Beit Hashita was the first kibbutz founded by the “Machanot Haolim Movement”

In Beit Hashita children are being educated from infancy to maturity

Beit Hashita is the home ofArie Ben-Gurion and Azaria Alon, the home ofpioneers and warriors fighting for the Land of Israel

It has a population of about 1100 people including kibbutz members, children and residents.

The kibbutz is located in the Harod Valley and cultivates 3000 acres of agricultural land.

The various farm branches are field crops, dairy farming, cattle breeding and fish ponds. The kibbutz also has a factory for agricultural equipment.

[pictures: Beit Hashita, meaning the home of the “Acacia tree” is located at the foot of the Gilboa Mountain in the eastern Jezreel Valley.]

The kibbutz has its origins in the Hugim Movement, which was founded in Tel Aviv in 1926. The founders were a group of pupils from the Herzliya Highschool and their friends from other schools who rebelled against their parents’ bourgeois way of life. They decided to realize their ideals by founding settlements and working hard.Two years later the movement turned into Machanot Haolim and established its first kibbutz, Beit Hashita.

In October 1928 the first settlers set out to Hadera where they lived together and worked for two years. From there they moved to Ein-Tivon , today Kefar Yehezkel, making their living as construction workers. Then they moved to “Ma’ayan Harod”, their last site before settling in Beit Hashita.

Immigrants from Germany, Holland, Poland, Bagdad and Syria and new members from the Scout movement and Machanot Haolim from Haifa and Jerusalem joined the kibbutz. Thanks to this mixed population Beit Hashita developed and grew stronger.

In spring 1935 the first well was drilled close to the ruins of the deserted village, Shata, and at the same time the members of the kibbutz began working the land. On December 10, 1935 (14 Kislev, 5695) 13 years after the first wave of settlers in the Harod Valley the foundations were laid for the establishment of the new settlement on its present location.

The name Beit Hashita was chosen , since apparently this was the place of the biblical village Bet Hashita which is mentioned in the story about the Midianites fleeing from Gideon “…and the host fled to Beit Hashita in Zererah…” (The book of Judges VII; 22).

Beit Hashita is located in the semi-arid zone of Israel where droughts are quite common. In the beginning resources were scarce, and the kibbutz was in dire straits. Nevertheless, the kibbutz joined the struggle for the establishment of the Jewish state. It served as a military base of the Palmach and numerous members joined the Hagana, the Palmach and the British Army.

After World War II Holocaust survivors joined the kibbutz, and groups of young people having lived through the war in Europe, made Beit Hashita their first home before moving on to new settlements. Palmach units and various youth groups being prepared for establishing new settlements got their training in Beit Hashita thus absorbing the spirit and the values of the kibbutz. They contributed their skills either to existing young kibbutzim or to the establishment of new settlements such as Eyal, Regavim, Netiv HaL”H, Kisufim, Palmach Tzuba and Kedma (which has dissolved) and others.

In 1951-1952 at the time of the ideological split within the kibbutz movement more than two hundred members and children left Beit Hashita to move to Ayelet Hashahar. These were difficult and painful times during which members and children from kibbutz Tel Yosefjoined Beit Hashita as the result of the split. Among them a group of high school graduates and newly released soldiers stood out. They filled in the age gaps in Beit Hashita.

From its very early days Beit Hashita was known for its many children, including those who were born in the kibbutz and those who came from the cities to live there. A number of groups of immigrant children were also absorbed in the school. The members believed in educating the new generation in Beit Hashita’s own school and in the spirit of kibbutz ideology. Thanks to the numerous children they were able to establish a large and dynamic local school from grade one to twelve.

As years passed by the birth rate in the kibbutz decreased which made it impossible to maintain the local school. As a result, in 1993 the junior and senior high school joined the regional school “Emek Harod”, and in 1995 the elementary school joined the “Rimon School” in kibbutz Mesillot. Thus after more than fifty years of schooling the young generations at home this grand effort came to an end (1942-1995).

Since the early nineties a gradual change in the structure of the kibbutz has taken place. Agriculture lost its position as the main source of income, and in its place the two factories grew and developed. A large number of members went looking for jobs outside the kibbutz, since working in industry did not appeal to them. In 2002 the change towards privatization accelerated and thus it was decided that salaries belong to the individual members and not to the kibbutz as a whole. Still, the kibbutz guarantees the welfare of its pensioners and those who are sick or disabled.

In line with the idea of privatization members are charged full prices for most services offered within the kibbutz. This change of the economic system also reflects a swift in social attitudes and values. Today kibbutz members, being free to make their own decisions, have their fates in their hands. If in the past social and cultural togetherness was considered a primary value today the individual and the family have come into focus.

For over a decade Bet Hashita has undergone a comprehensive process of privatization and has opened its doors to various economic ventures. At present a new neighborhood consisting of 120 plots is being constructed with the prospect of being populated in the near future.

מקור עיקר החומר באתר שלנוהינו בארכיון בית השיטה והאוצרת כיום תמר אדר 2009

בשנה האחרונה מצוי הארכיון ועובדיו בעיצומו של מאמץ אדיר של העברת כל החומר שנצטבר בו מאז היווסדו למדיה דיגיטלית וזאת בעזרת בית יגאל אלון וקרן הרוארד בארצות הברית.

במסגרת זו הועתקו ונסרקו למדיה ממוחשבת כל הסרטים והתמונות אשר היו צבורים בארכיון באלבומים וקופסאות קרטון,וכן כל הקלטות בתמונה ובקול המתעדות את חיינו בבית השיטה ב 80 השנה האחרונות.

כאשר תסתיים המשימה הענקית הזו נביא בפני צופי האתר שלנו טעימות מהאוצר הכולל:

77000 תמונות

845 קבצי וידאו

1270 סרטים שצולמו כאן ועלינו

נאחל לתמר ולעוסקים במלאכה שיסימו במהרה ונזכה לראות שוב מרוחב ידנו וליבנו.