Ma'abarot, Israel

Ma'abarot
מעברות‎
Ma'abarot
Coordinates: 32°21′50″N 34°54′15″E / 32.36389°N 34.90417°E / 32.36389; 34.90417Coordinates: 32°21′50″N 34°54′15″E / 32.36389°N 34.90417°E / 32.36389; 34.90417
District Central
Council Hefer Valley
Affiliation Kibbutz Movement
Founded 1933
Founded by Romanian Hashomer Hatzair members
Population (2015)[1] 962
Website www.maabarot.org.il
A member of Kibbutz Ma'abarot on guard duty, 1936

Ma'abarot is a kibbutz in central Israel. Established in 1933 and located to the east of Netanya,[2] it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council. In 2015 it had a population of 962.

History

Ma'abarot was the third kibbutz established by the Kibbutz Artzi federation and is located in the Sharon Plain, near the old road from Petah Tikva to Haifa. It was founded by graduates of the left-wing Hashomer Hatzair Zionist youth movement in Romania who organized themselves as a settlement group, and immigrated to Mandate Palestine in 1924.

Upon their arrival in Palestine, the group waited several years until land for settlement was available. They worked as hired laborers in the meanwhile. In 1932, a large stretch of land in the Wadi Hawarith/Hefer Valley area was acquired by the Jewish National Fund of which a small part was given to the settlement group. Ten members established an initial presence on the land, constructing housing and farm buildings, and making a start in land amelioration, while the rest of the group continued its communal life in Hadera. In September 1933, they too moved to the site of Ma'abarot, which was located in a swampy area near Nahal Alexander.[3]

Over the following years, the kibbutz membership was augmented by additional Hashomer Hatzair groups, from Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany (of which most members where Russian), and Chile.[4]

Economy

Ma'abarot farms approximately 3,000 dunams (3 km²) of land. Cotton is the major cash crop, and other branches include subtropical orchard, fish-breeding ponds and a dairy barn. The kibbutz also operates two pharmaceutical factories:

In addition, Ma'abarot runs a state of the art spray drying plant, which dehydrates foods of every variety. Foremost among these is "MATERNA", an infant formula which is the leading baby-formula in Israel.[5]

Culture

Members of the kibbutz were very much involved in the artistic and musical life of the country. The composer Nissim Nissimov, leading figure in the musical activities of the Labor movement, organized in the year 1944 a famous musical show inspired by the Song of Songs. In 1955 the French cellist Paul Tortelier, impressed by the ideals of the kibbutzim, settled and worked here for a year, with his family. He then composed "Israeli Symphony" based on his experiences in living at the kibbutz.

Archaeology

Burial caves and artifacts from prehistoric settlements have been found on the grounds of the kibbutz.[6]

Notable residents

References

  1. ↑ "List of localities, in Alphabetical order" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  2. ↑ By adapting, kibbutz movement finds success
  3. ↑ Maabarot history
  4. ↑ Escaping Hitler: A Jewish Haven in Chile, Eva Goldschmidt Wyman
  5. ↑ Materna factory
  6. ↑ Agelarakis A., Paley S., Porath S., and J. Winnick, “The Chalcolithic Burial Cave in Ma’avarot, Israel, and its Paleoanthropological Implications”, International Journal of Osteo-Archaeology 8 (1998): 431-443
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