Be'eri

Be'eri

בְּאֵרִי‎
Be'eri בְּאֵרִי‎
	Be'eri Be'eri
	Coordinates: 31°25′26″N 34°29′23″E
Country	Israel
District	Southern
Council	Eshkol
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	6 October 1946
Founded by	No'al members
Population (2022)	1,071
Website	beeri.kibbutz.org.il

Be'eri (Hebrew: בְּאֵרִי) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev desert near the eastern border with the Gaza Strip, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,071.^[1]

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During a massacre in Be'eri during the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, over 130 people were killed.

History

Kibbutz Be'eri was established on 6 October 1946 as one of the 11 points in the Negev. It was located near Wadi Nahabir, a few kilometres south of Be'erot Yitzhak. Its founders were members of the HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed movement, who had been preparing in Maoz Haim, as well as some Hebrew scouts and a group of Iraqi Jews who had survived the Farhud and trekked across the desert to Mandatory Palestine in 1947.^[2] It was named after Berl Katznelson, as Be'eri (Beeri) (a biblical name) was his pen name.^[3]

In 1947 Be'eri had a population of over 150. The early settlers engaged in land reclamation and tree planting.^[4] The Jewish National Fund reported that for months the kibbutz was completely isolated, "but the settlers held their ground until the liberation of the Negev in October 1948."^[4]

After Israeli independence, the kibbutz moved three kilometres southeast to its present location. It is considered one of Israel's wealthiest kibbutzim.^[3] During the Second Intifada, the kibbutz suffered from Qassam rocket attacks and combat near the Israel–Gaza barrier eight kilometres away.^[5]

A sulfur deposit from Upper Pleistocene sandstone was discovered in the vicinity of Kibbutz Be'eri.^[6]

Be'eri massacre

Relations between Be'eri residents and Gazans were reportedly good. Bret Stephens writes:

Be’eri was well known for its pro-peace sympathies: It had a special fund to give financial help to Gazans who came to the kibbutz on work permits, and kibbutzniks would often volunteer to drive sick Palestinians to an oncology center in southern Israel.^[7]

On 7 October 2023, Hamas militants infiltrated the kibbutz, took an unknown number of Israelis hostage and killed more than 100 people in their coordinated attacks across Israel that initiated the Israel-Hamas war.^[8] Relatives of some of those killed have demanded a probe into the potential deaths of some of these hostages from friendly fire, including one incident in which an Israeli tank fired at a house full of hostages.^[9]^[10]^[11] One of the hostages abducted from Be'eri was killed by Hamas, along with 5 other Israeli hostages, after 330 days in captivity.^[12]

Economy

Unlike many kibbutzim that have undergone privatization, Kibbutz Be'eri has retained the old cooperative model. The main source of income is the Be'eri print company, which has an annual turnover of hundreds of millions of shekels. The company has expanded into package printing, online photo albums and professional marketing material for small businesses. It also owns a food tech company, Hinoman, which cultivates Mankai (Wolffia globosa) using hydroponics.^[13]

The kibbutz grows jojoba and markets oil from the fruit to the cosmetics industry. Other sources of income are a boutique dairy that produces premium handmade cheese.^[14]