Hulda, Israel

Kibbutz Hulda
חֻלְדָּה
Kibbutz Hulda
Coordinates: 31°49′56.28″N 34°53′0.24″E / 31.8323000°N 34.8834000°ECoordinates: 31°49′56.28″N 34°53′0.24″E / 31.8323000°N 34.8834000°E
Council Gezer
Region Shephelah
Affiliation Kibbutz Movement
Founded 1930
Founded by Gordonia members

Hulda (Hebrew: חֻלְדָּה) is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah near the Hulda Forest and the Burma Road, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gezer Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 332.[1] The kibbutz takes its name from the Palestinian village of Khulda, which existed nearby until the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.[1]

History

Hulda memorial

In 1905, the Anglo Palestine Bank purchased 2,000 dunams (2.0 km2) of land from the Saidun tribe for a Jewish settlement near the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway. Ownership of the land was transferred to the Jewish National Fund which turned it over to the Eretz Israel Office. In 1909, the Hulda farm was established and a building (today Herzl House) was constructed to house the manager of the farm and later, groups of pioneers who trained there prior to founding Ein Harod, Kfar Yehezkel, Ginegar and other kibbutzim.[2]

During the 1929 Palestine riots, the farm was attacked and destroyed. British forces ordered the evacuation of the settlers but barred them from taking the body of Ephraim Chizik, the Haganah commander who was killed in battle. [3] In 1931, the Gordonia pioneer group resettled Hulda. The farm suffered several more attacks during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine.[2]

During Israel's War of Independence in 1948, it served as the headquarters of the Palmach Yiftach Brigade and a base for convoys bringing supplies to Jerusalem.[1][4]

The kibbutz became a staging ground for Jewish convoys trying to break the Arab siege on Jerusalem. 230 convoys were set out to transport supplies to the besieged city, the largest of which were organized near Kibbutz Hulda. [5]

In the early 1980s, membership was about 220, but financial difficulties led to the exodus of many families, leaving only half that number. The kibbutz has since been privatized.[6]

Economy

The Hulda vineyard, covering over 1,200 dunams, is the largest single vineyard in Israel.[7] Hulda Transformers, established in 1975, produces and distributes transformers and power supplies for commercial, military and medical equipment.[8] Yarok al Hamayim is a banquet facility at Kibbutz Hulda.[9]

Notable residents

Herzl House, Kibbutz Hulda

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mapa's concise gazetteer of Israel (in Hebrew). Yuval Elʻazari (ed.). Tel-Aviv: Mapa Publishing. 2005. p. 174. ISBN 965-7184-34-7.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Herzl never lived here
  3. ↑ The First Forest
  4. ↑ Shabtai Teveth (1996) Ben Gurion's Spy Columbia University Press ISBN 0-231-10464-2 pp 19-20
  5. ↑ http://www.gemsinisrael.com/e_article000003340.htm The Convoy Skeletons]
  6. ↑ With interest waning, kibbutzim adopt new approach to survive
  7. ↑ About Barkan Winery
  8. ↑ Hulda Transformers
  9. ↑ President to President, Jerusalem Post