The residents of Kibbutz Be'eri, who witnessed the October 7th Massacre, have voted, with an overwhelming majority, to demolish all the houses in the kibbutz that were damaged in the attack, except for one.
The decision comes after a tense and complex meeting, during which some residents announced that they are not interested in returning to an area that appears to them as a symbol of bereavement and remembrance. At the same time, another significant group supported preserving the houses.
Despite the residents' decision, Minister of Heritage Amihai Eliyahu is considering utilizing a section of the Antiquities Law that allows him to designate the buildings as a heritage site.
The section in the law, which allows the minister to protect a building built after the year 1700 if it has historical significance, may include the preservation of buildings damaged in Be'eri being that they have considerable historical value.
Be'eri residents oppose government intervention in a local decision.
At the same time, additional ideas were raised among kibbutz residents to preserve some of the houses. One of the ideas was to move the houses to the area of the forest, as was done in the Sorona complex in Tel Aviv. Another was to leave the houses in the Kerem neighborhood and surround it with a fence so that the destruction remains outside of the kibbutz.
Minister Eliyahu’s office stated: “In response to the many requests received by the Heritage Minister’s office from the families of those murdered in the towns and kibbutzim to invoke the clause in the law that would designate specific homes as national heritage sites, Minister Eliyahu replied that this is a last resort. The Heritage Ministry has been working tirelessly for more than two years to reach broad agreements with each town and kibbutz according to its character and unique needs.”