MY ISRAEL:
PHOTO : KIBBUTZ BEGINNINGS.
At the urging of David Ben-Gurion, kibbutz Sdot Yam came into being in 1936 during the British Mandate Period. (1917-1948). Being located on the seashore, the kibbutz’s economic base was dependent on fishing & was in addition, located in an ideal position to overcome the restrictions on Jewish immigration imposed by the British. Jewish refugees that had managed to survive the furnaces of Europe were smuggled into the country via kibbutzim located on or near the coast. Initially positioned on the Mediterranean coast just north of Haifa, Sdot Yam relocated further south along the coastline & in 1940 established itself on the southern border of the ancient port city of Caesarea. The kibbutz served as a base for the Palmach, an elite fighting force within the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the British Mandate period. Yossi Harel who captained the ship Exodus, is buried in Sdot Yam. The Exodus story made famous by the novel written by Leon Uris & the 1960 film Exodus produced by Otto Preminger.
PHOTO:KIBBUTZ BEGINNINGS.
PHOTO:YOSSI HAREL.
Today the economic base of the kibbutz is dependent on land-based agriculture that includes both banana & avocado plantations as well as a herd of dairy cattle. However, the major source of the kibbutz’s income today comes from the marketing & manufacture of stone counter tops for both kitchens and bathrooms under the Caesar stone brand,
CAESARIA MARITIME MUSEUM:
PHOTO: MARITIME MUSEUM.
PHOTO: AHRON WEGMAN.
Aharon Wegman, one of the founding members of the kibbutz, was responsible for the establishment of the museum. Endowed with an intellectual curiosity and sense of aesthetics, he perceived the past to be the foundation on which the kibbutz’s future rested. He collected & studied artefacts uncovered in the fields or strewn along the seashore & did not hesitate to consult experts or refer to books in his quest to understand and appreciate a find. His enthusiasm was contagious & inspired the kibbutz members to be on the lookout for any archaeological artifacts. Consequently, kibbutz workers were often responsible for many of the finds now displayed in the museum that houses the largest collection of archaeological artifacts related to the ancient port city of Caesarea built by Herod. (37 B.C.E. – 4 B.C.E).
The finds are not only restricted to the Herodian period, a small segment of the early Roman Period, but also include artifacts from the Roman (63 B.C.E.-324 C.E.), Byzantine (324 C.E. – 638 C.E.), Early Muslim (638 C.E. – 1099 C.E.) & Crusader (1099 – 1291 C.E.) periods. The various finds include marble statues, sarcophagi, inscriptions, oil lamps, pottery, jewelry, metal utensils, amphorae, artifacts, mosaics from a synagogue, & remnants of Jewish headstones. However, for a Numismatist (a person who deals in coins), I think the museum would be a paradise, as it is home to a vast collection of coins.
Briefly, coins are an important source for the study of history. Made of gold, silver, electrum (an amber-colored alloy of gold and silver used in ancient times), copper and alloys bronze or brass. Manufactured by placing the metal on an anvil and indenting it using a hammer. Coins are not only a source of economic history & can in addition contain figures that represent the rulers or gods of a civilization, thereby revealing both the political & religious beliefs of a period. In some instances, coins contain the names and dates of rulers, which either confirm or contradict information derived from other sources. Coins were also made to celebrate an event, such as the crowning of an emperor or in memory of a victorious battle.
HANNAH SENESH (SZENES) HOUSE:
PHOTO: HANNAH SENESH (SZENES).
PHOTO: HANNAH SENESH (SZENES).
Hannah Senesh was born in Hungary in 1921. In 1939 she made Aliyah to what was then referred to as Mandatory Palestine. After attending a two-year agricultural course at Nahalal, a moshav in the Jezreel Valley, she joined Kibbutz Sdot Yam in 1941. Due to her Hungarian background, the S.O.E. (Special Operations Executive) recruited her in 1943, and sent her to Egypt for parachute training. Her mission was to assist anti-Nazi forces and rescue Hungarian Jews from deportation to the German death camp at Auschwitz.
Parachuted into Yugoslavia in 1944, she made her way to the Hungarian border were she was arrested by Hungarian gendarmes. Repeatedly interrogated & tortured, she only revealed her name. A Hungarian court convicted her of treason, sentenced her to death & on November 7 1944, she was executed by a firing squad.
She was just 23 years old.
PHOTO: MEMORIAL STONE TO HANNAH SENESH (SZENES) IN HUNGARY.
In 1993 on November 5 her next of kin in Israel were notified that a Hungarian court had officially exonerated her.
In 1950 her remains were brought from Hungary & laid to rest on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, & in November 2007 her tombstone was transported from Hungary to Israel, & placed in Kibbutz Sdot Yam.
She was a noted poet and play write, her best-known poem “A walk to Caesarea” has been set to music composed by David Zahavi.
“My God, My God, I pray that these things never end, The sand and the sea, The rustle of the waters, Lightning of the Heavens, The prayer of Man”.
Ron Traub (Tour Guide & Architect).
Website: rontraub-tours.com
Photo’s: From the internet.
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