Kfar Blum () 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 the

Hula Valley The Hula Valley () is a valley and fertile agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water that used to be Lake Hula before it was drained. It is a major stopover for birds migrating along the Great Rift Valley between Africa ...

part of the

Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee (, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; , ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Part of the larger Galilee region, it is characterized by its higher elevations and mountainous terra ...

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 about southeast of the town of

Kiryat Shmona Kiryat Shmona () is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley near the Lebanon, Lebanese border. In it had a population of . Located near the Blue Line (withdrawal line), Israel ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Upper Galilee Regional Council The Upper Galilee Regional Council (, Romanization of Hebrew, translit. ''Mo'atza Azorit HaGalil HaElyon'') is a regional council (Israel), regional council in Israel's Upper Galilee region, bordered by the Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council and the ...

. In it had a population of .

History

Kibbutz Kfar Blum was founded in November 1943 by the

Labor Zionist Labor Zionism () or socialist Zionism () is the Left-wing politics, left-wing, socialism, socialist variant of Zionism. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations, and was seen as the Zionist ...

Habonim (now

Habonim Dror Habonim Dror (, "the builders–freedom") is a Jewish Labor Zionist youth movement formed in 1982 through the merger of two earlier movements: Habonim and Dror. Habonim (, "the builders") was established in 1929 in the United Kingdom and later e ...

) youth movement, adjacent to the Palestinian village of Al-Salihiyya. The founding members of the kibbutz were primarily from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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 ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

countries. The kibbutz was named in honor of

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister of France. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of socialist l ...

, the

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

ish socialist former

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

who was the focus of a widely publicized, and ultimately unsuccessful,

show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...

in 1942 mounted by the

collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th ...

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

regime.

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

(

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

) and

light industry Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...

(metal working) have formed the primary economic basis for the kibbutz. In recent years this has been supplemented increasingly by

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. Kfar Blum's location near the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...

at the foot of

Mount Hermon Mount Hermon ( / ALA-LC: ('Mountain of the Sheikh', ), , ) is a mountain, mountain cluster constituting the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the Lebanon–Syria border, border between Syria and Lebanon a ...

has made it a center for outdoor recreational activities including

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

and

bird watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

Education and culture

The kibbutz has a regional school, a sports arena and a hotel. It was also home to

Hapoel Galil Elyon Hapoel Galil Elyon (), also known as Hapoel Nofar Energy Galil Elion for sponsorship reasons, is an Israeli basketball club. The team competes in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top tier of Israeli basketball, and internationally in t ...

, a top division basketball team, which in 1993 became the first club from outside

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

to win the championship. For 24 years, between 1969 and 1993, Kfar Blum was home to the American Class, an academic-year-long program for an annual cohort of 15 to 30 U.S. and Canadian 10th-graders. Founded by Kfar Blum member Pinchas Rimon, American Class participants lived with kibbutz teenagers, held kibbutz jobs, were “adopted” into kibbutz families, and attended school in a classroom of the Emek Hahula High School. Since 1985 Kfar Blum has been the site of the annual Voice of Music Festival in Upper Galilee, also referred to as the ''Kfar Blum Festival'', a

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

festival that is held in mid-summer. This week-long event has grown to become the premier chamber music festival in Israel, drawing 15,000 visitors in recent years.Daniel Felsenstein and Aliza Fleischer, "Local Festivals and Tourism Promotion: The Role of Public Assistance and Visitor Expenditure", ''Journal of Travel Research'', May 2005, pp. 385-392

Notable people

Danny Sanderson Danny Sanderson (; born November 30, 1950) is an Israeli musician, singer-songwriter and guitarist. In 2005, Sanderson received a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to Israeli music. Biography Sanderson was born in Kibbutz Kfar B ...

References

External links

Heart of the Kibbutz - Archive of Kibbutz Kfar BlumKibbutz hotelfootage from 1940s of Kfar Blum
from Fred Monosson archive {{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1943 1943 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Populated places in Northern District (Israel) American-Jewish culture in Israel British-Jewish culture in Israel Latvian-Jewish culture in Israel Lithuanian-Jewish culture in Israel South African-Jewish culture in Israel