Messilot ( he, מְסִלּוֹת, מסילות, ''lit.'' Tracks) 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 the

Beit She'an Valley The Beit She'an Valley ( he, בקעת בית שאן or he, עמק בית שאן) is a valley in Israel. The valley lies within the Beit She'an rift, part of the Afro-Syrian Rift (Jordan Rift Valley), which opens westwards to the Harod Valley. I ...

near the city of

Beit She'an Beit She'an ( he, בֵּית שְׁאָן '), also Beth-shean, formerly Beisan ( ar, بيسان ), is a town in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below se ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Valley of Springs Regional Council Emek HaMa'ayanot Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית עמק המעיינות, ''Mo'atza Azorit Emek HaMa'ayanot'', lit. ''Valley of the Springs Regional Council'') is a regional council (Israel), regional council in the Northern Distric ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

was initially formed as an

urban kibbutz An urban kibbutz ( he, קיבוץ עירוני, ''Kibbutz Ironi'') is a form of kibbutz located within an existing city. There are currently just over 100 in Israel, totalling around 2,000 members. Although there were attempts to form urban kibbutz ...

in Givat Michael near

Ness Ziona Ness Ziona ( he, נֵס צִיּוֹנָה, ''Nes Tziyona'') is a town in central Israel. In it had a population of , and its jurisdiction was 15,579 dunams (). History Early history Lying within Ness Ziona's city bounds is the ruin of an Arab vi ...

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

from Polish Republic (who were members of the "BaMesilah" group from which the kibbutz takes its name) and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

(members of the "Bulgaria -

Tel Hai Tel Hai ( he, תֵּל חַי [] "Hill of Life") is a name of the former Jewish settlement in northern Galilee, the site of an early battle between Jews and Arabs heralding the growing civil conflict, and of a monument, tourist attraction, and a c ...

group"), with both groups belonging to the

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair ( he, הַשׁוֹמֵר הַצָעִיר, , ''The Young Guard'') is a Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary, and it was also the name of the group ...

movement. The kibbutz itself was established on 22 December 1938 as a tower and stockade settlement. During the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

, the kibbutz was bombed by an

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i aeroplane. One member of the kibbutz was killed in the bombing, and some other members were injured. On 16 April 1957 two guards of the kibbutz were killed by Palestinian terrorists who came from the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, then part of

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

Economy

Mesilot is the home of Wire Ropes Works Messilot Ltd., one of the largest producers of wire rope in Israel and the Middle East. The kibbutz also engages in various forms of

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, including livestock (milking cows and raising chickens), a fishery, an orchard, plantings of olives and dates, and other vegetables.

Education

1st to 6th grade

The children of the kibbutz are educated in the regional school within the kibbutz, which also serves children from the nearby kibbutzim

Reshafim Reshafim ( he, רְשָׁפִים, ''lit.'' Sparks) is a kibbutz in northeastern Israel. Located two kilometres to the south of the town of Beit She'an in the Beit She'an Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Coun ...

Nir David Nir David ( he, נִיר דָּוִד, ''lit.'' David's Meadow) is a kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley in northern Israel. Founded on 10 December 1936 as Tel Amal, the first of the tower and stockade settlements, it falls under the jurisdiction ...

Beit Hashita Beit HaShita ( he, בֵּית הַשִּׁטָּה, lit. ''House of the Acacia'') is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located between Afula and Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gilboa Regional Council. As of it had a population of . ...

Sde Nahum Sde Nahum ( he, שְׂדֵה נַחוּם, ''lit.'' Nahum Field) is a kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley in northern Israel. Located around 4 km northwest of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. ...

and

Beit Alfa Beit Alfa ( he, בֵּית אַלְפָא; also Beit Alpha, Bet Alpha and Bet Alfa) is a kibbutz in the Northern District of Israel, founded in 1922 by immigrants from Poland. Located at the base of the Gilboa ridge, it falls under the jurisdic ...

School for children with autism

Next to the elementary school, based on the donation of Yehudit ben Moshe (who was a member of Mesilot and the first principal of its school), a special school was founded for children with

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

7th to 12th grade

Healthy children from grades 7 through 12 used to be educated at the Gilboa School, which was founded next to Kibbutz Beit Alfa and was run jointly by Mesilot, Reshafim, Nir David and Beit Alfa. In 2005 this school was closed, so the students of Mesilot transferred to the regional school at

Neve Eitan Neve Eitan ( he, נְוֵה אֵיתָן, lit. ''Strong residence'') is a kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley in northern Israel. Located about 1 km east of Beit She'an and 1 km west of Maoz Haim, it is under the jurisdiction of Valley of ...

Sports

The club was home to a football team, which was sponsored by the local Wire Works factory and played under the name Hapoel Kvalim Mesilot. In 2009 the team was merged with Hapoel Beit She'an to form Hapoel Beit She'an Mesilot,לתשומת לב אוהדי הפועל ת"א: בית שאן חוזרת
One, 22 July 2009 which play its home games in nearby Beit She'an.

Notable people

Orly Levy Orly () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the center of Paris. The name of Orly came from Latin ''Aureliacum'', "the villa of Aurelius". Orly Airport partially lies on the territory of the com ...

(born 1973), politician *

Nahum Tevet Nahum Tevet ( he, נחום טבת) (Born 1946, Kibbutz Messilot, Israel) is one of the leading Israeli artists whose work was among the earliest to respond to the minimalist canon by introducing into his installations everyday domestic objects, ...

(born 1946), sculptor

References

{{Valley of Springs Regional Council Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1938 Populated places in Northern District (Israel) 1938 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Bulgarian-Jewish culture in Israel Polish-Jewish culture in Israel