Hamadia

Hamadia lies west of Highway 90, slightly north of Beit She'an, within the Emek HaMa'ayanot region.[1][2] A station on the Valley Railway is located near the kibbutz.[2] Hamadia's memorial to its fallen residents stands in the northern part of the community, close to the swimming pool.[1]

Hamadia was first established in 1939 as part of the Tower and Stockade settlement project. It was abandoned shortly afterward and re-established in 1942 by graduates of the HaMachanot HaOlim youth movement.[1] A travel account links the name "Hamadia" to the nearby Arab village of al-Hamidiyya and traces the Arabic name to Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, though this account comes from a single source.[5]

On 20 July 1956, the newspaper Davar published an item titled "Absorption in Kibbutz Hamadia." The National Library of Israel catalogs it among materials concerning Moroccan Jewish immigration and absorption but does not reproduce the article's contents.[6]

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Hamadia was a frontier community during the War of Attrition, facing attacks associated with Fatah and the Jordanian army.[3] Rockets were fired toward the kibbutz, artillery shells landed in nearby fields, and a terrorist cell infiltrated the grounds and killed one member.[3] Children watched tracer fire at night, rifle pits were spread throughout the community, and children slept in shelters for three years.[3] Yoram Korin, who grew up in Hamadia during this period and later served as head of the Emek HaMa'ayanot regional council, recalled spending those years in shelters with his childhood neighbors.[4]

An official memorial page lists approximately 350 residents, although it does not date the figure.[1] In 2006, the kibbutz had 141 members.[7] By that year, Hamadia had been undergoing privatization for about five years.[7] In 2019, it was seeking new residents for an expansion neighborhood with prepared infrastructure and half-dunam plots. New residents were offered full membership and participation in communal decisions.[2] Facilities described at the time included a swimming pool, children's houses, and an elementary school.[2]

A couple who moved to Hamadia from central Israel said they underwent economic, psychological, and personality assessments as part of their admission process. They cited the strong community atmosphere, quieter lifestyle, and opportunities for their children as reasons for remaining and building a home there.[8]

Hamadia's economy was historically anchored in agriculture and kibbutz-owned industry. Two notable enterprises were Hamadia Doors and Inbar, a factory producing reinforced polyester products.[7] By the mid-2000s, both operations had ceased to generate profits, a decline linked to worsening security conditions and a downturn in the construction sector.[7]

In 2006, the kibbutz faced a severe financial crisis, carrying debts of approximately 100 million shekels owed to banks, suppliers, the electricity company, and the National Insurance Institute.[7] Privatization had not resolved the underlying difficulties, while unemployment, members leaving, and severe financial hardship further affected the community.[7] The absence of legal separation between kibbutz businesses—particularly agriculture—and members' communal services meant that business losses affected the members directly.[7]

After the electricity company began cutting power, the kibbutz petitioned the Nazareth District Court for a stay of proceedings to permit negotiations with creditors. The court granted a 90-day order, under which a trustee was to prepare a recovery plan and seek an arrangement with creditors.[7] Service workers in the metal shop, electrical services, garage, laundry, and dining room were told that they were being dismissed during this period.[7]

The kibbutz maintains a memorial to its residents who fell in Israel's wars, located in the northern section of the community near the swimming pool.[1] The monument takes the form of a thick, curved wall clad in black basalt, rising from approximately half a meter to about three meters in height.[1] A metal plaque affixed to it bears the IDF emblem, the names of the fallen, and the inscription "זכרם עמנו לעד"—"Their memory is with us forever."[1]

A 1969 photograph titled "Kibbutz Hamadia in the Beit Shean Valley," by photographer Boris Karmi (1914–2002), is cataloged in the National Library of Israel's Archives Department as part of the Boris Karmi Archive.[9]

Nadav Argaman, who later served as director of the Shin Bet, grew up in Hamadia.[3][4] His appointment to that role in 2016 prompted congratulations and excitement in the kibbutz; his former caregiver, Ruti Dahari, recalled him as a quiet, meticulous child who cared about order.[4] After completing military service in the Paratroopers' intelligence and reconnaissance unit, Argaman returned to work in Hamadia's fields before informing the kibbutz in 1983 that he was leaving for eight years to serve in the Shin Bet.[3]