The idea for establishing Moshav Mishmeret was born within the Israeli Stevedore and Port Workers Company, which served in the British Army as part of the Royal Engineers Corps.
This unit, which had distinguished itself in combat in Greece, suffered severe losses and was later rebuilt with the inclusion of new soldiers. It also earned acclaim for its work unloading tanks and heavy military equipment in the port of Tripoli, Libya, following the expulsion of Rommel’s forces from the borders of Egypt and Libya, a pivotal moment that enabled the continuation of the war against Germany in North Africa. In a speech before the British Parliament, Winston Churchill praised the unit, saying: “The Israeli Stevedore Company unloaded not only equipment, but also a chapter in history.”
Later, several civilians - among them two families - who had lived and worked in Kfar Vitkin, joined the group that was planning agricultural settlement after the war.
As the war drew to a close, the settlement authorities offered the group two potential sites for the establishment of a moshav: 1. Ramat Yissakhar, near Moshav Moledet, and 2. The Reiskin Orchard, located in the Tel Mond Bloc.
In April 1946, three members of the group, guided by comrade Avrech, visited the Reiskin Orchard to survey and evaluate the site. After careful consideration and consultation with both the group and the national settlement institutions, the decision was made to accept the Reiskin Orchard proposal.
The Reiskin Orchard covered an area of 348 dunams, situated between Moshav Herut and Kibbutz Ramat HaKovesh. Nearby were two large Arab villages, Tira and Miska, both notorious for violent activity during the 1936–1939 Arab Revolt. As a result of attacks originating from these villages, members of Ramat HaKovesh lost their lives when their vehicle hit a landmine on their return from working in the Reiskin Orchard. Later, the Jewish guard stationed at the orchard was also killed; his memorial stone was later discovered at the bottom of the orchard’s well.
Source: Gush Tel Mond Documentation Archive, Yitzhak Woller, “Forty Years of Mishmeret,” Mishmeret File, Document No. 10.