Be'eri ( he, בְּאֵרִי) 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 southern

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 north-western

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its sout ...

desert near the border with the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Eshkol Regional Council Eshkol Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית אשכול, ''Mo'atza Ezorit Eshkol'') is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The regional council's territory lies midway between Ashkelon and Beershe ...

. In it had a population of .

History

Kibbutz Beeri was established on 6 October 1946 as one of the

11 points in the Negev 11 points in the Negev ( he, 11 הנקודות or he2, אחת-עשרה הנקודות, ''Akhat-Esre HaNekudot'') refers to a Jewish Agency plan to establish 11 settlements in the Negev in 1946 prior to the partition of Palestine and the establis ...

. It was located near Wadi Nahabir, a few kilometres south of

Be'erot Yitzhak Be'erot Yitzhak ( he, בְּאֵרוֹת יִצְחָק, ''lit.'' Yitzhak Wells) is a religious kibbutz in central Israel. Located near Yehud, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In it had a population of . Hist ...

. Its founders were members of the HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed movement, who had been preparing in

Maoz Haim Maoz Haim ( he, מָעוֹז חַיִּים, ''lit.'' Haim's Fortress) is a kibbutz in Israel. Located adjacent to the Jordan River in the Beit She'an valley and falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. In it had a po ...

, as well as some

Hebrew scouts The Hebrew Scouts Movement in Israel ( he, תנועת הצופים העבריים בישראל, ''Tnuat HaTzofim HaIvriyim BeYisrael'') is an Israeli Jewish co-ed Scouting and Guiding association with about 80,000 members. The Hebrew Scouts Move ...

. It was named after

Berl Katznelson , birth_date = , birth_place = Babruysk, Russian Empire (now Belarus) , death_date = , death_place = Jerusalem , spouse = , partner = , party = Mapai , children = , kno ...

, as Be'eri (Beeri) (a biblical name) was his

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

. In 1947 Be'eri had a population of over 150. The early settlers engaged in

land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamat ...

and tree planting. The group was enlarged by young Jews from Iraq who arrived by desert trek. The

Jewish National Fund Jewish National Fund ( he, קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael'', previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, and subsequ ...

reported that for months the kibbutz was completely isolated, "but the settlers held their ground until the liberation of the Negev in October 1948." After Israeli independence, the kibbutz moved three kilometres southeast to its present location. It is considered one of Israel's wealthiest kibbutzim. From the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel ...

, the kibbutz suffered from

Qassam rocket The Qassam rocket ( ar, صاروخ القسام ''Ṣārūkh al-Qassām''; also ''Kassam'') is a simple, steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. These rockets cannot be fired ...

attacks and combat near the Israel–Gaza barrier eight kilometres away.

Michele Bachmann Michele Marie Bachmann (; née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

was a volunteer at Be'eri in 1974.

Economy

Unlike many kibbutzim that have undergone privatization, Kibbutz Be'eri has retained the old cooperative model. The main source of income is the Be'eri printing company, which has an annual turnover of hundreds of millions of shekels. The company has expanded into package printing, online photo albums and professional marketing material for small businesses. It also owns a food tech company, Hinoman, which cultivates Mankai (

Wolffia globosa ''Wolffia globosa'' is a species of flowering plant known by the common names Asian watermeal and duckweed. It is native to Asia and is found in parts of the Americas and Africa, where it is an introduced species. It grows in mats on the surface ...

), a nutrient-rich super-vegetable grown using sustainable

hydroponics Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing plants, usually crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in aqueous solvents. Terrestrial or aquatic plant ...

.The secret to Kibbutz Be'eri's successful socialism: Being rich

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

Landmarks

About four kilometers to the north lies the ANZAC Monument, commemorating the

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comm ...

soldiers who died in the

Third Battle of Gaza The Third Battle of Gaza was fought on the night of 1–2 November 1917 between British and Ottoman forces during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I and came after the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) victory at the ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The Be'eri Forest with the Be'eri Badlands Nature Reserve within.

Sports

The kibbutz's

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's ...

, Hapoel Be'eri, plays in

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

Historical images

File:Be'eri 1948.jpg, Kibbutz Be'eri in 1948 File:Be'eri.jpg,

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 ...

position close to Be'eri in 1948 File:Be'eri i.jpg, Members of

"D" company assembled at Be'eri in 1948 File:Be'eri ii.jpg, Kibbutz Be'eri after the fighting in 1948

References

External links

Official website

Be'eri
WiKibbutz {{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1946 Jewish villages in Mandatory Palestine Populated places in Southern District (Israel) 1946 establishments in Mandatory Palestine