‘Afuqa Colony (Moshav & Agricultural Settlement)

Afuqa is an agricultural kibbutz (moshav) established in the Beisan (Beit She’an) region, between 1941 and 1952.

The origins of Kibbutz Afuqa date to July 11, 1941, when Kibbutz Neve Eitanpurchased land from the Al-‘Alami family, near the depopulated Palestinian village of Umm ‘Ajra in the District of Baysan.
Its founders were members of the “Afuqa” group, trainees of the Gordonia movement, who arrived in Mandatory Palestine in 1934and initially settled in Hachshara at Pardes Hanna.
Using their savings, the group purchased livestock (cows, chickens, horses) and agricultural tools and got to work in local orchards.
In spring 1941, they were invited by Ben-hass Barto establish a settlement in Beisan. After a site visit, the group decided to relocate, though some dissenting members left.

At first, the group inhabited a two-story old Arabic khanconstructed from brick and surrounded by a stone wall. A kitchen was built, existing rooms were adapted for families, and straw houses were set up for individual members.
They were allocated 2,000 dunamsand trained in field crops, vegetables, and orchards—though only 1,200 dunams were permanently designated for Afuqa; the rest belonged to Kibbutz Ein HaNatziv.
Despite being flanked by rivers, access to water remained a major challenge; water had to be brought from a distance.

In February 1942, the “Shdimut” group—also Gordonia trainees from Austria and Poland—joined, helping revitalize Afuqa’s economy and social life.
Within a year, the kibbutz had constructed four permanent homesand several agricultural buildings, with 102 members and 15 children.
Their first-year agricultural output included 1,300 dunamsof winter grains, 300 dunams of summer grains, 50 dunams of clover. They also ran a small dairy, poultry house, sheep flock, and additional plantings at Pardes Hanna training grounds.
An October 1942 fire destroyed their kitchen and storeroom.

In 1943, the settlement was officially named Yitzhak ben Ya’akov.
By August 1944, Afuqa had been connected to the electricity grid.
The farm diversified with expanded poultry, field cultivation, a vegetable garden, grapevines, a cattle barn (around fifty heads), sheep flock, fish ponds, residential buildings, a water tower, workshops, and other farm structures.
Membership reached 160. However, disputes arose between the founding groups, particularly around housing prioritization and working arrangements. Members from older communities felt entitled to permanent housing first, while cultural differences between expatriates from Romania versus Austria/Poland exacerbated tensions.

By late 1945, key founding members began departing, triggering significant emotional impact. In 1946–1948, numerous members retired.
In January 1946, membership was down to 70, but increase attempts were made with the arrival of 25 sailors from the Enzo Sarni immigrant ship, released from Atlit camp.
Attempts were made to reestablish stability by sending members back to Afuqa on a permanent basis, with limited success.
By April 1948, a group from Belgium (Sigiv)helped grow membership to around 160.
In 1952, a drinking-water pipeline was installed. Yet, dwindling membership led to a decision to relocate to other settlements. In June 1953, a fire broke out in the fields.

The last members finally left, and in 1955the site was repurposed by “Production and Development” as an agricultural training farm for youth, in partnership with the GDAAN association.
In September 1958, it served as a temporary camp for seasonal cotton harvest workers.
Afuqa’s lands were eventually redistributed to surrounding kibbutzim.
In November 1955, a Jordanian Fedayeen group bombed the settlement’s stables and water institute.
Today, the land of the former Afuqa hosts the Afuka Nature Reserve, preserving the name of the abandoned kibbutz.

Hebrew-language sources: settlement’s official site, Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (due to the scarcity of Arabic materials)
Information on Umm ‘Ajrafrom the Palestine Remembered