Beerot Yitzchak

Beerot Yitzchak was founded by Religious pioneers from Germany and Czechoslovakia in 1936. Since this group was not allocated land for the building of a settlement, they lived in a communal fashion community which was named Ramat Hasharon and located near Pardas Hanna. They worked in the nearby citrus orchards and their salaries were put into a communal account. In 1943, they were allocated land in the western Negev near Gaza and built there the Kibbutz Beerot Yitzchak. Beerot Yitzchak was the first kibbutz in the western Negev and was the starting point for three of the 11 settlements which were formed overnight in 1946. The first settlers confronted arid and uncultivated soils, brackish water, and wary neighbors in Gaza but despite these difficulties, they established a vibrant and stable kibbutz. Following the UN approval of the partition plan in 1947, Beerot Yitzchak became a target for constant sniping and artillery firing.

Following Israel's Declaration of Independence in 1948, the attacks became more frequent and intense and it was decided to evacuate all mothers and children leaving only the men and women without children to defend their home. On the 15th of July, 1948 (8 of Tamuz), massive Egyptian forces, infantry, armored, and air, attacked the Kibbutz. The defenders were entrenched in an extensive configuration of trenches and outposts but an Egyptian shell hit the water tower and flooded the trenches making then almost unusable. Despite their inferior numbers and being cut off from each other, the defenders were able to fend off the superior Egyptian forces and even repel some Egyptian troops whom were able to breach the perimeter and to enter into the kibbutz leaving over one hundred bodies behind. The price of this victory was acute, more than half of the defenders were killed or wounded and the kibbutz buildings and infrastructure was destroyed.

The remaining members made a noteworthy decision, which would be the subject of a on-running dispute for many decades, and decided to relocate the kibbutz including the many widows and orphans, to the present location in the Lod plain outside of Tel Aviv. The kibbutz and its members were able to adjust to the new location and continue to thrive in this same place. I could describe for you the different agricultural endeavours, industries, and activities, but you can find them all at this link: http://www.beerot.co.il/GarinTzabar/AbouttheKibutz/tabid/286/Default.aspx . I'd rather focus on our most important resource, the residents.

Not too many members are left from the founders and most are well into their eighties, but two can serve as great examples of our greatest resource. When the first settlers went to establish the Negev location in 1943, they found barren lands with no available resources. Their first task was to dig a well so that they would have the most fundamental of things, water. Only men were supposed to cope with these harsh conditions but one young woman took it upon herself to join these men and try to provide them with the most rudiment means to ease the difficulties. She cooked, did their laundry, and performed other tasks to make their burden as easy as possible. I'm not sure how feminists would view her today but she did her best to do for others while ignoring her own personal inconveniences and hardships.

Another woman was married but without children in 1948 so she stayed with the defenders during the Egyptian army attack. Since all communications with the outposts were lost, she was asked to be a "runner" and discover what was the situation in the various outposts. Without thinking twice she went off, moving through the muddied trenches and never knowing if she would meet friend or foe at every turn. Would she be met with a hug or with a shower of enemy bullets? A few times she had to step over bodies of friends of hers but with an unbelievable amount of courage and determination, she completed the task and played an important part in repelling the enemy. At one point, she reached an outpost where most of the ammunition had been soaked by the water from the damaged water tower. Under fire, she calmly removed her head covering and began to wipe the bullets dry one by one. Today both of these women come to work everyday in the clothing facility and will be more than happy to let out a seam, fix your trousers, or make you new curtains.

These are enormous footsteps to follow in but we try to do our best.