1938 - 2008
Hanita early history.
Hanita was an ancient Jewish settlement, situated in the land belonging to the tribe of Asher. The name is mentioned in the Talmud, in the 2nd - 3rd century, in the description of the Jewish settlements on the northern border, in the Talmud, the source of the name is "Chanaya", an encampment, a place of rest for those travelling back and forth between the plains of Lebanon and the ports of Ahziv and acco.
The settlements purpose, in those days, was to guard the passes from the mountains to the fertile valley below.
When the Kibbutz was established in1938 archeologists discovered as follows:
1. Artifacts from the chalcolithic period (4000 years BCE)
2. Caves from the middle-Canaanite period.
3. Phoenician writings.
4. Objects from the Persian and Hellenistic periods.
5. Remains of an early church from the Christian period, and it's splendid mosaics, most of them reconstructed.
6. Burial caves, with paintings, as well as the remains of buildings, coins, wells.
(Many items can be viewed in the tower and wall museum at Kibbutz Hanita)
The 1936 uprising.
In the 1930's, with the growth of the Jewish population and the increase in settlements, the Arabs demanded that the British stop aliyah (emigration) and Jewish settlement but their demands were not met and they rose in acts of violence. There was a feeling of discouragement, the Haganah was young and weak and the British offered no protection.
Wall and tower.
Jewish settlement ceased because of the uprisings and the consequent problems of security. The "Tel-Amal" group was scheduled to settle in the Beth Shan valley but their move was postponed because of the situation. The group proposed they defend themselves by setting up a protective wall all around the settlement. by digging trenches and erecting towers for look-out posts.
Their proposal was approved on condition that the wall, trenches and towers be completed on the same day as the aliya.
Tel Amal, the first of the wall and Tower settlements was established on December 10, 1936. Their success gave the needed push to continue settlement on the land
Hanita Land For Sale.
There was opposition to buying Hanita's land.
But Ben-Gurion decided to make the purchase: 5000 dunam of hilly non-arable land.
A group, chosen to look over the land proposed:
To ascend to a point one kilometer from the road and to erect a base camp.
To prepare food, water, ammunition, clothing and tools ahead of time, in case of need.
The first day.
On the morning of March 21, 1938 fifty trucks carrying 500 people arrived to insure the success of the action. They broke a trail, and on their backs, they carried all that had been made ready to lower Hanita.That night 100 men remained and the Arab gang attacked killing two men. The following day more help arrived and the work continued until the fifth day when the road was completed to lower Hanita.
And the following days.
After the first night's battle with it's loss of lives, there were many more attacks and, all in all, ten men fell.
After six months there was a change of personnel. The "Shimron" group was given the responsibility of establishing an agricultural community on the mountain. A little later they were joined by the "Segev" group.
There were long hours of guard duty, Hard work, isolation and a feeling of loneliness, far from the center of the country.
Their economy was based on orchards and intensive growth of vegetables, but due to water shortage and the division of land into small plots separated from each other, these failed . They also raised goats, cows and chickens.
Various sources of income were tried and only two succeeded:
A rest home and hotel, and a factory for steel cutting tools.
Ten years of stubborn fighting to establish a farm on the hill passed and then in November, 1947 the Western Galilee, with it's seven Jewish settlements, was declared part of an Arab state. There followed war, isolation, battles and the removal of the children from Hanita to Haifa.
Finally the army broke through, on the day of the Declaration of the State of Israel, and the Western Galilee was once again part of the nation.
Over the years many immigrants have settled in Hanita from all over the world:
Hanita today.
Over the last few years there have been many changes in the kibbutz and changes continue to occur. The hope is that the basic tenets of cooperation will remain.
There are 500 people in Hanita today and the economy is based on some agriculture and on industry. The branches of agriculture are: bananas, citrus fruits, field crops.
Two factories provide the main source of income:
"Kotlab" produces metalized films for use in packaging, insulation against heat and cold, and as safety devices.
"Hanita Lenses" produces contact lenses and lenses for implants.
The products of both factories demand a high level of know-how and technology.
The young people of Hanita can work in the factories or in other fields of choice. They may study and return to the kibbutz or they can go elsewhere to build their lives.
The Hanita volleyball team were youth champions 3 years in a row
between 1966 - 1968