Beit She'an

If the archaeology is to be trusted, and it generally is, Beit She’an was first populated more than 6000 years during the Chalcolithic Period, making it one of the oldest cities in Israel. It was conquered, in chronological order, by the Egyptians, the Philistines – where it is said the Philistines fastened Saul’s body to the wall in the battle for Mt. Gilboa. Nonetheless, Beit She’an was part of the David and Solomon kingdoms during their reigns but was destroyed by a fire, purportedly started by the King of Assyria in 732 BCE. It was rebuilt as a Hellenistic city and renamed “Scythpolis” (City of the Scyths). But it wasn’t until the Romans were in charge that Beit She’an reached its golden age, with nearly 40,000 inhabitants. All told there were 15 different layers of civilizations built one on top of the other over the centuries at Tel Beit She’an .

The National Park of Beit She’an is where visitors can see much of the ancient city built by the Romans with their own eyes after a major-league excavation revealed an extraordinary variety of buildings. Several buildings and a theatre, a public bathhouse, a Roman temple and a large basilica have also been uncovered and restored for visitors to appreciate. One can also see portions of the wall that surrounded the city which extended over nearly 400 acres. The avenue of ancient columns preserved at the site is a great way to allow visitors to easily imagine the strolls that the inhabitants may have taken of an afternoon.

Known then as Besian, in the Ottoman and early British Mandate period, the city was populated mainly by Muslims, with only a few Christians. During the course of the British Mandate, the Jews acquired 34% of the land in the Beit She’an district versus the 44% owned by the Arabs, the rest being public lands. Kibbutz Ein HaNatziv, a settlement of the religious Kibbutz Movement, was established nearby, three kilometers from Beit She’an, in 1946 by young members of the Bnai Akiva movement who arrived from Germany. At the time of British withdrawal, the British awarded jurisdiction over Beit She’an to the Jewish population, who saw the entire Beit She’an Valley as a vital strategic position as part of the Partition Plan of 1947. Most of the Arab Christians from the area relocated in Nazareth. Later, a “ma’abarah” (refugee camp) was established for the Jewish immigrants from North Africa and Beit She’an became a development town.

Kibbutzim, with many springs and hiking trails are neaby in the Beit She’an Valley. They include Nir David, Sde Eliyahu, Shluhot, and Nir Tzvi. The famous 6th century Beit Alfa Synagogue and the national park that was built so that visitors would have access to it are located 20 minutes from Beit She’an in Kibbutz Hefzibah.