Gesher Haziv
Encyclopedia
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
. In 2010 it had a population of about 1,400.
from the first immigrants' gar'in of the Habonim
Labor Zionist youth movement
in North America, and half of the former members of kibbutz
Beit HaArava
, evacuated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
. It is named in memory of the 14 Palmach
members who were killed during the night of the bridges
in 1946,and in relation to the ancient Phoenician and Arab village of Achziv whose nearby remains are part of a national park by the sea -- Achziv means disappointment so the first core of "halozim" (pioneers) decided to name the new settlement, just the opposite, as "joy" referring to the bridge incident and also their own disappointment from the recent evacuation from Beit Haarava
.
In July 1998, Gesher HaZiv joined the vanguard of "privatization" in the kibbutz movement. Largely due to pressures caused by collective debts, the majority of the membership voted to adopt a policy of "differential income". Numerous economic branches were sold off, and many communal services were either shut down entirely or converted to a non-subsidized, pay-per-use basis.Kibbutz homes were parceled into separate lots and became the private property of each kibbutz family.
In 2004 the kibbutz began absorbing 200 families in a new housing development. The new families together with the veteran kibbutz members formed an administrative municipality which manages the community.
The veteran members retained the framework of the veteran kibbutz. In this framework they have maintained a level of mutual aid and economic cooperation, while all community services and activities are shared by all members of the new municipality. From 2006, many children of the veteran members, who had left the kibbutz in previous years, began returning with their families to build their homes in the revitalized community. They have become members of the community municipality, but also of the veteran kibbutz framework.
On the kibbutz grounds are two regional schools: the elementary school Hofei HaGalil ("Galilee Shores"; grades 1-6) and the experiential secondary school Sulam Tsor ("Ladder to Tyre"; grades 7-12). These schools serve local kibbutzim and moshavim, along with accepting private students from nearby towns. Since the mid-1990s, Gesher HaZiv has its own local chapter of the Zionist youth movement HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed
.
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 northern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Situated in the Western Galilee on the coastal highway between Nahariya
Nahariya
Nahariya is the northernmost coastal city in Israel, with an estimated population of 51,200.-History:Nahariya was founded by German Jewish immigrants from the Fifth Aliyah in the 1930s...
and the Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
border, opposite the Akhziv National Park, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council
Mateh Asher Regional Council
The Mateh Asher Regional Council is a regional council in the western Galilee of northern Israel. It is named after the Tribe of Asher which had been allotted the region in antiquity according to the Book of Joshua . It was founded in 1982 as a merger of three regional councils: Ga'aton, Na'aman...
. In 2010 it had a population of about 1,400.
History
The kibbutz was founded in 1949 by two groups: 120 immigrantsAliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
from the first immigrants' gar'in of the Habonim
Habonim Dror
Habonim Dror is a Jewish Labour Zionist youth movement formed by the merger in 1982 of the Habonim and Dror youth movements. Habonim Dror's sister movement in Israel is Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed, the Working and Studying Youth.-Ideology:...
Labor Zionist youth movement
Zionist 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...
in North America, and half of the former members of 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...
Beit HaArava
Beit HaArava
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...
, evacuated during 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...
. It is named in memory of the 14 Palmach
Palmach
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
members who were killed during the night of the bridges
Night of the bridges
Operation Markolet was a Haganah venture on the night of the 16th to the 17th of June 1946 in the British Mandate of Palestine...
in 1946,and in relation to the ancient Phoenician and Arab village of Achziv whose nearby remains are part of a national park by the sea -- Achziv means disappointment so the first core of "halozim" (pioneers) decided to name the new settlement, just the opposite, as "joy" referring to the bridge incident and also their own disappointment from the recent evacuation from Beit Haarava
Beit HaArava
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...
.
In July 1998, Gesher HaZiv joined the vanguard of "privatization" in the kibbutz movement. Largely due to pressures caused by collective debts, the majority of the membership voted to adopt a policy of "differential income". Numerous economic branches were sold off, and many communal services were either shut down entirely or converted to a non-subsidized, pay-per-use basis.Kibbutz homes were parceled into separate lots and became the private property of each kibbutz family.
In 2004 the kibbutz began absorbing 200 families in a new housing development. The new families together with the veteran kibbutz members formed an administrative municipality which manages the community.
The veteran members retained the framework of the veteran kibbutz. In this framework they have maintained a level of mutual aid and economic cooperation, while all community services and activities are shared by all members of the new municipality. From 2006, many children of the veteran members, who had left the kibbutz in previous years, began returning with their families to build their homes in the revitalized community. They have become members of the community municipality, but also of the veteran kibbutz framework.
Education
In 1952, Gesher HaZiv became the second kibbutz to have its children sleep in the parents' homes rather than in communal children's houses .On the kibbutz grounds are two regional schools: the elementary school Hofei HaGalil ("Galilee Shores"; grades 1-6) and the experiential secondary school Sulam Tsor ("Ladder to Tyre"; grades 7-12). These schools serve local kibbutzim and moshavim, along with accepting private students from nearby towns. Since the mid-1990s, Gesher HaZiv has its own local chapter of the Zionist youth movement HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed
Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed
Histadrut HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed , sometimes abbreiviated to No'al is an Israeli youth movement, a sister movement of Habonim Dror, the Labor Zionist movement....
.
Further reading
- Goldberg, J.J. and King, Eliot (eds.), Builders and Dreamers: Habonim Labor Zionist Youth in North America. New York: Herzl Press, 1993. ISBN 0845348418