Dan () 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. Located in the north of 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 ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
. As of it had a population of .
History
Dan was founded in 1939 by Jewish farmers from
Transylvania
Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
as part of the
Tower and Stockade campaign. It is affiliated with the
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair (, , 'The Young Guard') is a Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary. It was also the name of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party, the ...
movement. In 1947, the population was 340.
Dan was one of two villages established in honour of
Menachem Ussishkin
Menachem Ussishkin ( ''Avraham Menachem Mendel Ussishkin'', ; August 14, 1863 – October 2, 1941) was a Russian-born Zionist leader and head of the Jewish National Fund.
Biography
Menachem Ussishkin was born in Dubrowna in the Belarusian ...
and counted among
the "Ussishkin Fortresses". It was named after the Israelite town of "
Dan" mentioned in
Genesis 14:14,
1 Samuel 3:20 and
1 Kings 12:29, which has been identified with the nearby
Tel Dan. Kibbutz Dan is located in the territory of the Israelite
tribe of Dan
The Tribe of Dan (, "Judge") was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, according to the Torah. According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe initially settled in the hill lands bordering Tribe of Ephraim, Ephraim and Tribe of Benjamin, Benjamin on the ...
delineated in
Joshua 19:47. It suffered heavy losses 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 ...
, bearing the brunt of the
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
n invasion.
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 ...
mortar training at Dan, 1948
File:Kibbutz Dan ii.jpg, Yiftach Brigade
The 11th Brigade (also known as the Yiftach Brigade) is a reserves unit in the Israel Defense Forces, composed mainly of fighters that completed their compulsory service in the Egoz Unit, Unit 621 – 'Egoz'.
History
In the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...
stationed at Dan, 1948
File:PikiWiki Israel 4454 Agriculture in Israel.jpg, Working in the field, 1948–49
File:PikiWiki Israel 47202 Kibbutz Dan.jpg, Dan during early 1950s
Economy
One of the first economic branches in the kibbutz was a cooperative trout-breeding venture with neighbouring kibbutz of
Dafna
Dafna () is a kibbutz in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel. Located seven kilometres east of Kiryat Shmona and surrounded by three streams of the Dan River (Middle East), Dan River, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Co ...
.
The Caviar Galilee Company, which exports
caviar
Caviar or caviare is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or spread. Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from wild sturgeon in the Caspi ...
under the brand name "Karat Caviar," is based on the kibbutz. The caviar is well-regarded;
Eric Ripert, chef and proprietor of
Le Bernardin
Le Bernardin is a three-Michelin star French seafood restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Eric Ripert is the executive chef, and he is co-owner along with Maguy Le Coze.
History
Gilbert Le Coze and his sister Maguy Le Coze opened ...
, and Jean Francois Bruel, chef of
Restaurant Daniel, have stated their preference for the brand.
The kibbutz exports caviar to the United States, Europe, Russia, Japan, Singapore and Canada. In 2011, the company produced 3,000 kilograms. It has plans to increase production gradually to 8,000 kilograms a year.
[
A museum for the nature and history of the area, "Bet Ussishkin," operates at the Kibbutz.Bet Ussishkin official website]
(in Hebrew).
Landmarks
*
Tel Dan
* Dan is the starting point of the
Israel National Trail.
References
{{Authority control
Kibbutzim
Kibbutz Movement
Populated places established in 1939
Jewish villages in Mandatory Palestine
1939 establishments in Mandatory Palestine
Populated places in Northern District (Israel)
Romanian-Jewish culture in Israel