Above the goldsmiths in Kfar Daniel.
Complete identification (Photo: Creative Commons, Michael Jacobson)
They have been working there for decades, are identified with them and are an inseparable part of the local culture.
Quite a few companies and factories operate in the various kibbutzim and moshavs throughout the country, some of them were established by the locals themselves, others have integrated over the years into the local landscape and the connection was made immediately.
They constitute an employment center and a source of livelihood for the residents, but also led to the flavoring of a new culture, the creation of social ties and the strengthening of local pride.
Well, that's how it is when the name of the factory comes before the settlement.
The settlements developed, the members of the founding generation matured and thinned out over the years as is natural, but the factory companies continue to maintain the core of their activity there, providing more jobs and guaranteeing that their future will continue to be intertwined.
The story of the establishment of each of them actually teaches about Jewish history and tells the story of the establishment of the State of Israel and the formation of the diverse Israeli society.
"It was natural to build our dwelling in the place where the Hasmonean rebellion broke out"
The cooperative village Kfar Daniel, located within the area of the Modi'in regional council and southeast of the city of Lod, was established in 1949, a year after the establishment of the state.
Its original name was generally "Beit Chavar" after the name of the organization whose founders were members - the machal men (volunteers abroad to Israel). Most of them are young Jewish immigrants, who came from the various western countries that speak the English language, in order to help develop the the young state, and to assist the Israel Defense Forces in its determined struggle to establish the state and its establishment in the harsh Middle East.
Over the years, the name of the moshav was changed to Kfar Daniel after Daniel Frisch, who was the president of the Zionist Organization of America and died the year the village was founded. The moshav was based mainly on field crops, orchards, A coop and a barn. In 1995, the process of privatizing and assigning the houses to the residents who live in them began. In 2005, the settlement's expansion project began and thus it has grown to about 300 families today.
In 1998, a new resident joined the settlement.
This is the international silverware and Judaica brand "The Goldsmiths".
The oldest silversmith's workshop that has been operating in Israel for 70 years, deals with silversmithing, including Judaica products and the production of menorahs in particular, as well as various hospitality items for the table.
Deep connection.
Yaakov Merdinger (Photo: Yehats)
"The goldsmiths is a company that dealt with and was most identified with the work of goldsmiths in Israel and especially with the production of menorahs, so it was a natural step for us to establish our residence in Kfar Daniel, the place from which the Hasmonean rebellion against the Greeks broke out."
So says Jacob Mardinger, the owner and chief artist of the Goldsmiths company.
Kfar Daniel, as mentioned, has an ancient and glorious history dating back to biblical times: "It is written in the sources that oil was brought from Kfar Daniel to the Temple, as it is known to everyone in the Ben Shemen area that the ancient city of Modi'in was adjacent to it and it has a rich Jewish history, it was actually used as a stronghold of the Hasmoneans. That is why we are the brand that produces Judaica tools and silver art and those who are identified with the Jewish tradition and have accompanied society and the State of Israel since its inception, feel an affinity and a deep-rooted connection to the place."
Mardinger adds.
"An integral part of the place."
Mardinger in action (photo: Yehetz)
Kfar Daniel is a relatively small moshav, however, the company has employed a number of residents of the moshav over the years and in the future the goldsmiths complex in the settlement may expand and undergo an upgrade, thereby contributing another layer to the employment of the locals: "The vision is to establish a large center for goldsmiths in the place and already in the near future goldsmiths shops will be established in the complex, artists, cafes and restaurants. This is a tourist center that will attract visitors from all over the country and provide a livelihood for local residents. The core of our activity operates and will continue to operate in Kfar Daniel and we see itself as a separate part of my home from the place," he promises.
"The plant helped shape the identity of Yachiam as a multicultural place, pursuing peace and advocating unity"
Kibbutz Yachiam is located in the Western Galilee, about 15 km east of Nahariya. It was founded in 1946 and is named after Yachiam Weitz who took part in the explosion of the A-Ziv Bridge on the Night of the Bridges and fell in battle along with 13 of his friends. It was built at the foot of the remains of the Yachiam Fortress - a fortress An ancient crusader, which serves as a popular tourist spot in Israel and is visited by thousands of visitors every year from Israel and the world.
The kibbutz was founded by young people from the Hashomer Hatzair movement, some of them from the oldest settlement in Israel and most of them from Hungary and other countries from Europe. Some of them came here even before World War II, but most of them, immigrated as survivors during and after the Holocaust. During the 1960s, the members decided that they needed to expand the sources of income for the kibbutz, which until then was based mainly on agriculture. Since, as mentioned, its members immigrated from Hungary, which is considered an expert in the production of sausages, the idea of establishing a sausage factory in Yayam was seen as natural and attractive for The young residents of the Yishuv are imbued with the ideology. The name chosen for the factory combined the two - "Yachiam Delicacies".
A symbol of brotherhood.
Yachiam Factory (Photo: Yachats)
"The factory was established by the members of the kibbutz itself, so that there was a complete integration between the kibbutz life and the factory throughout the years. The forces were combined with each other to fulfill the settlement, social and economic vision," they tell us on behalf of the factory and add: "Throughout the years of its existence, the members of the kibbutz were , who were, as mentioned, among its founders, a significant part of the factory's employees, and to this day you can still find veteran workers there. Naturally, as the members grew older, the number of kibbutz members working in the factory gradually decreased, however, this does not diminish the connection and identification of the kibbutz members with the factory they founded and for them He belongs."
Beyond the factory's financial contribution to the kibbutz, it also contributed socially: "The factory helped shape the identity of Yachiam as a multicultural place, pursuing peace, advocating for unity, while employing workers from all sectors, genders and religions. Over the years, love stories were also created there, and couples who found themselves under a roof following the joint work, this alongside a host of personal stories in which the factory and the kibbutz were integrated together. Yachiam's delicacies are an integral part of Kibbutz Yachiam and their identity is integrated. Their identical name also contributes to this. At the same time, Yachiam's identity is broader and also concerns cultural aspects, other social and economic ones. The core of the activity is planned to remain in the kibbutz in the future as well."
But the question remains, what led a kibbutz of Hashomer Hatzair, the majority of whose members vote for MPM and read the newspaper 'Al Hamishmer' - names and concepts that sound almost historical today - to establish a kosher factory under the supervision of the local Nahariya rabbinate?
"Rabbi Aharon Keller zt'l, who was the chief rabbi of the city during the war of liberation, was a wise man who worked hard and wisely to close hearts and who preserved youthful grace for the founders of the kibbutz for their heroic actions from the establishment, the siege to the development of the settlement.
When the rabbi heard about the idea of establishing a kosher plant in the Hashomer HaTza'ir kibbutz, he acted and convinced the rabbinate in Jerusalem that this was precisely the step that was required, while telling them "the supervision will be on me and you can rest assured that with these righteous friends everything will be kosher without fear or reservation."
The members of Hiiam at the same time convinced "their Admors", Meir Yaari and Yaakov Hazan, and especially themselves, and so after concerns and debates - because it is not possible otherwise in Shomer Hatzair - the plant was erected."
"We don't deserve to be named after such a hero"
Kibbutz Yad Mordechai is located on the southern coastal plain, about ten kilometers south of Ashkelon and only five kilometers from the Gaza Strip.
It was founded by members of the Hashomer Hatzair movement who immigrated to the country from Poland, young people imbued with ideology who first arrived in an area then called Mitzpe Hayam near Netanya, in order to assist in the establishment of the state somewhere in 1936. There were 120 young men and women among them who made a living mainly from fishing, road construction and odd jobs .
In the Jewish settlement at that time, Australian soldiers served under the British mandate and they suggested to their friends to learn to raise bees in light of the suitable conditions that contained many orchards in the Sharon region.
They warmly adopted the Australians' recommendation and thus began to learn the profession.
The kibbutz was only established in December 1943, after the lands were bought by the heads of the settlement.
Those young people from Mitzvah Hayam moved their place of residence to today's kibbutz and began the process of establishing it.
The young kibbutz did not yet have a name, and the members discussed the appropriate one.
At first they thought of calling it Adir-Eam, an idea that was rejected and then they thought of keeping the original name Mitzpe Haim, but in this part of the country there really is no sea and so the name was dropped.
Crazy to talk.
Yad Mordechai beekeepers (Photo: Shlomi Mizrahi)
A few months before that, the uprising of the Jewish fighters broke out in the Warsaw ghetto.
Some of them managed to escape from Poland and a small number of years later they also arrived in Israel.
These began to tell the old members of Hashomer Hatzair in Israel about the heroic deeds of the rebellion and in particular, about one Jewish hero named Mordechai Anilevich, who fought and commanded the battles against the Germans and fell during the attempted rebellion.
The settler institutions suggested to the local residents to name the new settlement in the south after him.
Despite their initial refusal out of modesty, since the members of the new settlement did not think they deserved to be named after such a hero, they relented after the people of the institutions pleaded with them that the people of Israel needed a figure of a leader.
And so, after a joint vote, they decided to call Kibbutz Yad Mordechai.
The honey beehives operated by Yad Mordechai today were moved from the Netanya area to the new area and since then, the only branch that has survived in the kibbutz from 1936 until today is the honey branch.
In 2002, the members of the kibbutz realized that in order to survive the competitive market that had developed and in order to continue developing the brand and the company, they had to team up with a strong company in the market and thus the connection with the Strauss-Elite company, which is now the Strauss Group, was born.
The members of the kibbutz were initially afraid of the move and its results.
Keep the brand name, even when the owner changes.
Yair Schwartz (Photo: Shlomi Mizrahi)
"When Ofra Strauss came to the kibbutz meeting one day to convince the members of the benefit of the move, one of the old kibbutz members asked for the right to speak. He asked her for one thing, that the brand name be preserved on the honey packaging as it is, as it has a deep historical meaning for the members and for the country (Or as he said - 'Mordechai's hand is not just honey'). Ofra immediately responded positively to the request."
These things are said by Yair Schwartz, the purchasing manager of the Yad Mordechai apiary for over 20 years and himself a member of the kibbutz.
The Strauss-Elite company (now Strauss) eventually acquired 51% of the ownership of the apiary in January 2003. "When Strauss was asked why the additional 1% of control was important to her, she replied: This is not a percentage of control, it is a percentage of responsibility."
This move allowed the apiary to continue to develop into new areas of activity, with the kibbutz continuing to maintain 49% ownership, with full partnership in management.
"The contribution of this move to the kibbutz was tremendous, it helped us continue to flourish and gave us financial security even in difficult times such as periods of combat for example.
"Over the years, the veterans of the kibbutz worked very hard to produce and preserve the Yad Medrachi brand, a reliable and high-quality brand with value to the land and a connection to the Land of Israel, and today, when someone mentions the name Yad Mordechai, the connotation that immediately comes up is honey. Anyone who works in this industry must be crazy to talk, Because it is hard and Sisyphean work. The company employs 45-50 workers not only from the kibbutz, but from the entire southern region, thus it is also a regional source of employment for many. This place is really a family and some of the workers have been with us for over 20 years."
Of money
Tags
factories
the goldsmiths
Yad Mordechai
Strauss
Yahyam
Yachiam delicacies
Kfar Daniel
honey
