Mesilot

Mesilot
Founded	12 December 1938
Founded by	Bulgarian and Polish Hashomer Hatzair members
Region	Beit She'an Valley
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Coordinates	32°29′42.71″N 35°28′27.84″E / 32.4951972°N 35.4744°E / 32.4951972; 35.4744Coordinates: 32°29′42.71″N 35°28′27.84″E / 32.4951972°N 35.4744°E / 32.4951972; 35.4744
Mesilot

Mesilot (Hebrew: מְסִלּוֹת, מסילות‎‎, lit. Tracks) is a kibbutz in Beit She'an Valley near the city of Beit She'an in Israel. It falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. location : under mount Gilboa

History

The community was initially formed as an urban kibbutz in Givat Michael near Ness Ziona by immigrants from Poland (who were members of the "BaMesilah" group from which the kibbutz takes its name) and Bulgaria (members of the "Bulgaria - Tel Hai group"), with both groups belonging to the Hashomer Hatzair movement.

The kibbutz itself was established on 22 December 1938 as a tower and stockade settlement. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the kibbutz was bombed by an Iraqi aeroplane. One member of the kibbutz was killed in the bombing, and some other members were injured. On 16 april 1957 two guards of the kibbutz were killed by Palestinian terrorists who came from the West Bank, then part of Jordan

Among the illustrous sons of the settlement are the sculptor Nahum Tevet (1946) and the ballet dancer and choreographer Zvi Gotheiner.

Economy

As well as agriculture, Mesilot has a large and successful factory, the "Mesilot Cable Factory." Likewise, the kibbutz does various forms of agriculture, including livestock: milking cows and flock of chickens, a fishery, an orchard, plantings of olives and dates, and other vegetables.

Education

The children of the kibbutz are educated in the regional school within the kibbutz, which also serves children from the nearby kibbutzim Reshafim, Nir David, Beit Hashita, Sde Nahum and Beit Alfa. Next to the elementary school, based on the donation of Mrs. Yehudit ben Moshe (who was a member of Mesilot and the first principal of its school), a special school was founded for children with autism. Healthy children from grades 7 through 12 used to be educated at the Gilboa School, which was founded next to the Beit Alfa kibbutz and was run jointly by Mesilot, Reshafim, Nir David and Beit Alfa. In 2005 this school was closed, so the students of Mesilot transferred to the regional school at Neve Eitan.