Shomrat

Shomrat
שָׁמְרַת

Shomrat water tower
Shomrat
Coordinates: 32°57′4.32″N 35°5′44.15″E / 32.9512000°N 35.0955972°ECoordinates: 32°57′4.32″N 35°5′44.15″E / 32.9512000°N 35.0955972°E
Council Mateh Asher
Region Western Galilee
Affiliation Kibbutz Movement
Founded 29 May 1948
Founded by Hashomer Hatzair members
Website www.at-shomrat.com

Shomrat (Hebrew: שָׁמְרַת) is a kibbutz in the Western Galilee region of Israel. Located on the coastal highway just north of Acre, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 347.

The kibbutz is located on the land of the depopulated Palestinian village of Al-Manshiyya, north of the village site.[1]

The founders originally resided in the agricultural experiment station at Akko. Following an armed attack by a group of Palestinian irregulars from the Al-Manshiyya Village on Shomrat members who were on their way to work at the Na'aman shingle factory in which the kibbutz secretary was killed, Haganah forces were called in to remove the attackers.

The land holding of Shomrat was originally 14,500 dunam and consisted of lands from Al-Manshiyya[1] and al-Sumayriyya[2][3] (today Lohamei HaGeta'ot).

The kibbutz was founded in 1948 by Hashomer Hatzair members from Slovakia and Romania. Some of the founders fought with the partisan forces against the Nazis in Europe, while the majority came out of various Nazi concentration camps. Most of the kibbutz founders made their way to Palestine as part of the Aliya Bet organization, and were consequently interned in DP camps in Cyprus. The kibbutz is located in the area of the Tribe of Asher, and is named after Shomer, one of Asher's sons. The name is also associated with the name of the Hashomer Hatzair movement to which the founders belonged. The founders originally resided in the agricultural experimental government station near Acre, and moved to the permanent location in 1950.[4]

Following the collapse of Shomrat's industrial enterprises at the end of the 1990s, Shomrat has successfully reorganized itself on the renewed kibbutz model, instituting a differential pay scale and deep privatization of kibbutz services.[5]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Khalidi, 1992, p. 23
  2. Morris, 2004, p. xx, settlement #7.
  3. Khalidi, 1992, p. 30
  4. Mapa's concise gazetteer of Israel (in Hebrew). Yuval El'azari (ed.). Tel-Aviv: Mapa Publishing. 2005. p. 530. ISBN 965-7184-34-7.
  5. Kershner, Isabel (2007-08-27). "The Kibbutz Sheds Socialism and Gains Popularity.". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-12.

Bibliography

External links