Beit HaShita

Beit HaShita (Hebrew: בֵּית הַשִּׁטָּה, lit. House of the Acacia) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located between Afula and Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gilboa Regional Council. In it had a population of 1,201.

Geography

The built-up area of Beit Hashita ranges from sea level to 70 meters below.

History

Ceramics and coins from the Byzantine era have been found here.

Ottoman era

During the Ottoman era, a village named Shutta was located at the site of the kibbutz. It has been suggested that Shutta was marked on the map Pierre Jacotin compiled in 1799, misnamed as Naim.

While travelling in the region in 1838, Edward Robinson noted Shutta as a village in the general area of Tamra, while during his travels in 1852 he noted it as being a village north of the Jalud.

When Victor Guérin visited in 1870, he found here "a good many silos cut in the ground and serving as underground granaries to the families of the village", and "The women have to go for water to the canal of ´Ain Jalud - marked on the map as the Wady Jalud."