Merhavia (moshav)
| Merhavia מֶרְחַבְיָה | |
|---|---|
  Merhavia | |
| Coordinates: 32°36′16.92″N 35°18′29.16″E / 32.6047000°N 35.3081000°ECoordinates: 32°36′16.92″N 35°18′29.16″E / 32.6047000°N 35.3081000°E | |
| Council | Jezreel Valley |
| Region | Galilee |
| Affiliation | Moshavim Movement |
| Founded | 1911/1922 |
| Founded by | Kvutzat Kibush members and Second Aliyah immigrants |
| Website | www.merhavia.co.il |
- This article is about Moshav Merhavia. For the nearby kibbutz, see Kibbutz Merhavia
Merhavia (Hebrew: מֶרְחַבְיָה, lit. "Great Enlargement - God") a moshav in northern Israel. It falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council and in 2006 had a population of 722. Founded in 1911, it was the first modern Jewish settlement in the Jezreel Valley.
Name
The name Merhavia is derived from the Book of Psalms 118:5.
Out of my straits I called upon the LORD; .. answered me with great enlargement - God.
In the metaphorical sense: "God set me free" - the experience of the Jews immigrating to the Land of Israel and achieving a new homeland without the straits of persecution.
Establishment
The village was established as the Co-operative in Merhavia, a co-operative farm, at the beginning of 1911, based on the ideas of Franz Oppenheimer.[1] The founders had arrived in the area in 1910 and consisted of members of Kvutzat Kibush and workers of the Second Aliyah. It was supposed to operate as a co-operative farm with differential wages, and was founded with the assistance of Arthur Ruppin, Yehoshua Hankin, the Anglo-Palestine Bank and Eliyahu Blumenfeld. Alexander Baerwald designed and built the first solid buildings and the road net with a central square in 1915.[2]
In 1922 it was converted to a moshav ovdim after being joined by Polish immigrants and residents of Tel Aviv who wanted to work in agriculture.
In 1929 a kibbutz, also by the name of Merhavia, was established next to the moshav.
External links
- Village website (Hebrew)
Notes
- ↑ http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FA0F1FFA385A12738DDDAE0994DB405B848DF1D3
- ↑ Myra Warhaftig (German) (Hebrew: מירה ווארהפטיג), "Alex Baerwald", in: id., Sie legten den Grundstein. Leben und Wirken deutschsprachiger jüdischer Architekten in Palästina 1918-1948, Berlin and Tübingen: Wasmuth, 1996, pp. 34-41, here p. 35. ISBN 3-8030-0171-4
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