Betzet

Betzet בֶּצֶת‎
Betzet
Coordinates:
District	Northern
Council	Mateh Asher
Region	Western Galilee
Affiliation	Moshavim Movement
Founded	1951
Founded by	Yugoslavian and Romanian Jews
Population (2005)	300

Betzet (Hebrew: בֶּצֶת‎) is a moshav in the Western Galilee in northern Israel. It belongs to the Mateh Asher Regional Council. It is part of the Moshavim Movement, and is located next to the cities Shlomi and Nahariya.

The moshav was founded in 1951 by on land belonging to the Palestinian village Al-Bassa, which was destroyed in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The founders were immigrants to Israel from the Balkan states, especially the former Yugoslavia and Romania. The community is named after the ancient village of Betzet which is estimated to have existed nearby. In 2005, it had a population of about 300.

The area is about 2200 dunams. Most of the residents work in growing bananas, avocadoes and turkeys.

Places of interest nearby

Tel Betzet (Tel means "hill" or "archaeological site") is located south of the village. It has pottery vessels from the Copper Age and the middle Canaanite period. Likewise wine-pressing holes and graves from the Roman and Byzantine imperial eras are preserved.

Betzet Aerodrome, a disused WW II British aerodrome to the west of Betzet. A helipad has been built on the north-western part of the runway by the Israeli Air Force. There are numerous derelict structures from the British era on site; they include AA gun mounts, underground aircraft pens and hangars.

On August 12, 1968, two Syrian MiG-17F aircraft landed in error at Betzet. This incident was reported by Mr. Dov Levy- one of the lead founders of the settlement.

The aerodrome grounds are used today as agricultural land and contain banana, olive and pomegranate groves. The Israeli Air Force uses the helipad occasionally and the local radio control flying model club has its activity on the helipad on weekends.

External links

• Betzet on the website of the Authority for Development of the Galilee (Hebrew)