Akhzivland
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Akhzivland () is a
micronation A micronation is a polity, political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state. Micronations are classified separately from list o ...
between the Israeli town of
Nahariya Nahariya () is the northernmost coastal city in Israel. As of , the city had a population of . The city was founded in 1935 by Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. Etymology Nahariya takes its name from the stream of Ga'aton River, Ga'aton (riv ...
and the Lebanese border on the Mediterranean coast of 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 ...
, founded by Eli Avivi in 1971. The micronation is promoted by the
Israel Ministry of Tourism 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 ...
.


History

The micronation is located near the ruins of
Achziv Achziv ( ''ʾAḵzīḇ'') or Az-Zeeb () is an ancient site on the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel, between the border with Lebanon and the city of Acre. It is located north of Acre on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, within the mun ...
, an ancient settlement on the Mediterranean coast in the Western Galilee, from which the micronation's name is derived. It is located about north of Nahariya. A national park, field school, and the ruins of the old village of Az-Zeeb, which was captured by the
Carmeli Brigade 2nd "Carmeli" Brigade (Hebrew: חטיבת כרמלי, Hativat Carmeli, former 165th Brigade) is a reserve infantry brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, part of the Northern Command. Today the brigade consists of four battalions, including one ...
during the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
, are located nearby. The current site of Akhzivland is situated near the ancient port city of Achziv. Based on archeological findings and the numerous burial sites located in the region, it is thought that Achziv was already an important commercial center during the
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
. 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 ...
, Achziv is mentioned as one of the nine cities of the
Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...
. A thriving city was also located on the site during the time of the
Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
. During the
Crusader Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...
period, the city was given as a gift to a knight. During the
Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...
period, it was conquered by the Mamluk general
Baibars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari (; 1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), commonly known as Baibars or Baybars () and nicknamed Abu al-Futuh (, ), was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, of Turkic Kipchak origin, in the Ba ...
, who established a fishing village at the site called Az-Zeeb. Its residents fled Az-Zeeb during
Operation Ben-Ami Operation Ben-Ami () was one of the last operations launched by the Haganah before the end of the British Mandate. The first phase of this operation was the capture of Acre. A week later four villages east and north of Acre were captured. The Ca ...
in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In 1952, Iranian-born sailor and
Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Phalanges/Companies") was the elite combined strike forces and sayeret unit of the Haganah, the paramilitary organization of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of th ...
veteran Eli Avivi moved into buildings in the villages. According to former residents of Az-Zeeb, Avivi was hired by a family of fishermen, and later moved into the family's house in 1955. In 1961, the Israeli government granted the French resort company
Club Med Club Med SAS, commonly known as Club Med and previously known as Club Méditerranée SA, is a French travel and tourism operator headquartered in Paris, specializing in all-inclusive holidays. Founded in 1950, the company has been primarily ow ...
a fifty-year lease over part of the area's coastline. In 1970, the Israeli government sent bulldozers to demolish the home in which Avivi had been living. In protest, Eli founded Akhzivland in 1971, setting up a hostel and a museum inside the former home of the
mukhtar A mukhtar (; ) is a village chief in the Levant: "an old institution that goes back to the time of the Ottoman rule". According to Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed, the mukhtar "for centuries were the central figures". They "were ...
of Az-Zeeb. The micronation became a tourist site—described by ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'' as a "hippie micro state"—attracting artists, models, writers, politicians, and countercultural figures, including
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
,
Bar Refaeli Bar Refaeli (; born ) is an Israeli model, actress, and businesswoman. She is among the most internationally successful models to come from Israel, appearing on the cover of the 2009 ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue, and being voted No. 1 ...
,
Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...
, and
Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...
. The micronation elected Avivi to be President (according to the constitution "The president is democratically elected by his own vote"), established a flag and national anthem, and even issued passports. For a certain time, visitors’ passports received a special stamp. Following the founding of Akhzivland, Avivi was arrested and detained, but was released 10 days later after a judge ruled that the charge of "Creation of a Country Without Permission" did not exist. After Avivi sued the Israeli government, a court ruled to lease the area to Avivi for 99 years, but did not rule on the legal status of the state. In 1971, six Palestinian gunmen belonging to Fatah (back then known as the "Palestinian National Liberation"), infiltrated Israel by sea from Lebanon with the intention of kidnapping Avivi, landing on the beach of Achziv. One of the gunmen entered the house but was stopped at gunpoint by Avivi's wife, Rina, dropping his weapon and a bag of grenades. Two more gunmen were caught by the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
(IDF) at the boat, while the other three were captured inland. Akhzivland now contains a guest house, beachfront campground, and a museum of local findings from the sea and seashore. Eli Avivi died of pneumonia on 16 May 2018, at the age of 88.


Flag

The flag of Akhzivland is a
Spanish fess In heraldry and vexillology, a Spanish fess is a term occasionally used to describe the central horizontal stripe of a tricolour or triband flag that is twice the width of the stripes on either side of it. The name is based on the most well-kno ...
with one yellow stripe in between two blue stripes, the top stripe a lighter shade of blue than the lower. It has two images in white depicted on it. The rightmost image is a building representing the Akhzivland Museum, which is the main building in Akhzivland. The leftmost image depicts a
mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...
resembling the one in the flag of
Eemsmond Eemsmond (; ) is a former Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality with a population of 15,864 in the north of the province of Groningen (province), Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. On 1 January 2019 it merged with the municip ...
, a
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
municipality.


See also

*
List of micronations Micronations, sometimes also referred to as ''model countries'' and ''new country projects'', are small, self-proclaimed entities that assert their sovereignty as independent states but which are not acknowledged as such by any of the recognise ...
*
Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...


References


Further reading

* Knupper, Franziska. "On the Jewish state's micro-state, an Israeli couple rules a beach for 65 years," ''Jewish News Service'', jns.org, 2 March 2017. {{Coord, 33.04864, N, 35.10177, E, display=title Nahariya Micronations 1971 establishments in Israel