Nir David
Encyclopedia
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
in the Beit She'an Valley near the city of Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
in northern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Founded on 10 December 1936 as the first of the tower and stockade
Tower and stockade
Tower and stockade was a settlement method used by Zionist settlers in the British Mandate of Palestine during the 1936–39 Arab revolt, when the establishment of new Jewish settlements was restricted by the Mandatory authorities...
settlements under the name Tel Amal, it is under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council
History
The community of Nir David was formed in the city of Ramat Gan in 1932. Its first members were founders of the Hashomer HatzairHashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
Zionist youth movement
Zionist youth movement
A Zionist youth movement is an organization formed for Jewish children and adolescents for educational, social, and ideological development, including a belief in Jewish nationalism as represented in the State of Israel...
in Israel. In 1933 the group united with kibbutz Massad
Massad
Massad may refer to:Summer Camps:* Camp Massad , a Jewish summer camp at Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba* Camp Massad , a Jewish summer camp in Ste. Agathe, Quebec, based in Montreal...
from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. In 1934 the community sent a group to the Beit She'an Valley to cultivate the land that the Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
had purchased for future settlements in the region. The kibbutz members began farming around Tel Shuk, where the kibbutz would later be established. When Arab riots began on the night of 20 April 1936, the kibbutz's first wheat crop was burned and its plants and seedlings uprooted.
The members of the community were determined to return to their land, despite the dangers involved. Faced with Arab terror and British opposition, they devised a plan for a fortified settlement that could resist attack from its first night of existence. On 10 December 1936 Tel Amal was established as the first tower and stockade
Tower and stockade
Tower and stockade was a settlement method used by Zionist settlers in the British Mandate of Palestine during the 1936–39 Arab revolt, when the establishment of new Jewish settlements was restricted by the Mandatory authorities...
settlement (and the first kibbutz) in the Beit She'an Valley, and the second in all of Mandate Palestine. During the next three years of troubles from the 1936-1939 Arab riots, some 52 such settlement were built overnight.
In the 1940s the kibbutz was renamed Nir David in honor of David Wolfsohn, the second president of the World Zionist Organization
World Zionist Organization
The World Zionist Organization , or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization , or ZO, in 1897 at the First Zionist Congress, held from August 29 to August 31 in Basel, Switzerland...
. The kibbutz today has over 650 adult members and children. Current kibbutz secretary is Amichai Geller.
Economy
Carbonless copy paper
Carbonless copy paper , non-carbon copy paper, or NCR paper is an alternative to carbon paper, used to make a copy of an original, handwritten document without the use of any electronics...
, and a metal factory exports horticultural vehicles & tools.
Called by many "Israel's most beautiful kibbutz", Nir David has in recent years started using its natural assets to attract local tourism:
- "Gan Hashlosha" - A semi-natural water park (formerly known by its ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
name, Sachne). - "Gan-Guroo" - Australian zoo, which features Australian marsupialMarsupialMarsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
wildlife such as kangarooKangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s and koalaKoalaThe koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae.... - Village Inn - Lodging in Nir-David on the banks of the Asi river.
- Guest ranch - a relatively large horse ranch offering horseback training for children and adults, from basic riding to competitive, and occasionally hosts equestrianEquestrianismEquestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
show jumpingShow jumpingShow jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...
competitions. - Holtzer Sport Center - A modern sport complex which includes a 25 m. swimming pool, basketball court and a multipurpose gymnastics hall.