On July 17, 1946, the first group of Mishmeret’s founding members arrived. The group consisted of ten members, including six single veterans of the British Army and two families from Kfar Vitkin. Two of the women returned to Kfar Vitkin the same day, leaving eight young men behind in the orchard - unarmed, carrying only hand-to-hand combat sticks. Following a request to the Hefer Subdistrict, a few notrim (Jewish guards) were sent to assist with security until weapons could be obtained.
The orchard was in a state of neglect: the trees were yellow from nitrogen deficiency, and the Arab families who had previously lived and worked there had abandoned the site. At the center of the orchard stood a compound containing the well house, packing house, and storage facilities. The group established living quarters in the packing house, while the dining room and kitchen were located on the rooftop. Conditions were extremely harsh - soot and burnt oil mixed with food and drink.
Gradually, more members joined the settlement, including additional veterans and new recruits sent by settlement authorities. An extra section of the well-house compound was converted into a residence for single women.
With the construction of the first hut, women returned to join their partners. Two larger huts were then erected for the families, and tents were pitched for the single men.
All the members, including some of the women, worked as laborers in the orchard, employed by the Jewish Agency. Each member maintained an individual account. Additional rooms in the well-house were renovated to serve as a kitchen and dining room.
Though life was difficult, morale remained high. Cultural and social activities flourished - Friday nights were especially memorable, with festive meals and heartfelt singing. Members would travel to Kfar Saba for theater performances, and over time the community grew to approximately 60 members. The orchard’s storage room was converted into a Sten gun firing range, used to train members of the Haganah from Herzliya.
This phase lasted nearly a year. Due to rising living costs in the communal kitchen, the families opted to leave the shared dining arrangement and set up private kitchens near their rooms, which in turn increased food expenses for the single men. These developments triggered a social crisis, with tensions rising between previously close friends, compounded by growing doubts about the feasibility of establishing a permanent moshav on the current land. During this time, many members left the group, and at the outbreak of the War of Independence, only eight families with children remained. Some of the men were conscripted into the IDF.
The security situation worsened, as militias from Tira and Qalqilya roamed the area. Relations with the nearby village of Miska remained good, but nonetheless, it was decided - in coordination with the defense authorities - to evacuate women and children to nearby Moshav Herut, while the men stayed behind to work and guard the orchard. The men worked by day and patrolled by night.
This untenable situation persisted for several months until a decision was made to relocate the entire camp to an empty plot in Moshav Herut, where a temporary encampment - nicknamed the “Gypsy Camp” - was established. New members joined the organization, including Holocaust survivors, former kibbutz members, and discharged soldiers following the war’s end.
Although relations with Miska had remained cordial, the village was ultimately abandoned, its residents fleeing - most to Qalqilya, a few to Tira. The Jewish Agency seized the opportunity following the village’s evacuation, and in 1948, construction began on the first 30 homes of Moshav Mishmeret. Their completion was marked in August 1949.
Source: Gush Tel Mond Documentation Archive, Yitzhak Woller, “Forty Years of Mishmeret,” Mishmeret File, Document No. 10.