Metzer

Metzer (Hebrew: מֶצֶר, lit. Border) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located near the Green Line to the north of Baqa al-Gharbiyye, it falls under the jurisdiction of Menashe Regional Council. In 2023 it had a population of 457.^[1]

Metzer מֶצֶר‎
Kibbutz dining room
Etymology: Border
Metzer Show map of Haifa region of Israel Metzer Show map of Israel
Coordinates: 32°26′24″N 35°02′51″E
Country	Israel
District	Haifa
Council	Menashe
Affiliation	Kibbutz Movement
Founded	8 September 1953
Founded by	Argentine Jews
Population  (2023)[1]	457
Website	www.metzer.org.il

Etymology

The Government Naming Committee mentioned Psalm 118:5 ("I called upon YAH [the Lord, Hashem] in distress [mêṣar]^[2]; YAH answered me[, and set me] in a broad place"^[3][4]). Metzar or metsar has the meaning of something tight, and figuratively of trouble (distress, pain, strait, terrors etc.).^[5] The Naming Committee referred to the fact that the kibbutz bordered the territory of Jordan (holding the West Bank at the time), with the border being just 500 meters from the centre of the kibbutz represented by the dining hall.

History

The kibbutz was founded on 8 September 1953 by a garin ('nucleus') of 128 immigrants from Argentina who belonged to the Hashomer Hatzair movement. In 1964 and 1967 it received new members from Israeli nuclei. The kibbutz belongs to the National Kibbutz Movement.

The founders were trained at Kibbutz Merhavia (1950-1952) and layer at other kibbutzim - Ga'aton, Sa'ar, Gat and HaMa'apil.

In November 2002, during the Second Intifada, a Palestinian terrorist infiltrated the kibbutz and murdered 5 people including a mother and her two sons.^[6] The perpetrator, Sirhan Sirhan, was killed a year later by the Yamam special police unit.