thumb|250px|Mazkeret Batya in the early days, c.1899

Mazkeret Batya () (lit. "Batya Memorial") is a local council in central Israel located southeast of Rehovot and from Tel Aviv. Mazkeret Batya spans an area of 7,440 dunams (7&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>). In it had a population of . The mayor of Mazkeret Batya is Gaby Gaon.

History

Mazkeret Batya, initially Ekron, was established on November 7, 1883 by 11 ultra-Orthodox Jewish farmers from Russia, one of them Yaakov Laskovsky. It was the first agricultural settlement of the Hovevei Zion movement.

The land was purchased by Baron Rothschild to promote Jewish agriculture in Israel. Rabbi Shmuel Mohilever was instrumental in mobilizing funding. Mohilever's remains were later reinterred in the Mazkeret Batya cemetery. In 1887 the name was changed to Mazkeret Batya, in memory of Betty Solomon de Rothschild, mother of Baron Edmond James de Rothschild. The history of the founding is described in the book "Rebels in the Holy Land", by the historian Sam Finkle where he writes about the community's struggle to uphold the laws of the sabbatical year despite fierce opposition.

The economy of the village was originally based on dry farming, which continued even after the Mekorot Company constructed a pipeline to bring water from Rehovot. In 1918, Mazkeret Batya had a population of 316 people. In 1947, Mazkeret Batya was home to 475 people.

During the Mandate era, a Jewish police station was established in Mazkeret Batya to safeguard the local roads. In the War of Independence, convoys to besieged Jerusalem left from Mazkeret Batya. A field hospital operated there to care for Haganah fighters wounded at Latrun.

According to one source, at the end of the British Mandate for Palestine, the British tried to hand the nearby Aqir airfield and camp to the Palestinian Arabs, apparently without success.

  • Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • Meudon, France
  • Memphis, United States

References

  • The "Gesher" community of Mazkeret Batya
  • Kehila Datit of Mazkeret Batya