Moledet

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MOLEDET

MOLEDET (Heb. (בְּנֵי בְּרִית) מוֹלֶדֶת B'nai B'rith; "Homeland"), moshav shittufi in northern Israel in S.E. Lower Galilee, affiliated with Tenu'at ha-Moshavim. Moledet was founded in 1937 by pioneers from Germany as a tower and stockade settlement, its construction being aided by the *B'nai B'rith. In its initial years Moledet had to defend itself against frequent attacks by Arabs, and in 1939 was for the most part destroyed in a conflagration. Subsequently the moshav shittufi recovered, basing its economy on field crops, orchards, cattle, and a metal factory. Its population was 340 in 1968, growing to 520 in the mid-1990s and 622 in 2002. In recent years, like many other rural settlements, the moshav underwent major changes, including the distribution of collective property among members and the absorption of newcomers

[Efram Orni /

Shaked Gilboa (2nd ed.)]