Hanaton () is a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

in northern

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Located twelve kilometers north of

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

near the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

town of Shefaram, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Jezreel Valley Regional Council Jezreel Valley Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Emek Yizra'el'') is a regional council in northern Israel that encompasses most of the settlements in the Jezreel Valley. It includes 15 kibbutzim, 15 moshavim, 6 community settlements and two B ...

. In it had a population of .

Etymology

The

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

name Hanaton () appears in the

Book of Joshua The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile. It tells of the ...

(19:14), where it is listed as in the area of the tribe of Zevulun, forming the border with the

tribe of Asher According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Asher was one of the Tribes of Israel descended from Asher (), the eighth son of Jacob. It is one of the ten lost tribes. Biblical narrative According to the biblical Book of Joshua, following the comp ...

's area.Hareuveni, Imanuel (2010).
Eretz Israel Lexicon
' (in Hebrew). Matach. p. 323.

Archaeology

Tel Hanaton Tel Hanaton (; ) is an Archaeology, archaeological Tell (archaeology), tell situated at the western edge of the Beit Netofa Valley, in the western Lower Galilee region of Israel, 2 km south of the Town of Kfar Manda and 1 km northeast of the kibb ...

, an archaeological site associated with the biblical location lies to the east of the kibbutz. The tel is in the western end of the

Beit Netofa Valley The Beit Netofa Valley, or Sahl al-Battuf (, Arabic: سهل البطوف) is a valley in the Lower Galilee region of Israel, midway between Tiberias and Haifa. Covering 46 km2, it is the largest valley in the mountainous part of the Galilee a ...

, and covers an area of roughly 100

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...

(25 acres). It was occupied from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

through the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. In the Amarna letters, the settlement of Ḫinnatuna is mentioned as a location where caravans passed on their route from Babylonia to Egypt. Tiglath-Pileser III also lists Ḥanathon among the cities he conquered in the Galilee. Researchers suggest identifying these locations with Tel Hanaton.

Geography

Kibbutz Hanaton overlooks the Eshkol reservoir, an important component of the National Water Carrier. The 4.5 million m³ reservoir is fed by water carried by the Beit Netofa Canal. To the north of the kibbutz is the Arab village of

Kafr Manda Kafr Manda or Kfar Menda (, ) is an Arab town in the Lower Galilee, on the slopes of Mount Atzmon in Israel's Northern District. Kafr Manda is northwest of the city of Nazareth. In its population was . The inhabitants are predominantly Arab ...

. Southwest of the kibbutz, across highway 79, lies Alon HaGalil.

History

In the 1980s, inspired by the Reform movement's first kibbutz, Yahel, a group of students affiliated with the Jewish Theological Seminary in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

decided to establish a kibbutz for adherents of

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations ...

. ''Gar'in Nitzan'' recruited members from across the United States and joined forces with the Israeli branch, the Masorti Movement. In Israel, they hired Rabbi Ehud Bandel to organize high school seniors interested in joining a

Nahal Nahal () (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training in entrepr ...

gar'in. On 1 September 1983, ''Gar'in Noam'' (30 members, aged 18–19) moved to Kfar HaHoresh for training. They were joined by ''Gar'in Nitzan'' (40 members, aged 19–35, including several families with small children). In September 1984, the founders moved into the new kibbutz, which was named for a

town that existed in the area and is mentioned in the

. The founders were later joined by immigrants from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In 1997 the

United Kibbutz Movement The Kibbutz Movement (, ''HaTnu'a HaKibbutzit'') is the largest settlement movement for kibbutzim in Israel. It was formed in 1999 by a partial merger of the United Kibbutz Movement and Kibbutz Artzi and is made up of approximately 230 kibbutzim. I ...

began to send HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed groups to the kibbutz, but they have not been accepted as full-fledged members for ideological reasons. In 2006, in the wake of financial difficulties, attorney Sagi Mirom was appointed as a dissolution

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

. Under his stewardship the annual deficit of 80,000 NIS (about $22,000 US at the time) was reversed, and the kibbutz recovered economically. In 2008, it was decided to recharter Hanaton as a "renewed kibbutz" (). Since March 2011, the kibbutz has been accepting new members and new housing units are under construction. In 2023, former long-time resident Eitan Chikli said that the Kibbutz now has "more Reform members than Conservative ones." But that the majority of members are secular.Amichai Chikli's father: He has 'openness, tolerance of inclusion' - interview
''The Jerusalem Post''. 15 January 2023

Economy

In its early years, the kibbutz engaged in agriculture. A small crafts business, Hadran, manufactures rug kits. The kibbutz operates a dairy in partnership with Kibbutz Gat and a state-of-the-art

chicken coop Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises poultry, domesticated birds such as chickens, Domestic duck, ducks, turkey (domesticated), turkeys and domesticated goose, geese to produce chicken meat, meat or Egg as food, eggs for ...

where

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

and

turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

hatchling In oviparous biology, a hatchling is a newly hatched fish, amphibian, reptile, or bird. A group of mammals called monotremes lay eggs, and their young are hatchlings as well. Fish Fish hatchlings generally do not receive parental care, similar t ...

s are raised in a controlled, computerized environment. It grows greenhouse tomatoes,

table grape Table grapes are grapes intended for consumption as fresh fruit, as opposed to grapes grown for wine production, Juicing, juice production, jelly and jam making, or for drying into raisins. ''Vitis vinifera'' table grapes can be in the form of e ...

s and

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The flesh of the fruit is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark red. Grapefru ...

s. A primary source of income is the Education & Lodging Center that provides lodging and workshops for

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

youth groups from

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Notable residents

Amichai Chikli Amichai Chikli (; born 12 September 1981)
Mako, 5 April 2021 is an Israeli ...

- Minister of Diaspora Affairs, grew up on the kibbutz and currently lives there.Who is Amichai Chikli, the incoming Diaspora affairs minister?
''The Jerusalem Post''. 28 December 2022

References

External links

Official website
{{Jezreel Valley Regional Council Conservative Judaism in Israel Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Religious Israeli communities Populated places established in 1984 Populated places in Northern District (Israel) 1984 establishments in Israel