Heftziba
חפציבה‎
Heftziba is located in Jezreel Valley region of Israel
Heftziba
Heftziba
Heftziba is located in Israel
Heftziba
Heftziba
Coordinates: 32°31′5″N 35°25′31″E / 32.51806°N 35.42528°E / 32.51806; 35.42528
Country Israel
DistrictNorthern
CouncilGilboa
AffiliationKibbutz Movement
Founded1922
Founded byCzechoslovak and German Jews
Population
 (2021)[1]
757

Heftziba (Hebrew: חֶפְצִיבָּהּ) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the boundaries of the Jezreel and Beit She'an Valleys between the cities of Afula and Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gilboa Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 757.[1]

History

Heftziba 1937

The kibbutz was founded in 1922 by Jewish immigrants from Czechoslovakia and Germany. It was named after the farm adjacent to Hadera, where the original settlers worked before they relocated and founded the community.[2] The name, chosen by Olga Hankin, derives from the Bible, where God speaks about his love for Israel: "My delight in her." (Isaiah 62:4).[3]

According to the 1922 census of Palestine conducted in 1922 by the British Mandate authorities, Heftziba had a population of 125 inhabitants, consisting of 123 Jews and 2 Muslims.[4]

The nearby Palestinian village of Ṣaffūriya had been almost emptied of its 4000 inhabitants in July 1948 during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. By early January 1949, about 500 villagers had filtered back, but "neighbouring settlements coveted Saffuriya lands". The "Northern Front" ordered the villagers eviction, which was carried out the 7th of January 1949. Land in Saffuriya was then distributed to its neighbouring Jewish settlements.[5]

In February 1949, 1000 Dunams of land in Ṣaffūriya was given to Heftziba.[5]

On Thursday, July 31, 1986, at approximately 5:00 PM, ten teenager members of the kibbutz were killed following a head-on collision with a semi-trailer, while driving back from a summer camp. The disaster left a mark of terrible sadness on the kibbutz, and a long-standing conflict between some of the kibbutz members.[6][7]

Archaeology

The zodiac mosaic in the 6th century Beit Alfa synagogue

The Beth Alpha Synagogue National Park is located in the kibbutz, not, as many assume, at the adjacent kibbutz with the same name, Beit Alfa. It contains an ancient Byzantine-era synagogue with a mosaic floor depicting the lunar Hebrew months as they correspond to the signs of the zodiac.[8][9] The synagogue as well as the nearby kibbutz got their name from the Arab village that once stood here, Khirbet Bait Ilfa.

Makuya

Makuya students have been sent to kibbutzim in Israel to study Hebrew and the biblical background. Some of them continue their academic studies in universities. The primary kibbutz the Makuya students stay at is Heftziba.[10]

Notable people

References

  1. ^ a b "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  2. ^ Carta's Official Guide to Israel and Complete Gazetteer to all Sites in the Holy Land. (3rd edition 1993) Jerusalem, Carta, p. 195, ISBN 965-220-186-3
  3. ^ Watt did you say? Jerusalem Post
  4. ^ "Palestine Census ( 1922)".
  5. ^ a b Morris, B. (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press. pp. 516, 517. ISBN 978-0-521-00967-6.
  6. ^ "Maariv Newspaper, August 1, 1986".
  7. ^ "Maariv Newspaper, August 3, 1986".
  8. ^ "Beit Alfa Synagogue National Park (on Kibbutz Hefzibah)". Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
  9. ^ Goldman, Bernard, The Sacred Portal: a primary symbol in ancient Judaic art, Detroit : Wayne State University Press, 1966. It has a detailed account and treatment of the mosaic at the Beit Alfa synagogue.
  10. ^ Mukuya presence at Heftziba Dina Israel
  11. ^ Koestler, Arthur Arrow in the Blue pp. 125–32
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