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| Gedera, courtesy, Wikipedia |
Gedera
is mentioned in the Book of Chronicles I 4:23 and the Book of Joshua 15:36 as a town in the territory of the tribe of Judah. It
also figured prominently in the Maccabbee war for the independence of Judea
against the Syrians under the Seleucid dynasty. Tel Qatra, which lies at the northern edge of Gedera, was a place
fortified by the Seleucids against the Hasmonaeans (1 Macc. 15:39-41, 16:9) but
was soon overrun by Judah Maccabbee. Modern Gedera was founded to the
south of the now Arab settlement of Qatra by members of the Bilu group
from Russia. This tract of land was then owned by the French consul in Jaffa,
Poliovierre. In 1884, it was purchased for the Biluim by Yechiel Michael Pines,
head of the Montefiore Testimonial Fund. At the time, it was the only
settlement that was founded independently of the Baron de Rothschild. The first
pioneers arrived at the site during the festival of Chanukah and established
Gedera as a farming community covering a total of 815 acres, one quarter of
which, was dedicated to wheat growing. On the rest of the land grew about
200,000 grape vines and different kinds of fruit trees. In 1888, Benjamin and
Mina Fuchs built Gedera's first stone house, later used as a Bnai Brith meeting house. Dr.
Moshe Mintz also built a residence soon thereafter (which also doubled as a
communal hall). In 1986, his house became the Museum of the History of Gedera and the Biluim. The Sverdlov Hut is
the one remaining hut built by the Biluim. It belonged to Chana and Yigal
Sverdlov, who later left it to the city. A bell used to call residents for
public meetings is located in the front yard. In 1885, the pioneers dug a hole
and covered it with a roof to use as a stable. Today, it has been restored, and
is known as "Bor HaBilu'im".
The first designated school building was built in 1896. Later, the building
became "Beit HaIkar", a
meeting place for the local farmers. Before the end of the century, the village
also contained a pharmacy and
a synagogue (which later became the Yeshurun
Central Synagogue established in 1912). During this time, Gedera was supported by
the Russian Chovevei Zion Society, but was later taken under the protection of
the Jewish Colonization Association of London.
In
1912, a group of Yemenite immigrants settled in Gedera. In the 1930s, several
industries were established, and the town, due to its mild climate and fresh
air, became a vacation resort with convalescence and rest homes. The water tower behind Yeshurun Central
Synagogue was built in 1935. The bottom floor was used as a
classroom. The top floor held a water tank, and served as a watchtower.
In
the period 1949-1953, thousands of immigrants from Yemen, Romania, Iraq,
Poland, Egypt, Morocco, Tunis, India, Iran, Libya, and other countries were
housed in tent camps in the area.
In
the 1950s, a neighborhood called Oriel
("light of God") was established for new immigrants with visual impairments. The immigrants worked in a
sheltered workshop, and the neighborhood was specially planned to promote their
independence. The growth of Gedera remained steady ever since and recently, New Gedera was built as an upscale
neighborhood by the Azorim company.
A major shopping venue built by Azorim is the Gedera Mall, located in the southeast of the town. First opened in
September 2007, Gedera Mall has small businesses along with anchor tenants from
semi-major department stores from Israel and Europe.
On
February 9, 2009, a Grad rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit Gedera, marking the northernmost point in a round
of 200 rockets targeting southern Israel.
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