Kfar Shamai () is a

moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

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 in

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 ...

, about west of

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Merom HaGalil Regional Council The Merom HaGalil Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Merom HaGalil'') is a regional council in the northern Galilee of northern Israel. The regional council was established in 1950. The head of the council is Shlomo Levi. List of settlements Th ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The moshav was founded in 1949 by immigrants from

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. It was built over the Palestinian village of al-Sammu'i that was depopulated during the 1948 war as part of Israel's Independence war. Most of these immigrants have stayed. Over the years immigrants from

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

joined them. Today, 2006, the moshav houses a museum for the preservation of local history since its establishment. The name "Kfar Shamai" is based on Shammai the Elder, who was the partner of

Hillel the Elder Hillel ( ''Hīllēl''; variously called Hillel the Elder or Hillel the Babylonian; died c. 10 CE) was a Jewish religious leader, Sage (philosophy), sage and scholar associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud and the founder of ...

. According to Jewish tradition, Shammai was buried in Har Meron or in "Shammai Hill" near the community.Hareouveni, Emanouel (1974). ''The Settlements of Israel and Their Archaeological sites'' (in Hebrew). Israel: Hakibbutz Hameuchad. p. 190

References

{{Authority control Moshavim Populated places in Northern District (Israel) Yemeni-Jewish culture in Israel Populated places established in 1949 1949 establishments in Israel Moroccan-Jewish culture in Israel Romanian-Jewish culture in Israel