Ein Gev () 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 on the eastern shore of the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...

near the ruins of the Greco-Roman settlement of

Hippos A hippo or hippopotamus is either of two species of large African mammal which live mainly in and near water: * Hippopotamus * Pygmy hippopotamus Hippo or Hippos may also refer to: Toponymy * The ancient city of Hippo Regius (modern Annaba, Alg ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Emek HaYarden Regional Council Emek HaYarden Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit 'Emeq HaYarden'', ''lit.'' Jordan Valley Regional Council) is a regional council comprising much of the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, the southern parts of its eastern shore, and the north ...

. In its population was .

History

PikiWiki Israel 48236 Geography of Israel

Ein Gev, named after the nearby Arab village Al-Nuqayb, came into being on 6 July 1937 during the

1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine A popular uprising by Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine against the British administration, later known as the Great Revolt, the Great Palestinian Revolt, or the Palestinian Revolution, lasted from 1936 until 1939. The movement sought i ...

as a " tower and stockade" settlement, a common debut for many kibbutzim during that era, and quickly established itself as a viable community. The original settlers were immigrants from

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, and the

Baltic countries The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

. Using intensive cultivation methods, they developed banana plantations. They also fished the nearby Sea of Galilee. By 1947 it had a population of 450. Situated along a border shared with

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 ...

, Ein Gev was shelled during the Battles of the Kinarot Valley and in other engagements 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 ...

. Shooting incidents remained common for the next nineteen years. These dangers were only eliminated when Israel occupied the neighbouring

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

in the 1967

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

. Due to the fact it was situated in the Israel–Syria demilitarised zone under the

1949 Armistice Agreements The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,1923 border agreement between

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

and the

French Mandate of Syria The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (; , also referred to as the Levant States; 1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate founded in the aftermath of the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, concerning the territories ...

. File:עין גב - ביום העליה.-JNF043205.jpeg, Ein Gev first attempt at settlement 1920 File:העלייה לעין גב-JNF009857.jpeg, Ein Gev erecting tower 1937 File:עין גב - הנקודה הבנויה ועדר גמלים.-JNF044862.jpeg, Ein Gev 1937 File:עין גב - מפקד הנוטרים במקום.-JNF044861.jpeg, Ein Gev guards 1937 File:עין גב - ביקור פקידי ממשלה הממונים על היעור ביחד עם מנהל היעור של הקק"ל, מר יוסף ויץ, בסביבות עין גב-JNF009853.jpeg, Ein Gev visit by

Joseph Weitz Yosef Weitz (; 1890–1972) was the director of the Land and Afforestation Department of the Jewish National Fund (JNF). From the 1930s, Weitz played a major role in acquiring land for the Yishuv, the pre-state Jewish community in the British Man ...

1942 File:Ein-Gev.jpg, Ein-Gev from Sea of Galilee, 1947 File:Ein-Gev ii.jpg, View of Ein-Gev from the East, 1947 File:Maats Ein Gev Pier.jpg, Ein Gev pier, c 1947 File:Ein Gev.jpg,

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 ...

members working at Ein Gev, before the 1948 war File:Ein Gev i.jpg, Women from

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 ...

working at Ein Gev. 1948 File:Ein Gev - Al Samra - Al Hamma Demilitarized Zone.png, Ein Gev - Al Samra - Al Hamma Demilitarized Zone, per the

Israel–Syria Mixed Armistice Commission The Israel–Syria Mixed Armistice Commission (ISMAC) was the United Nations commission for observing the armistice between Israel and Syria after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as part of the Mixed Armistice Commissions (MAC). The fourth and ...

Economy

The kibbutz operates a holiday resort and a fish restaurant. Agricultural branches include banana plantations and dairy farming. The kibbutz built a 2,500-seat concert hall to accommodate the Ein Gev Music Festival, held annually during

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

Archaeology

Near the present-day village an important archaeological site from the

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

Kebaran The Kebaran culture, also known as the 'Early Near East Epipalaeolithic', is an archaeological culture of the Eastern Mediterranean dating to c. 23,000 to 15,000 Before Present (BP). Its type site is Kebara Cave, south of Haifa. The Kebaran wa ...

culture has been excavated. The Greco-Roman

Decapolis The Decapolis (Greek: ) was a group of ten Greek Hellenistic cities on the eastern frontier of the Greek and late Roman Empire in the Southern Levant in the first centuries BC and AD. Most of the cities were located to the east of the Jordan ...

city of

stood on the hill overlooking the kibbutz. The archaeological site is currently being excavated.

Notable people

Teddy Kollek Theodor "Teddy" Kollek (; 27 May 1911 – 2 January 2007) was an Israeli politician who served as the mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 1973, 1978 Jerusalem ...

(1911–2007), politician, mayor of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the

Jerusalem Foundation The Jerusalem Foundation (, ''HaKeren LiYerushalayim''; ) is a Foundation (non-profit), nonprofit foundation that promotes the development of the city of Jerusalem, by raising funds for social, cultural and beautification projects. Established in ...

Effi Eitam Efraim "Effi" Eitam (; born 25 July 1952) is an Israeli brigadier general, former commander of the 91st Division, and politician. A former leader of the National Religious Party, he later led a breakaway faction, Ahi, which merged into Likud ...

(born 1952), retired brigadier general, former commander of the 91st Division, and politician

References

External links

* {{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1937 Jewish villages in Mandatory Palestine Natufian sites Populated places in Northern District (Israel) 1937 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Tourist attractions in the Golan Heights Latvian-Jewish culture in Israel Lithuanian-Jewish culture in Israel Austrian-Jewish culture in Israel Czech-Jewish culture in Israel German-Jewish culture in Israel Slovak-Jewish culture in Israel Sea of Galilee Kebaran culture