Sde Eliyahu

Religious kibbutz in northern Israel

Place in Northern, Israel

Sde Eliyahu

שְׂדֵה אֵלִיָּהוּ

Sde Eliyahu

Coordinates: 32°26′25″N 35°30′54″E﻿ / ﻿32.44028°N 35.51500°E﻿ / 32.44028; 35.51500
Country| Israel
District| Northern
Council| Valley of Springs
Affiliation| Religious Kibbutz Movement
Founded| 8 May 1939
Founded by| German Jewish refugees
Population

(2023)

| 763[1]
Website| www.seliyahu.org.il

Sde Eliyahu (Hebrew: שְׂדֵה אֵלִיָּהוּ, lit. Eliyahu Field) is a religious kibbutz in northern Israel. Located five kilometres south of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. In 2023 it had a population of 763.[1]

## History

[edit]

Sde Eliyahu 1946 Sde Eliyahu 1947

Sde Eliyahu was founded on 8 May 1939 by Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany as a tower and stockade settlement. It was named after the 19th-century Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmacher, one of the early leaders of Religious Zionism.[2] It was part of a cluster of religious kibbutzim that includes Ein HaNatziv, Shluhot and Tirat Zvi.[3]

The population of the kibbutz grew from 60 in 1937 to 208 by 1948.[4]

After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Sde Eliyahu began to farm the land of the depopulated Palestinian village of Arab al-'Arida.[5]

## Economy

[edit]

The kibbutz produces dates, olives, grapes, pomegranates, spices and field crops, as well as dairy cattle and poultry. Organic farming methods and non-pesticide management are used.

BioBee was established in 1983 as the Sde Eliyahu Biological Control Insectaries.[6] The company mass-breeds and sells insects that are natural enemies of pests, sterile males of the Mediterranean fruit fly for pest control using the sterile insect technique, and bumblebees for pollination in greenhouses and open farmfields.[7] In 2021, BioBee's use of persimilis, a predatory mite, to replace chemical pesticides, won the Bernard Blum Award from the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association in Basel, which named it the leading biocontrol solution of the year.[8]

## Education

[edit]

"Shaked" is a regional religious school located on the kibbutz. The kibbutz also operates a beit midrash, an ulpan and a volunteer program; Students work three days a week and study three days a week, and are provided with their own dormitories, break room, and living area.

## Climate

[edit]

Climate data for Sde Eliyahu (1991–2020)

Month  | Jan  | Feb  | Mar  | Apr  | May  | Jun  | Jul  | Aug  | Sep  | Oct  | Nov  | Dec  | Year
Record high °C (°F)  | 25.2
(77.4)  | 31.2
(88.2)  | 37.6
(99.7)  | 43.5
(110.3)  | 45.4
(113.7)  | 47.5
(117.5)  | 47.2
(117.0)  | 46.7
(116.1)  | 46.0
(114.8)  | 43.4
(110.1)  | 35.3
(95.5)  | 28.8
(83.8)  | 47.5
(117.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)  | 18.4
(65.1)  | 19.9
(67.8)  | 24.0
(75.2)  | 29.0
(84.2)  | 33.7
(92.7)  | 36.5
(97.7)  | 38.2
(100.8)  | 38.3
(100.9)  | 36.6
(97.9)  | 32.9
(91.2)  | 26.1
(79.0)  | 20.3
(68.5)  | 29.5
(85.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)  | 13.1
(55.6)  | 14.0
(57.2)  | 17.1
(62.8)  | 21.2
(70.2)  | 25.4
(77.7)  | 28.4
(83.1)  | 30.6
(87.1)  | 31.1
(88.0)  | 29.3
(84.7)  | 25.9
(78.6)  | 19.9
(67.8)  | 14.9
(58.8)  | 22.6
(72.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)  | 7.8
(46.0)  | 8.1
(46.6)  | 10.2
(50.4)  | 13.3
(55.9)  | 17.1
(62.8)  | 20.2
(68.4)  | 22.9
(73.2)  | 23.8
(74.8)  | 21.9
(71.4)  | 18.9
(66.0)  | 13.7
(56.7)  | 9.5
(49.1)  | 15.6
(60.1)
Record low °C (°F)  | −3.0
(26.6)  | −0.6
(30.9)  | 1.9
(35.4)  | −0.3
(31.5)  | 9.2
(48.6)  | 13.1
(55.6)  | 17.6
(63.7)  | 18.5
(65.3)  | 13.2
(55.8)  | 10.8
(51.4)  | 1.9
(35.4)  | 0.2
(32.4)  | −3.0
(26.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches)  | 68.7
(2.70)  | 57.2
(2.25)  | 30.6
(1.20)  | 13.3
(0.52)  | 5.5
(0.22)  | 0.0
(0.0)  | 0.0
(0.0)  | 0.0
(0.0)  | 0.3
(0.01)  | 12.8
(0.50)  | 31.3
(1.23)  | 61.4
(2.42)  | 281.1
(11.07)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 8.6  | 7.4  | 4.5  | 2.1  | 0.9  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 0.1  | 1.9  | 4.1  | 6.7  | 36.3
Source: NOAA[9]

## Notable people

[edit]

* Moshe Unna, former member of the Knesset

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
2. ^ Hareouveni, Emanouel (1974). The Settlements of Israel and Their Archaeological sites (in Hebrew). Israel: Hakibbutz Hameuchad. p. 311
3. ^ Judaism and Human Geography, Yossi Katz
4. ^ Katz, Yossi (2007). The Religious Kibbutz During the Mandate Period (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Bar-Ilan University. p. 177. ISBN 978-965-226-171-7
5. ^ Khalidi, W. (1992). All That Remains:The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948. Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies. p. 41\. ISBN 0-88728-224-5.
6. ^ Under a Veil of Secrecy, an Army of Carnivorous Spiders Is Being Raised in Northern Israel, Haaretz
7. ^ "BioBee Biological Systems: Beneficial Agricultural Insects & Mites".
8. ^ Under a Veil of Secrecy, an Army of Carnivorous Spiders Is Being Raised in Northern Israel, Haaretz
9. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Sde Eliyahu". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 10, 2024.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Katz, Yossi (2007). The Religious Kibbutz During the Mandate Period (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Bar-Ilan University. p. 11–44, 77–109, 177-185. ISBN 978-965-226-171-7

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Valley of Springs Regional Council

Kibbutzim|

* Ein HaNatziv
* Gesher
* Hamadia
* Kfar Ruppin
* Ma'ale Gilboa
* Maoz Haim
* Meirav
* Mesilot
* Neve Eitan
* Neve Ur
* Nir David
* Reshafim
* Sde Eliyahu
* Sde Nahum
* Shluhot
* Tirat Zvi

Moshavim|

* Beit Yosef
* Rehov
* Revaya
* Sdei Trumot
* Yardena

Community settlements|

* Meital
* Tel Te'omim

Other villages|

* Malkishua
* Menahemia

Authority control databases: National |

* Israel

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