Mazkeret Batya

Last year, my husband and I had a long layover in Israel as we were on our way to Cyprus. For two nights, we stayed in a Jewish community called Mazkeret Batya. We arrived during the day, so once we settled into the small, simple room in a little hotel called Hapina Shel Michal on Rothschild Boulevard, we jumped back into our rental car. We drove to Jerusalem, where we met some friends for dinner at Focaccia. 

The next day, we explored quiet residential Mazkeret Batya, which is located about a 20-minute drive south of Ben Gurion Airport. This "village" is home to about 10,000 people, but its beginnings were not only humble but historic. 

The First Aliyah is a term that refers to the first influx of Jews into Israel in modern times. The First Aliyah occurred between 1881-1903. Mazkeret Batya was born during this First Aliyah. 

Baron Edmond (Binyamin) de Rothschild funded this settlement, along with 27 others. His father's name was Jacob and his mother's name was Batya. The village was originally named Ekron but the Baron renamed it Mazkeret Batya in honor of his mother. 

Mazkeret Batya began as a farming community of Religious Zionists. One important historical note linked to Mazkeret Batya was that during the Jewish War of Independence, convoys departed from this village to besieged Jerusalem. An old truck is displayed in the village as tribute to this community's contribution to the War of Independence. 

In general, we did not find the inhabitants in Mazkeret Batya particularly friendly. The guy at the bread store had little interest in telling us about his products and prices. Young people staying at the hotel were not interested in making conversation with us. 

But the proprietress at the hotel was helpful. Also, we ate for the first time at a Burgerim in the village and the young men working there were very friendly and conversational. (By the way, I had a salad at Burgerim and it was delicious but my husband did not at all like the burgers!)

Plus, at one point, during one of the times when we got lost driving amid Mazkeret Batya's winding lanes, we asked a Jewish family for directions. They led the way back to the hotel, with us following behind. We were quite grateful for their assistance! 

So, despite the fact that some of the people were standoffish, there were enough who were friendly to compensate for the others. :) 

One evening, we were browsing a grocery store. Nothing interesting about that. But after we purchased some crackers, I headed to the exit door. I heard people yelling, but at first I did not know they were yelling at me. (My Hebrew is fairly limited.) Turns out I was about to exit through a door that would have set off an alarm. Just in time, I realized what was happening before I created a small crisis!

Hapina Shel Michal in Mazkeret Batya was a convenient place to stay during a long layover because it was close to the airport and was much less expensive than other hotels. But unless I had another long layover, I would probably not stay there again. There is not enough to do in Mazkeret Batya to warrant an extended visit. 

With that said, however, I really enjoyed the glimpse into history that our brief visit gave us. And it was a good, quiet place to rest after a very long flight from the United States!