Beit Oren

Beit Oren
Hebrew	בֵּית אֹרֶן, בית אורן
Founded	1939
Founded by	Hebrew Socialist Adolescence members
Region	Carmel
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Coordinates	32°43′53.04″N 35°0′19.79″E
Beit Oren

Beit Oren (Hebrew: בֵּית אֹרֶן‎‎, lit. House of Pine) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. It falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council.

Geography

Kibbutz Beit Oren is located in the heart of Carmel mountain range, right next to the Carmel Nature Reserve national park, an area often called "little Switzerland".

History

In 1934 a single Arab house stood on the site of what is today Beit Oren. It was purchased with the surrounding lands, settled by a group of 15 Jewish workers, and served as a watch tower and camp. The workers intended to build a city and name it Yaarot HaCarmel, but a number were killed when the site was attacked during the 1936 Arab Revolt.

Kibbutz Beit Oren was founded in 1939 by immigrants from Poland and Russia, part of the Hebrew Socialist Youth movement. Over time these were joined by other groups from Dror and Aliyat HaNoar, as well as by a group from Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael.

Prior to Israel's independence, the kibbutz served the Haganah as a Palmach base for underground activities against the British. On 9 October 1945, a Palmach unit set out from Beit Oren to free 208 illegal immigrants detained at the Atlit detainee camp. After overcoming the guards, the freed immigrants were led past Beit Oren to Kibbutz Yagur, where they were hidden from the British. The attack was the first anti-British action undertaken by the Palmach.

During the 1980s Beit Oren went practically bankrupt, leaving the senior members without any income or means of subsistence, in a great deal of debt and with commitments for which they had no way to cover. The kibbutz movement stopped financial support to the kibbutz, then in severe economic and social crisis, and suggested that veteran members leave. The United Kibbutz Movement allowed a group of young individuals to change the kibbutz fundamentally. In 1999, eight members of Beit Oren, applied to the High Court of Justice, to order the registrar of cooperative societies, to abolish the classification of Beit Oren as a kibbutz and classify it as a different kind of cooperative society. It later underwent privatization, shifting from a kibbutz to a community village.

2010 forest fire

Main article: 2010 Israel forest fire

By 2010, Beit Oren had about 200 members. On December 2, 2010, it suffered extensive damage in the 2010 Israel forest fire. Parts of the kibbutz were destroyed by the fire, though the inhabitants had been evacuated to safety.

Economics

The community operated a hotel and a horse riding centre. Other sources of revenue in the community included a lead factory with an on-site glass work shop. The kibbutz also featured an extensive, privately owned events venue that formerly served as its community dining hall. Beit Oren's large outdoor membership-based swimming pool also manages to attract large amounts of people from Haifa and surrounding communities. In addition, the kibbutz also features a locally owned pub with live bands and a professional mountain-bike store offering new bike models, bike repairs and modification as well as guided trips within the Carmel mountain range.

Attractions

Khirbet Oren (Shalale) is an ancient city in the center of Mount Carmel, on a steep hill overlooking Oren valley. There are few remains at the site indicating that the city flourished during Hellenistic and Roman times. Canaanite findings (25th-10th centuries BC) have also been found in the area.