My visit to Kibbutz Ein Harod

My visit to Kibbutz Ein Harod

By Ted Belman

Mike Packard, a longtime friend of Israpundit, invited me to spend Shabbat with him and his family in Kibbutz Ein Harod. I gratefully accepted. So on Friday I hopped on a bus in Jerusalem headed for Beit Shean.

The bus travelled down to Jericho, a trip I had taken in 1968 when I was first in Israel. The drop in elevation went from 2100 feet above sea level to 1200 feet below. What surprised me was that the Bedouin camps I remembered from the first trip were still there with their decrepit black tents and lifestyle. One cannot help but notice as one drives through the Judean Hills east of Jerusalem, the complete barrenness of the landscape which consists entirely of white-beige sandstone.

At Jericho, which is close to the north end of the Dead Sea, we turned left and traveled North parallel to the Jordan River. On the east side could be seen the very prominent Jordanian hills which dominate the valley. These hills are known as the Moabite Mountains from biblical times. It is where Moses died after G-d refused him entry into the promised land for doubting him. Joshua went on to cross the Jordan and conquer Jericho.

Progressively, as we moved north, farming communities appeared amidst the otherwise inhospitable surroundings. This farming is made possible because it is all done under plastic tents which serve to protect the plants from excessive sunshine and to capture evaporated water and return it to the soil. Before the soil was useable it had to be washed for weeks to cleanse it of excess salt.

Finally, we arrived at Beit Shean which is a community of some 16,000 residents mainly of Sephardic origin. It is a "frontier town" thereby entitling residents and businesses to various tax breaks. It sits about five miles north of the northern greenline.

From there we drove west for 10 miles to Kibbutz Ein Harod, my destination.

Mike was there to meet me and take me to his place on a scooter. His wife Sherry, from New York originally, welcomed me with open arms. Their guests included Iris who was a Sabra, born of Iraqi expellees, with her young daughter. In addition two of their daughters were present and participated in the "family" gathering, the oldest of which was married to a Russian who made aliya in 1990.

Kibbutz Ein Harod is situated in Jezreel Valley, which is the bread basket of Israel. (It is not to be confused with the Huala Valley which lies at the foot of the Golan Heights). It wasn't always so productive, as it originally was all mosquito infested swampland. These are the lands the Halutzim reclaimed through backbreaking work and dedication. To accomplish this task they lived in collective communities which still exist today as separate Kibbutzim. Ein Harod, having been started in 1921, is the oldest.

The swamps had you be drained and kept drained. So it was necessary to lay drainage pipes underground enabling the excess water to be continuously drained away. In my ignorance, I thought, that once drained that's the end of it.

For supper we made our way to the dining room which functioned like a cafeteria and was large enough to accommodate 1500 persons. The building which housed it, looked out over a fertile value which had as its backdrop, Gilboa Mountains. One particular mountain in this range is known as Mount Saul where King Saul intentionally fell on his sword after losing a battle with the Phillistines.. Thereupon David cursed the mountain and it remained barren for 3000 years.

Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.

It remained so, until Keren Kayemit planted a forest on it which is visible today from the dining room. This was no small feat as the soil had been totally eroded making it necessary to plant the trees in small crevices and indentations in the rocks. Over time the new forest created soil in which more trees could grow naturally.

On the way back to the house we walked along the main drag which was notable for its very large trees which lined the road and produced welcomed relief from the noonday sun and beautified the place.

We had breakfast Shabbat morning out on the porch. Mike proudly pointed out his fig trees, producing red figs on one and white on the other. Unfortunately for me, the figs weren't ready to be eaten. But the Muskat grapes were just about ready and I ate them off the vine. Date palms were all over the place.

Sherry served me various cheeses that were made on the Kibbutz.and this lead to a discussion about their dairy herd. I always thought that cows just gave milk. Little did I know that the cows had to be impregnated first in order to give milk. The cows produce milk for about seven months after birth and then had to be impregnated again for the next cycle. Of course they gave birth after a nine month gestation period producing male and female calves. The males end up in the abattoir when the time comes for a good steak.

Continued here: My visit to Kibbutz Ein Harod