In 1927, a group of religious Yemenite Jews founded an agricultural village they named Migdal Eder (), based on a biblical quotation (). The land had been purchased in 1925 by Zikhron David, a private Jewish land holding company at a site between Bethlehem and Hebron that fell between the zones of influence of the local Arab clans. This early community did not flourish, mainly due to economic hardships and escalating tension with neighboring Arab communities. Two years later, during the 1929 Palestine riots and recurring hostilities, Migdal Eder was attacked and destroyed. Residents of the neighboring Palestinian village of Beit Ummar sheltered the farmers, but they could not return to their land.