Nir David ( he, נִיר דָּוִד, ''lit.'' David's Meadow) 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 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 ...

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 ...

. Founded on 10 December 1936 as Tel Amal, the first of the tower and stockade settlements, 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

Nir David was founded on the 10 December 1936, under the name of Tel Amal. It was established as the first tower and stockade settlement (and the first kibbutz) in the Beit She'an Valley. In the 1940s, the kibbutz was renamed Nir David in honor of

David Wolffsohn David Wolffsohn ( yi, דוד וואלפסאן; he, דוד וולפסון; 9 October 1855 in Darbėnai, Kovno Governorate – 15 September 1914) was a Lithuanian-Jewish businessman, prominent early Zionist and second president of the Zionis ...

, second president of the

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization ( he, הַהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַצִּיּוֹנִית הָעוֹלָמִית; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the ...

. The communal dining room and two children's homes were designed by

Zeev Rechter Ze'ev ( he, זאב \ זְאֵב ''zeév''), also spelled Zeev or Zev, is a name of Hebrew origin which means wolf. The given name is a masculine form used among Ashkenazi Jews. It is a Biblical name, adapted from a reference to Benjamin in Genesi ...

, architect of some of Israel's most iconic buildings. A group of

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no unive ...

joined the kibbutz in the 1940s. Nir David uses land that traditionally belonged to the depopulated

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

village of

Al-Sakhina Al-Sakhina ( ar, الساخنة), was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Baysan. It was located five kilometres west of Baysan on the Jalud River on its way to the Jordan River. It was depopulated by the Israel Defense Forces during th ...

. In the 1990s, Nir David developed a tourism industry based around the Asi river, which flows through it. Around 2010, the kibbutz fenced off the community and installed a locked steel gate at the entrance, after protest from people, who wanted access to the scenic Asi river. In 2021, the kibbutz claimed that 40% of its population was

Mizrahi ''Mizrachi'' or ''Mizrahi'' ( he, מזרחי) has two meanings. In the literal Hebrew meaning ''Eastern'', it may refer to: *Mizrahi Jews, Jews from the Middle East * Mizrahi (surname), a Sephardic surname, given to Jews who got to the Iberian P ...

. File:מגדל שמירה בניר דוד בעמק בית שאן-JNF034490.jpeg, Nir David 1936 File:היבול בשנה הראשונה בניר-דוד-JNF004552.jpeg, Nir David 1937 File:ניר דוד - טוחנים את התבואה לפי שעה באופן פרימיטיבי-JNF029128.jpeg, Nir David 1937 File:ניר דוד - היבול הראשון-JNF029125.jpeg, Nir David 1938 File:ניר דוד - פרופסור חיים ויצמן-JNF010724.jpeg, Nir David visit by

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israel ...

1944 File:ניר דוד - מראה כללי-JNF034822.jpeg, Nir David permanent houses 1945 File:AN AERIAL VIEW OF KIBBUTZ TEL AMAL IN THE BEIT SHEAN VALLEY. צילום אוויר של קיבוץ תל עמל (ניר דוד) בעמק בית שאן.D828-018.jpg, Nir David, 1946 File:Tel Amal.jpg, Members of

Yiftach Brigade The Yiftach Brigade (also known as the Yiftah Brigade, the 11th Brigade in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War) was an Israeli infantry brigade. It included two Palmach battalions (the 1st and 7th), and later also the 2nd, which was transferred from the ...

, "C" Company, at Tel Amal, 1948

Economy

The kibbutz's main income is from agriculture, e.g., field crops, orchards, and fish. Nir David Fish Breeding Farms has developed

Tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

strains with unique properties. The kibbutz's "Nirotek" factory produces

self adhesive Pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA, self-adhesive, self-stick adhesive) is a type of nonreactive adhesive which forms a bond when pressure is applied to bond the adhesive with a surface. No solvent, water, or heat is needed to activate the adhesiv ...

and

carbonless copy paper Carbonless copy paper (CCP), non-carbon copy paper, or NCR paper (No Carbon Required, taken from the initials of its creator, National Cash Register) is a type of coated paper designed to transfer information written on the front onto sheets beneat ...

, and a metal factory exports

horticultural Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

vehicles and tools.

Landmarks

* "

Gan Hashlosha Gan HaShlosha National Park ( he, גן השלושה, literally: "Park of the three"), also known by its Arabic name Sakhne ( ar, الساخنة, literally: "The hot ool), is a national park in Israel. Located between kibbutzim Beit Alfa and ...

" - A semi-natural water park. * "Gan-Garoo" - Australian zoo, which features Australian

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...

wildlife such as

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

s and

koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the womb ...

* Village Inn - Lodging in Nir-David on the banks of the Asi river. *

Guest ranch A guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agritourism. History Guest ranches arose in response to the romanticization of the American West that began to occur ...

- a relatively large horse ranch offering horseback training for children and adults, from basic riding to competitive, and occasionally hosts

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...

competitions. * Holtzer Sport Center - A modern sport complex which includes a 25 m. swimming pool, basketball court and a multipurpose sports auditorium.

Notable people

Shlomo Gur Shlomo Gur (Gerzovsky) (1913-2000), founder member of Kibbutz Tel Amal, is credited with creating and then managing the construction of 57 ''homa u'migal'' (tower and stockade settlements) during the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine. Followi ...

(1913-2000), founding *

Gabi Teichner Gabriel "Gabi" Teichner (גבי טייכנר; born November 21, 1945) is an Israeli former basketball player. He played the center position. He played in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, and for the Israel national basketball team. Biograp ...

(born 1945), basketball player

References

External links