Beit HaArava
Encyclopedia
Beit HaArava is an Israeli settlement
and kibbutz
in the West Bank
. Located near the Dead Sea
and Jericho
at the eponymous Beit HaArava Junction, the intersection of Highway 1
and Highway 90, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megilot Regional Council
. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law
, but the Israeli government disputes this.
s who had fled Nazi Germany
to Mandate Palestine via Youth Aliyah
. David Coren
, later a member of the Knesset
, was also amongst the founders. It was named after the biblical village of the same name, located in the Arava
plain, and means "House in the Desert". According to the Jewish National Fund
, the Kibbutz became famous for its experiments in land reclamation
, the residents reclaiming land that had never been previously cultivated.
In 1947, Beit HaArava had a population of over 200. On 20 May 1948, after a failure to reach an agreement with Transjordan
's King Abdullah
, Beit HaArava and the nearby Kalia were abandoned due to their isolation during the fighting of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
. The residents of the villages evacuated to the Israeli post at Sodom
. Its members were later temporarily housed in kibbutz Shefayim
, and ultimately split into two groups which in 1949 founded the kibbutzim of Gesher HaZiv
and Kabri in the Western Galilee.
In 1980, Beit HaArava was re-established as a Nahal
outpost. It became a civilian community in 1986. In 2000, the site of village moved 5 kilometres westwards. Today Beit HaArava has 40 families, 30 of them members of the kibbutz.
for electricity generation was the Beit HaArava pond, which was operated until 1988. The pond had an area of 210,000 m² and produced an electrical output of 5 MW.
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
and kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. Located near the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
and Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
at the eponymous Beit HaArava Junction, the intersection of Highway 1
Highway 1 (Israel)
Highway 1 , is the main highway connecting Tel Aviv with Jerusalem.-History:The section between Latrun and Jerusalem roughly follows an ancient path connecting Jaffa and Jerusalem...
and Highway 90, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megilot Regional Council
Megilot Regional Council
Megilot Regional Council , also Megilot Dead Sea Regional Council, is a regional council in the Judean desert near the western shores of the Dead Sea. With only and 1,000 residents, it is Israel's smallest regional council. Its municipal offices are located in Vered Yeriho.-Etymology:The name...
. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law
International law and Israeli settlements
The international community considers the establishment of Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories illegal under international law, but Israel maintains that they are consistent with international law because it does not agree that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the...
, but the Israeli government disputes this.
History
The village was originally established in 1939 by European members of Zionist youth movementZionist youth movement
A Zionist youth movement is an organization formed for Jewish children and adolescents for educational, social, and ideological development, including a belief in Jewish nationalism as represented in the State of Israel...
s who had fled Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
to Mandate Palestine via Youth Aliyah
Youth Aliyah
Szold was initially skeptical about the merits of Freier's proposal, as she believed that Germany offered better educational opportunities for Jewish children than Palestine. However, Hitler's rise to power convinced her otherwise. The Nuremberg Laws were enacted in 1935 and on 31 March 1936 German...
. David Coren
David Coren
David Coren was a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment between 1969 and 1977.-Biography:Born in Jerusalem in 1917, Coren was educated at the Hebrew Gymnasium in his home city, before studying at a Teachers Seminary in Ramat Rachel and for a year at the...
, later a member of the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
, was also amongst the founders. It was named after the biblical village of the same name, located in the Arava
Arabah
The Arabah , also known as Aravah, is a section of the Great Rift Valley running in a north-south orientation between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea and continuing further south where it ends at the Gulf of Aqaba. It includes most of the border between Israel to the...
plain, and means "House in the Desert". According to the Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
, the Kibbutz became famous for its experiments in land reclamation
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
, the residents reclaiming land that had never been previously cultivated.
In 1947, Beit HaArava had a population of over 200. On 20 May 1948, after a failure to reach an agreement with Transjordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
's King Abdullah
Abdullah I of Jordan
Abdullah I bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan [‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Husayn] عبد الله الأول بن الحسين born in Mecca, Second Saudi State, was the second of three sons of Sherif Hussein bin Ali, Sharif and Emir of Mecca and his first wife Abdiyya bint Abdullah...
, Beit HaArava and the nearby Kalia were abandoned due to their isolation during the fighting of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
. The residents of the villages evacuated to the Israeli post at Sodom
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
. Its members were later temporarily housed in kibbutz Shefayim
Shefayim
Shefayim is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located 17 km north of Tel Aviv along the Mediterranean coast, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaSharon Regional Council...
, and ultimately split into two groups which in 1949 founded the kibbutzim of Gesher HaZiv
Gesher Haziv
Gesher HaZiv is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Situated in the Western Galilee on the coastal highway between Nahariya and the Lebanese border, opposite the Akhziv National Park, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council...
and Kabri in the Western Galilee.
In 1980, Beit HaArava was re-established as a Nahal
Nahal
Nahal is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Historically, it refers to a program that combines military service and establishment of new agricultural settlements, often in outlying areas...
outpost. It became a civilian community in 1986. In 2000, the site of village moved 5 kilometres westwards. Today Beit HaArava has 40 families, 30 of them members of the kibbutz.
Economy
The world's largest operating solar pondSolar pond
A solar pond is a pool of saltwater which acts as a large-scale solar thermal energy collector with integral heat storage for supplying thermal energy...
for electricity generation was the Beit HaArava pond, which was operated until 1988. The pond had an area of 210,000 m² and produced an electrical output of 5 MW.