Page 18 - Kol Bogrei Habonim - January 19

SEVENTY YEARS KFAR HANASSI
ARYEH WOLFIN
K France, and on illegal immigrant ships
far Hanassi is the inner sanctum of the
very core of the Habonim icon in Israel
throughout the ages (at least since
1948). The kibbutz has served to inspire
generations of members who took up the
chalutzic challenge, for it is the only
thoroughbred British Habonim enterprise in
Israel. An expression of this was the name
Mansura given to the new plugah in NW London
(in the succah of the Kinloss Gardens Shul),
where I joined the movement in 1948. This was
the name of an abandoned Arab village in the
southern Huleh Valley the site of the new British
Habonim kibbutz, later to become Kfar Hanassi,
following its relocation two years later, when it
was named after Chaim Weitzman, the first
president of the State of Israel.
The founding members of Kfar Hanassi, many
of whom were formally children who fled from
Germany on the "Kindertransport" in 1939,
found their new home in the framework of the
movement. With the passing of time, they
contributed to its very backbone as leaders and
organisers and they fully integrated into its
existing social framework. They joined the
indigenous chaverim, populating the mythical
"Batim" (Habonim hostels), where they
strengthened the pioneering resolve of the
movement. This led them later to join the
movement "hachshara" training farms, in the
framework of which a garin was formed. Their
aim was to create a new settlement in an
outlying border area in the Land of Israel.
In 1946, the first eight members of the garin
with certificates arrived individually at the
Anglo-Baltic kibbutz Kfar Blum for a period of
consolidation and preparation for settlement.
More than a hundred were delayed on the way in
18
(including the Exodus) which were diverted by
members of the garin were interned in special
the British navy, to Cyprus and Atlit. There,
camps for illegal immigrants, and thus were
prevented from reaching their destination as
planned. They came to Kfar Blum in dribs and
drabs during 1947, and the last ones arrived
close to the creation of the State.
th
On the 17 August 1947, at a general meeting of
those who made it to Kfar Blum, a discussion
took place regarding the future of the garin. In
order to consolidate their independence, and
prepare themselves for eventual settlement, they
relocated to Camp Akiva near Hadera, in
October 1947 under the guise of the Jewish
Agency. There they worked in orange groves
and fishponds in the area.
The War of Independence broke out prior to the
State of Israel in May 1948 and intensified
following its creation. In the middle of June
1948, the United Nations declared a thirty-day
cease fire, during which time the army and the
settlement authorities hurried to establish
settlements to serve as strongpoints in areas of
friction, particularly along the borders.
The Habonim garin, were given three choices for
a place to settle. They chose Upper Galilee just
north of Lake Kinneret overlooking the River
Jordan, hitherto lacking any Jewish presence in
wilderness surroundings, on the border with
Syria. The land was covered with black basalt
rocks making it impossible to cultivate. The first
nd
group arrived on the 2 July 1948, followed by
subsequent groups of the garin, who thereafter
engaged for the coming 2 years, almost entirely,
in clearing the rocks by hand, in order to make
the land cultivable. They lived in tents and make