by Asaf Dubnov
The name of the new settlement organization began to spread from camp to camp. Even in the A.T.S. women’s military corps, where the soldiers served as drivers, the girls began to hatch plans, and within two days, Ariel was flooded with letters from these drivers.
In their letters, the young women asked to be registered in the new settlement organization. Some inquired which settlement movement Ariel had decided to join. Others wanted to know what name would be given to the organization.
Ariel was overjoyed by the momentum the organization was gaining. He replied to each person who had expressed interest - soldiers and female soldiers who had not yet decided whether to join or not.
The days passed slowly. Every morning, the soldiers rose and went to their daily work. The camp workshops buzzed with activity. Vehicles came and went. Amid all this, those close to the idea of the settlement movement felt that something big, something noble was happening - and that they were part of making it real.
Letters kept arriving for Ariel. One even came from across the sea - from the Jewish Brigade in Italy. It was a request to join the settlement movement as a unified group of 39 members in a cooperative moshav.
Ariel showed the letter to his friend Meir. Together, they tried to guess who had passed the message along to the Brigade camps in Italy. The letter was signed by 39 names. Among them, Meir recognized 23 people he had studied with at the agricultural school in Mikveh Israel. After graduation, they had enlisted with him in the British Army.
A rumor circulated in the camp about a letter Meir had received from Eretz Yisrael, saying that the Jewish National Fund had purchased land in several locations for the purpose of settlement. The entire Yishuv (Jewish community) eagerly awaited the end of the war and the release of its sons and daughters from the army. One particular location had been identified: several plots totaling 1,200 dunams (approx. 300 acres), located in the Tel Mond Bloc, between Arab villages, not far from the main road between Netanya and Tel Aviv.
Many soldiers in the barracks could hardly believe their ears. A dream that had seemed just two months ago like a mere fantasy - and which most hadn’t believed in - was becoming reality. It was time to take this seriously and responsibly.
Only three months had passed since they set foot on the land. On May 12, 1946 (11 Iyar, 5706), on a pleasant spring day, between Kfar Ziv and Ein Vered, on a sandy hill, huts were erected for a kitchen and dining hall, and tents were set up for living quarters. The fifty young men and women living in this camp could tell many stories about their time in the British Army before their release. They could describe the arguments over what kind of settlement they wanted to establish.
They could tell about the fierce debate over the name of the settlement. These passionate discussions eventually led them to this point.
Through much debate, it was decided to found a cooperative moshav and to establish it in the Tel Mond Bloc. According to the decisions of the bloc’s committee and national institutions, this new settlement would serve as a link between the bloc and the main road, as well as the colony of Even Yehuda.
Through those same debates, the name “Bnei Dror” (Sons of Freedom) was chosen. It was inspired by Leviticus 25:10:
“And proclaim liberty (dror) throughout the land unto all its inhabitants; each man shall return to his ancestral land and to his family.”
And who better to embody this verse than themselves? They saw themselves as new people, granted liberty - having just been discharged from the British Army after several years of service - with a clear mission ahead: to build homes and families of their own.
Every day, new members arrived - freshly discharged soldiers who found their way home, to their new home: Bnei Dror.
There weren’t yet enough places to sleep. Some stayed in the family huts, which housed young couples without children. Others slept in the tents set up for single men. The rest were accommodated in the classrooms of the regional school. They spread their military blankets across the school desks and spent their first nights in the new settlement there.
Each day, members would leave Bnei Dror for work in neighboring villages, based on assignments allocated to them the night before by the labor bureau. The men worked in orchards and construction; the women worked in household tasks for families in need in the nearby settlements.
Each discharged soldier received 80 pounds from the British Army. This money was pooled together and used to purchase an old tractor, along with work rights in the orchards of the Palestine Plantations Company. A small metalworking shop was also founded with these funds. It provided work for several members. The main product was iron beds, which were quickly adopted by residents of the bloc.
At night, after sleeping on school desks, the members dreamed of a better future - and the result of those dreams was beds… for others. Just like the saying: “Shoemakers go barefoot…”
Gradually, plots of land began to take shape at the base of the hill. Fallow fields and neighboring Arab orchards began to be cultivated using modern methods.
During that time, discussions began about finding a permanent location for the settlement. During their search, the members were drawn to a sandy, reddish hill crowned with seven eucalyptus trees. It was as if some unseen hand had planted those trees in preparation - for the village would be built around them.
From: “Our Sharon Region – The Tel Mond Bloc,” published by the Hefer Valley Regional Council, 1972