Degania Bet ( he, דְּגַנְיָה ב', ) is a kvutza or

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. Located to the south of the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...

adjacent to

Degania Alef Degania Alef ( he, דְּגַנְיָה א', ) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. The Jewish communal settlement (''kvutza'') started off in 1910, making it the earliest socialist Zionist farming commune in the Land of Israel. Its status as "the mo ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of Emek HaYarden Regional Council. Degania Bet was established in 1920. As of it had a population of .

History

Degania Bet was founded in 1920 by immigrants from the

Second Aliyah The Second Aliyah ( he, העלייה השנייה, ''HaAliyah HaShniya'') was an aliyah (Jewish emigration to Palestine) that took place between 1904 and 1914, during which approximately 35,000 Jews immigrated into Ottoman-ruled Palestine, most ...

, led by Levi Brevda (Levi Ben Amitai).Shtetl Links: Lyakhovichi
Kehlia Links It was the first planned kibbutz and was designed and built by the German Jewish architect Fritz Kornberg. One of its founders was Levi Eshkol. During the

1920 Palestine riots The 1920 Nebi Musa riots or 1920 Jerusalem riots took place in British-controlled part of Occupied Enemy Territory Administration between Sunday, 4 April, and Wednesday, 7 April 1920 in and around the Old City of Jerusalem. Five Jews and four Ar ...

it was attacked and abandoned for several months. In the

1931 census of Palestine The 1931 census of Palestine was the second census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate for Palestine. It was carried out on 18 November 1931 under the direction of Major E. Mills after the 1922 census of Palestine. * Census of P ...

Degania Bet had a population of 138, all Jews, in a total of 39 houses.Mills, 1932, p
82
/ref> During the 1936–39 Arab revolt it served as a base for establishing tower and stockade settlements. Its population had increased to 290, still all Jewish, by the 1945 census.Department of Statistics, 1945, p
12
/ref> Zoltan Kluger

On 20 May 1948, during the

Battles of the Kinarot Valley The Battles of the Kinarot Valley ( he, הַמַּעֲרָכָה בְּבִקְעַת כִּנָּרוֹת, ''HaMa'arakha BeBik'at Kinarot''), is a collective name for a series of military engagements between the Haganah and the Syrian army du ...

, in one of the first battles of 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 residents of Degania Alef and Bet, assisted by a small number of military personnel, repelled a

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

n attack and succeeded in halting the advance of the

Syrian army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six ...

into the Jordan Valley.

Economy

In addition to its 350 cow dairy herd, crop fields, almond orchards, banana, date and avocado plantations, Degania Bet industrialized in the 1960s with Degania Sprayers, now a green industry; in 1984 it opened the Degania Silicone factory. An additional source of income is its kibbutz cottage tourist accommodation, and it specializes in organized bicycle tours.

Notable people

* Levi Eshkol (1895–1969), third Prime Minister of Israel (1963–69); Degania Bet member *

Michael Kolganov Michael "Misha" Kolganov (or Kalganov, he, מיכאל (מישה) קולגנוב, russian: Михаил Калганов; born October 24, 1974) is a USSR-born Israeli sprint kayaker and former world champion (1998–99). Competing in th ...

, Soviet-born Israeli

sprint canoeist Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race canoes or kayaks on calm water. Overview Race categories vary by the number of athletes in the boat, the length of the course, and whether the boat is a canoe or kayak. Canoe sprints are som ...

, world champion, bronze medalist at

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

; Degania Bet non-member resident in the 2000s * Kadish Luz, Minister of Agriculture (1955–59) and Speaker of the Knesset (1959–69), acting President for one month in 1963; Degania Bet member * Gabi Teichner (born 1945), basketball player

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Kvutza website
*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 6
IAAWikimedia commons
{{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1920 Populated places in Northern District (Israel) 1920 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Sea of Galilee