In Av 5693 (August 1933), following the acquisition of approximately 400 dunams of land by the Jewish National Fund (JNF), and its commitment to purchase additional territory for expansion, a final decision was made to establish the settlement of Kfar Yavetz. The land was divided among 23 members - each allocated a 3-dunam residential plot and an additional 12 dunams for orchard cultivation. In the winter of 1933–34, a labor group known as Mishmar HaSharon, previously affiliated with the “Rodges Group” in Petah Tikva (which later founded Kibbutz Tirat Zvi), joined the settlement.
From the perspective of the HaPoel HaMizrachi movement, the establishment of Kfar Yavetz held strategic and ideological significance well beyond the survival of its initial 23 families. While the broader orchard enterprise was commercially motivated and generally indifferent to principles like Jewish labor, the settlers of Kfar Yavetz were ideologically driven to demonstrate the viability of religious Zionist labor and contribute to the achievements of both the general and religious workers’ movements. Their pioneering spirit was encapsulated in a letter sent to the group:
“Dear comrades! This is the first time that HaPoel HaMizrachi has been given the opportunity to anchor itself within the sphere of private settlement in the Sharon, to take hold of the land and create a center of Torah and labor. You, dear friends, are the trailblazers, the conquerors, the pioneers in every sense. We know the road ahead is long and filled with disappointment and obstacles, yet our shared will - to transform our temporary condition into a permanent life rooted in Torah and labor - will grant us the strength to endure and persevere. Do not falter. Carry high the banner you have raised in the Sharon - let us all unite around it. It will protect you, and you will protect it.”
Despite the inspiration conveyed in this letter, reality on the ground proved far more challenging. Relations with Zvi Shechterman deteriorated, and the promises of various settlement institutions went unfulfilled. A visit by members of the JNF Board of Directors to the Tel Mond Bloc and to the Givat Chaim enterprise revealed a sobering picture: while every dunam in neighboring settlements was being intensely cultivated, the 400 dunams acquired for HaPoel HaMizrachi had been left largely untouched. This neglect raised serious concerns, particularly regarding the risk of Arab encroachment on the unutilized land. The JNF demanded that HaPoel HaMizrachi fulfill its obligations, warning that if the land was not cultivated promptly, the movement would forfeit its rights to the property.
By 1935, the settlement included 24 families. The group had become entangled in a lengthy legal battle over land encroachment by neighboring Arab squatters and was unable to establish a sustainable foothold. Only after extensive effort were the plots surveyed, the orchards and settlement fenced, a water reservoir built, and basic infrastructure installed. Some families managed to construct homes with assistance from the “Batei Kfar” Rural Housing Company, while others continued to reside in temporary wooden huts. The settlement struggled under the burden of taxation, security responsibilities, and an insufficient number of members. Observers warned that without expansion, the community would not survive, and urged HaPoel HaMizrachi to secure additional land for development - especially as funds for the settlement of 30 more families had been approved by the most recent Zionist Congress.
During the Arab Revolt (1936–1939), the remote and isolated location of Kfar Yavetz rendered it particularly vulnerable. Acts of sabotage in the orchards became frequent. In Sivan 5696 (June 1936), the settlement publicly appealed for aid and pressed the settlement authorities to expand the village to 60 families and expedite reinforcement. The security situation deteriorated to the point that British military and police forces were deployed to the site for protection. Amid ongoing violence, several families left, leaving only 13 households behind.
Neighboring residents in the Tel Mond Bloc took note of the settlers’ resilience and bravery, recognizing their steadfastness despite isolation and meager numbers. At the same time, they criticized HaPoel HaMizrachi for abandoning its members. Some in Kfar Yavetz even contemplated transferring the settlement to the broader Zionist Federation. However, the movement refused, preferring to preserve its identity and maintain religious settlements, even at the cost of isolation and without providing adequate support. Local residents questioned the necessity of a separate religious settlement in the region, especially when religious life was already active within mixed communities such as Ein Vered, which had built a synagogue even before Kfar Yavetz had laid the cornerstone for its own.
The settlers’ request to expand the community was rejected by a committee of the Zionist Executive composed of Dr. Arthur Ruppin, Rabbi Berlin, and David Stern (Head of the Settlement Department), who concluded that further investment at this stage was not justified. Amid worsening conditions and a devastating collapse of the citrus industry following the outbreak of World War II, the settlement was eventually abandoned, and the remaining families dispersed.
M. Hazani, a member of Kfar Yavetz at the time and later the Chairman of the Agricultural Center of HaPoel HaMizrachi, wrote in his memoirs that Kfar Yavetz became a symbol of religious-nationalist pioneering. He viewed the settlement as a case study of challenges including security, land redemption, economic sustainability, and isolation - a microcosm of the struggles faced by the movement. These hardships ultimately led to the dissolution of the settlement, which HaPoel HaMizrachi viewed as a necessary sacrifice to ensure a future presence in the land.
The failure of Kfar Yavetz reinforced a view already growing within the settlement institutions: that “bloc settlement” strategies, in which communities were clustered geographically, offered better prospects for success - economically, socially, and in terms of security.
Source: Museum Archives for the Documentation of the Tel Mond Bloc, Rina Idan, 1999, “Jewish Settlement in the Central Sharon Region, 1929–1939,” Ph.D. Dissertation, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.