Bet Keshet

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BET KESHET

BET KESHET (Heb. בֵּית קֶשֶׁת), kibbutz north of Mount Tabor, affiliated with Ha-Kibbutz ha-Me'uḥad. Bet Keshet was founded on Aug. 15, 1944, as the first settlement of the then clandestine *Palmaḥ. Most settlers had received agricultural training in the nearby Kadoorie School, while others were demobilized soldiers who had served in World War ii. South African immigrants and others joined the kibbutz after 1948. In the War of Independence (1948) hard battles raged around Bet Keshet and a monument was subsequently erected to its members who fell. Its economy was based on field crops, deciduous fruit, vines, beef cattle, and other farm products. In 2002 the population of Bet Keshet was 297. The name, "House of the Bow," refers to the village being founded by pioneer soldiers (cf. ii Sam. 1:18).

[Efraim Orni]