Hemdat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hemdat or Chemdat (; Hebrew: חמדת) is a village and Israeli settlement located in the Jordan River Valley on a plain at an altitude of 178 metres along the Allon Road in the municipal jurisdiction of the Biq'at Hayarden Regional Council. Other villages in the area are Ro'i, Beqa'ot. The closet city, Bet Shean, is a thirty minute drive north of Hemdat.
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[edit] History
Hemdat was first established in 1979 as a pioneer Nahal military outpost that was soon thereafter demilitarized and turned into a kibbutz when turned over to residential purposes to a group of pioneers from Hashomer Hatzair and Israel Boy and Girl Scouts Federation. Due to the harsh living conditions of the valley (intense heat, distant location) and other obstacles, this group abandoned the kibbutz and the village was returned back to the Israel Defence Forces Nahal brigade. In 1997, a new group organized by the Amana settlement organization rose to the challenge and moved to resettle Hemdat. This group was made up of students at the Bnei David pre-military yeshiva academy in Eli and one family named Shitrit.
[edit] Education
Three months after the re-founding of the village, a religious pre-military academy was established called Hemdat Yehuda.
Other educational institutions include a nursery school and a kindergarten. Young children learn at the elementary school on the Sde Eliyahu kibbutz. The older youth learn at the Sde Eliyahu High School, and other institutions in the area and elsewhere.
[edit] Population
Hemdat does not have a homogeneous population and it is made up of a mixed group of families from different Jewish ethnic backgrounds and locations in Israel. There is one central synagogue that serves the village, as well as religious services at the academy. Hemdat is currently looking for a local chief rabbi.
