Shomrat
Encyclopedia
Shomrat 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.
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
and al-Sumayriyya
(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.
Following the collapse of Shomrat's industrial enterprises at the end of the 1980's, Shomrat has successfully reorganized itself on the renewed kibbutz model, instituting a differential pay scale and deep privatization of kibbutz services.
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 Western Galilee region of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Located on the coastal highway just north of Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
, 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 2006 it had a population of 347.
The kibbutz is located on the land of the depopulated Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
village of Al-Manshiyya, north of the village site.
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
Al-Manshiyya
Al-Manshiyya was a Palestinian village with a Muslim orphanage and a mosque known as the mosque of Abu 'Atiyya, which is still standing. The village was close to the shrine of Baha'u'llah, who was the founder of the Baha'i Faith, which is also still standing....
and al-Sumayriyya
Al-Sumayriyya
Al-Sumayriyya was a Palestinian village located six kilometers north of Acre that was depopulated after it was captured by the Israel Defence Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.-History:Al-Sumayriyya is Arabic for "The Little Samaria"...
(today Lohamei HaGeta'ot).
The kibbutz was founded in 1948 by Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
members from Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. Some of the founders fought with the partisan forces against the Nazis in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, 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
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. The kibbutz is located in the area of the Tribe of Asher
Tribe of Asher
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Asher! was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes...
, 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
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
, and moved to the permanent location in 1950.
Following the collapse of Shomrat's industrial enterprises at the end of the 1980's, Shomrat has successfully reorganized itself on the renewed kibbutz model, instituting a differential pay scale and deep privatization of kibbutz services.