Degania Bet

Degania Bet (Hebrew: דְּגַנְיָה ב'‎, IPA: ['dɡanja bɛt]) is a kvutza or kibbutz in northern Israel. Located to the south of the Sea of Galilee adjacent to Degania Alef, it falls under the jurisdiction of Emek HaYarden Regional Council. Degania Bet was established in 1920. As of 2019 it had a population of 674.[1]

Degania Bet

דְּגַנְיָה ב'‎
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • standardDganya Bet
Degania Bet
Coordinates: 32°42′0″N 35°34′33.6″E
CountryIsrael
DistrictNorthern
CouncilEmek HaYarden
AffiliationKibbutz Movement
Founded1920
Founded byImmigrants from the Second Aliyah
Population
 (2019)[1]
674
Websitewww.degania-b.org.il
Degania Bet in 1920

History

British Mandate

Degania Bet was founded in 1920 by immigrants from the Second Aliyah,[2] led by Levi Brevda (Levi Ben Amitai).[3] It was the first planned kibbutz and was designed and built by the German Jewish architect Fritz Kornberg.[4][5] One of its founders was Levi Eshkol. During the 1920 Palestine riots it was attacked and abandoned for several months.[2]

During the 1936–39 Arab revolt it served as a base for establishing tower and stockade settlements.

In the 1931 census of Palestine Deganya B had a population of 138, all Jews, in a total of 39 houses.[6] increasing in 1945, to 290, still all Jewish.[7]

Degania B 1937

War of Independence 1948
Degania region in historical perspective.

On May 20, 1948, during the Battles of the Kinarot Valley, in one of the first battles of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the residents of Degania Alef and Bet, assisted by a small number of military personnel, repelled a Syrian attack and succeeded in halting the advance of the Syrian army into the Jordan Valley.[2]

Members of Yiftach Brigade from Kfar Blum training at Degania Bet. 1948

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 residents

References
  1. "Population in the Localities 2019" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. Mapa's concise gazetteer of Israel (in Hebrew). Yuval El'azari (ed.). Tel-Aviv: Mapa Publishing. 2005. p. 125. ISBN 965-7184-34-7.CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. Shtetl Links: Lyakhovichi Kehlia Links
  4. Shmuel Burmil, Ruth Enis (2011). The Changing Landscape of a Utopia: The Landscape and Gardens of the Kibbutz. Past and Present. Grüne Reihe - Quellen und Forschungen zur Gartenkunst (Band 29). pp. 154–158. ISBN 978-3-88462-284-1.
  5. Chyutin, Michael and Bracha (2007-04-24). Architecture and Utopia. Ashgate Pub Co. p. 90. ISBN 0-7546-4831-1.
  6. Mills, 1932, p. 82
  7. Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 12

Bibliography
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