German bread in the kibbutz

© Goethe-Institut

But for all that, the “Germans from Zichron” also produce more mundane products. They bake bread using German baking recipes, manufacture honey, wholegrain pasta products and soft eiderdowns. Of course in their own factory outlet everything is kosher-certified.

But as a sideline the Beth-El members continue to practise agriculture and animal husbandry, which is what they started with in the first place. They live a modest, reclusive lifestyle in the community. Television, radio and newspapers are banished from their lives. The fact that they seek no social contact with their immediate neighbours may reassure those Israelis who have long suspected them of missionary activities.

For a long time their protective filter development was considered an odd project: until the Gulf War, when Israelis first feared Iraqi missiles with chemical warheads. After 11th September 2001 the worldwide demand for their products was so great that the Beth El community was forced to employ Israeli workers.