Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu is exploring the possibility of declaring several destroyed homes in Kibbutz Be’eri as protected national heritage sites, even as the community itself has just voted to remove nearly all of the structures shattered in the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre. His office signaled this week that the option is on the table.
The kibbutz held an emotional internal referendum two years after the attack reduced entire neighborhoods to ruins. Residents ultimately supported tearing the homes down, approving the measure by a margin of 196 to 146.
Be’eri experienced some of the worst horrors of the onslaught. The small community of roughly 1,000 lost 101 civilians and 31 security personnel that day. Thirty residents and two additional civilians were abducted, and widespread destruction left dozens of homes burned, shot through, or totally collapsed during the battles that followed.
Channel 12 reported that Eliyahu is reviewing a rarely used provision in the Antiquities Law that empowers him to preserve modern buildings—not only ancient ones—if he deems them historically meaningful.
Under the law, the heritage minister can designate any post-1700 structure for national preservation status provided its significance is deemed clear and substantial.
Responding to inquiries, Eliyahu’s office issued a statement that all but confirmed the idea is actively under debate, saying it would be considered only “a last resort.”
According to the ministry, “many requests… from families of those murdered in the towns and kibbutzim” have been submitted, urging the government to use this legal mechanism to safeguard particular homes as national heritage sites. The office added that “the Heritage Ministry has been working tirelessly for over two years to reach broad agreements with each community and kibbutz according to its unique character and needs.”
On Monday, Be’eri publicly announced the results of its vote: every damaged home in the two most devastated neighborhoods will be razed, except for a single house that will be kept standing as the community’s chosen memorial to the tragedy.
The selected house will remain untouched for a period of five years, though the kibbutz has not revealed which home was chosen for preservation.
Be’eri’s community director, Ofer Gitai, explained that the decision is meant to “preserve the memory of the October events, in a way that respects the narrative that the community chooses for itself, and will leave it in full control of the story.”
Some residents argued during the debate that living among the ruins would trap them emotionally. One person declared that they “don’t want to go back to living in Yad Vashem,” invoking the famous Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. Another resident told Ynet, “We don’t want to live in Auschwitz. We need to recover and move on.”
Still, a portion of the kibbutz felt differently, insisting that demolition would wipe away an important physical reminder of Be’eri’s history and the trauma it endured.
A spokesperson for the kibbutz told The Times of Israel that the 62 homes slated for demolition were largely either burned or structurally compromised, and that all would be removed except the single house designated as a memorial. The community does not intend to rebuild in that area.
Meanwhile, construction is progressing on the opposite side of Be’eri. Eighty new homes are being built there with support from the Tekuma Directorate, the state body overseeing reconstruction of the Gaza-envelope communities. Roughly eighty residents have already returned to Be’eri. The majority, however, remain temporarily housed at Kibbutz Hatzerim in the Negev while they await the completion of the new neighborhood, with hopes of returning next summer.
{Matzav.com}
