Lavi, among the leaders of the Gdud, had envisioned the "BigKvutza", a settlement consisting of several farms spread on vast terrain with both agriculture and industry. His plan was approved by theWorld Zionist Organization, but with some limitations on his detailed vision. The Gdud began this settlement near the Ain Jalut which was known to Jews as Ein Harod. Yehuda Kopolevitz Almog, one of the Gdud's leaders, describes that in the first day the settlers set up tents and began enclosing their camp with barbwire and defensive trenches.[11][12] The group began to farm land which thePalestine Land Development Company had purchased from the Arab village ofNuris, in the eastern part of the Jezreel Valley.[13] The Gdud members worked here at draining the swamps, a permanent source ofmalaria.[8]
The first 74 members pioneers were split into two groups. One of theSecond Aliyah, former members ofHashomer andKvutzat Kinneret, and the other from theThird Aliyah. In the first months, the settlers sowed fields, planted aeucalyptus grove, paved roads and dried swamps.
A young Jewish engineer arrived, explaining the major and minor canals of the valley. A team of surveyors then designated which major and minor canals would be dug. The canals were then dug by the Labor Brigade pioneers. Clay pipes are laid that absorb the infested waters of the marshes. The draining project dried the swamps, largely eliminating the mosquitoes and the scourge ofmalaria. In their place fertile fields emerged.[14]
AnUlpan, a school for learning Hebrew was set up in the camp. In December 1921, a second farm calledTel Yosef (afterJoseph Trumpeldor) was established by members of the Gdud on the hill ofQumya. Disagreements on funds and internal politics have led Ein Harod and Tel Yosef to part ways in 1923, with many members leaving the former for the latter. The group that remained in Ein Harod included 110 members and was headed by Lavi,Yitzhak Tabenkin,Aharon Zisling andDavid Maletz. The group at Ein Harod continued to get little support from the Zionist organizations and after the1929 Palestine riots, the members chose to move their camp from the area of the spring to the hill ofQumya, next to Tel Yosef and thus the settlement at the spring was abandoned.[12][15][16] Two-thirds of the group are believed to have resettled at Tel Yosef.[9][17] While it's sometimes considered that Ein Ḥarod was founded in 1921 and Tel Yosef in 1923, together they formed one farming unit.[9] The spring continued to be used as a camp site for the pioneers ofBeit HaShita andDovrat before their departure to their permanent locations.[18][19]
According to acensus conducted in 1922 by theBritish Mandate authorities, Ein Harod had a population of 244 Jews.[20]
In 1924, the Ein Harod group was joined by members of the Havurat HaEmek group. In 1925, under the leadership ofYitzhak Tabenkin, Ein Harod became the center of countrywide kibbutz movement joined by members ofYagur,Ashdot Yaakov andAyelet HaShahar, forming the basis ofHaKibbutz HaMeuhad.
Ein Harod became the organizational headquarters of the movement.[1] In 1926, during a breakup of the Gdud HaAvoda along ideological faultlines separating the Marxists from the more moderate leftists, Ein Harod and Tel Yosef ceased their close cooperation.[9][21]
On 17 April 1926, the Jewish American violinist,Jascha Heifetz performed for the pioneers at a concert in the kibbutz.[22]
In 1930, when the collective moved to a permanent location at the foot of Kumi Hill, the kibbutz had 239 members.
The village played an important role in the defence of the area during the1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, known by the Jews of the era as "the disturbances," during which it was the base ofOrde Wingate'sSpecial Night Squads.[7] In 1945 theHaganah had a small prison there in which they detained members of theIrgun during theSeason.[23] However, on 29 June 1946, as part ofOperation Agatha, theBritish army occupied the kibbutz by force.[7] By 1947 it had a population of 1,120.[7]
_%25D7%259C%25D7%25A2%25D7%2599%25D7%259F_%25D7%2597%25D7%25A8%25D7%2595%25D7%2593_-_%25D7%259E%25D7%2595%25D7%25A4%25D7%25A2_%25D7%25A1%25D7%25A4%25D7%2595%25D7%25A8%25D7%2598-ZKlugerPhotos-00132oj-907170685135987.jpg)
In 1949, the village ofGidona was also established near to the spring for Jewish immigrants fromYemen.[24]
In 1952, in the wake of ideological differences between supporters of the two mainsocialist parties,Mapai andMapam, the kibbutz split, creating two separate kibbutzim:Ein Harod (Ihud), affiliated withMapai and belonging toIhud HaKvutzot veHaKibbutzim; andEin Harod (Meuhad), affiliated withMapam and belonging toHaKibbutz HaMeuhad. Today both kibbutzim belong to theUnited Kibbutz Movement.
Mishkan Museum of Art is one of the first art museums in Israel. The museum was founded in 1937 as an "art corner" during the early years of the kibbutz in the belief that culture and art were among the essential components of a society. The artworks were initially displayed in the art studio owned by Haim Atar, a small wooden hut. A new, imposing, museum building, designed by an architectSamuel Bickels [he], was inaugurated in 1948.[25] During construction of the museum, the 1952 Mapai/Mapam split happened, but the museum was preserved as the joint institution for the split kibbuzim. The museum was declared as a "heritage site" by theCouncil for Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel.
Beit Shturman Museum [he] houses a collection of archaeology and artifacts related to local history of the area.[26]
32°33′37″N35°23′27″E / 32.56028°N 35.39083°E /32.56028; 35.39083
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
