Kfar Masaryk (, he, כְּפַר מַסָּרִיק, ''lit.'' Masaryk Village) is a
kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
in northern
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. Located in
Western Galilee
Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galile ...
near the
Belus River
Na'aman River, ( he, נחל נעמן, Nahal Na'aman; ar, نهر النعامين, Nahr Na'mein), is a stream in northwestern Israel. To the ancient writers Pliny, Tacitus and Josephus it was known as the Belus or Belos River of Phoenicia.
The Na ...
and south of
Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
, it falls under the jurisdiction of
Mateh Asher Regional Council
The Mateh Asher Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מטה אשר, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Asher'') is a regional council in the western Galilee of northern Israel. It is named after the Tribe of Asher which had been allotted the region ...
. In , it had a population of .
History
The founders were
Jewish immigrants from
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
and
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, who settled in
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...
in 1932. The following year they formed Kibbutz Czecho-Lita and moved to
Bat Galim in
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
. In 1934, they moved to an area of sand dunes near
Kiryat Haim
Kiryat Haim ( he, קריית חיים , ar, كريات حاييم) is a neighborhood of Haifa, Israel. It is considered part of the Krayot cluster in the northern part of metropolitan Haifa. In 2008, Kiryat Haim had a population of just un ...
and changed the name of the group to "Mishmar Zevulun" (Guard of the Zevulun). In 1937 they were joined by a group of
Polish Jewish
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...
immigrants who were members of ''Hayotzer''.
Despite opposition from the
Jewish Agency
The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...
, who reasoned that the sandy soil could not support agriculture, Mishmar Zevulun was established on 29 November 1938 as the 29th
tower and stockade settlement. In 1940 the kibbutz moved to its present site and was renamed Kfar Masaryk after
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš () is a Czech and Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas.
It may refer to:
* Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937), first President of Czechoslovakia
* Tomáš Baťa (1876–1932), Czech footwear entrepreneur
* Tomáš Berdych ( ...
, the first
President of Czechoslovakia.
Economy
The kibbutz grows cotton, tomatoes and avocados; breeds cattle, poultry and carp; and operates paper and cardboard box factories. It also manufactures electronic devices.
Intensifying of the cooperation with kibbutz Kfar Masaryk
/ref>
File:PikiWiki Israel 14005 Settlements in Israel.jpg, Kfar Masaryk, circa 1940-1950
File:מגדל מים ע"ש ברוך יצחק ברולד בכפר-מסריק-JNF004842.jpeg, Kfar Masaryk water tower 1940
File:כפר מסריק - בחגיגת הנחת אבן הפנה לכפר מסריק.-JNF034714.jpeg, Kfar Masaryk 1940 opening ceremony
See also
* Czech Republic-Israel relations
References
External links
Kibbutz website
Kibbutz Kfar Masaryk Collection
on the Digital collections of Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library
The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library is a central academic library of the University of Haifa, and one of the largest in Israel. It is also one of the most progressive Israeli libraries in terms of service, collection, physical space, and libr ...
, University of Haifa
{{Mateh Asher Regional Council
Czech-Jewish culture in Israel
Lithuanian-Jewish culture in Israel
Slovak-Jewish culture in Israel
Kibbutzim
Kibbutz Movement
Populated places established in 1938
Populated places in Northern District (Israel)
1938 establishments in Mandatory Palestine