Gesher
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| Etymology: Bridge | |
  Gesher  Gesher | |
| Coordinates:32°37′17″N35°33′8″E / 32.62139°N 35.55222°E /32.62139; 35.55222 | |
| Country |  Israel |
| District | Northern |
| Council | Valley of Springs |
| Affiliation | Kibbutz Movement |
| Founded | 1939 |
| Founded by | Noar Oved andJewish refugees fromGermany. |
| Population (2023)[1] | 449 |
| Website | www.gesher.org.il |
Gesher (Hebrew:גשר,lit. 'Bridge') is akibbutz in theBeit She'an Valley in northeasternIsrael. Founded in 1939 by Jewish refugees fromGermany, it falls under the jurisdiction ofValley of Springs Regional Council. It is situated 10 km south of kibbutz Deganya Aleph and 15 km south of Tiberias. In 2023 it had a population of 449.[1]
It is named after the neighbouring Roman bridge over theJordan River ("gesher" means bridge in Hebrew), known asJisr Majami, 1 km to the east in what is now known as theNaharayim area. The original site of the kibbutz, depopulated during the 1948 war, known asOld Gesher, was located immediately north of the old Roman bridge.
The original site of the kibbutz – 1 km east of its current location – was originally akhan orcaravanserai built around 1365,[2] active from the Mamluk period to the early 19th century.[3] Situated right next to the west end ofJisr Majami ("bridge of the meeting"), it was one of the earliest khans in the Galilee and was a major crossroads where the north–south Bet She'an–Damascus road intersected the east–west road which led fromGilead through theSirin Plateau.[3] There are three bridges at the site—aByzantine stone bridge (the above-mentioned Jisr el-Majami), anOttoman railroad bridge serving theHaifa–Dera'a segment of theHejaz Railway, and aBritish Mandate road bridge serving theHaifa–Baghdad highway.[4]
A small settlement in the caravanserai existed until the early 20th century,[5] in the1922 census of Palestine, conducted by theBritish Mandate authorities, Jisr al Majami had a population of 121; 112 Muslims, 4 Jews and 5 Christians,[6] where all the Christians were of the Orthodox faith.[7] Following the building of theRutenberg hydroelectric power plant, the population had totally changed in the1931 census to a total of 320; 3 Muslim, 316 Jewish and 3 Christian, in a total of in 43 houses.[8]
In 1939, Kibbutz Gesher was founded next to the ancient bridge (see below).
In1945, Jisr al Majami had 250 inhabitants; 230 Jews, 10 Muslims and 10 Christians, and the total land area was 458 dunams.[9][10] A total of 15dunums were used forcitrus andbananas, 274 dunums were used for cereals,[11] while 169 dunams were classified as uncultivable land.[12]
Some of the original kibbutz buildings lay within the khan ruins.[3]
The kibbutz was founded in 1939 on lands bought with the help ofEdmond de Rothschild, by a group ofYishuv Jews, who were members of the youth movementHaNo'ar HaOved, and a group of young Jewish refugees fromGermany. They were later joined by more Jewish immigrants fromPoland, Germany,Austria and additionalPalestinian Jews. The kibbutz grew up near the Naharayim bridge as aTower and stockade settlement.
On 27 April 1948, theHaganah took control of the Gesher police station, aTegart fort that had been evacuated by the British. TheArab Legion, still under British control at the time, ordered them to evacuate it. Haganah refused and both troops exchanged fire during 3 days until the Arab Legion was ordered by his HQ to return to their barracks.[13]
In April–May 1948, 50 children of the kibbutz were evacuated to a 19th-century French monastery on the grounds ofRambam hospital in theBat Galim neighborhood ofHaifa, where they lived for 22 months.[14] The building had been empty since 1933, when the Carmelite nuns had moved into their new monastery on the French Carmel.[15]
For seven days, beginning on May 15, 1948, the kibbutz andTegart fort were attacked by Iraqi forces using armored cars and aerial bombing.[16] The defenders repulsed the Iraqis, inflicting heavy losses, but the kibbutz was destroyed during combat.
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After the war, the kibbutz was rebuilt about 1 km to the west.
During theWar of Attrition between 1967 and 1970 the kibbutz was attacked with bombs, mines and gunfire byPLO Arab Palestinian fighters. In the 1990s it underwent privatization while preserving the collective model in the areas of education, health, culture and leisure.
After the peace agreement between Israel and theKingdom of Jordan, the kibbutz established a museum on the original site of the kibbutz that documents the history of Gesher and the Jewish-run power station ofNaharayim.
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