Mahanayim () 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 in the

Korazim Plateau The Korazim Plateau (, ''Ramat Korazim'', also spelled Corazim) is a volcanic plateau, located in northern Israel. The plateau is bounded between by the Hula Valley in the north, Sea of Galilee in the south, the mountains of the Galilee to the ...

, around three kilometres northeast of

Rosh Pinna Rosh Pinna () or Rosh Pina, is a town in the Korazim Plateau in the Upper Galilee on the eastern slopes of Mount Kna'an in the Northern District of Israel. It was established as Gei Oni in 1878 by local Jews from Tzfat but was nearly abando ...

, 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

The land on which Mahanayim stands was purchased in 1892 by the Ahavat Zion (Love of Zion)

Hovevei Zion The Lovers of Zion, also ''Hovevei Zion'' () or ''Hibbat Zion'' (, ), were a variety of proto-Zionist organizations founded in 1881 in response to the anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire and were officially constituted as a group at a conf ...

organization, with the aim of establishing a

moshava A moshava (, plural: ''moshavot'' , ''colony'' or ''village'') was a form of agricultural Jewish settlement in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine (now Israel), established by the members of the Old Yishuv beginning in the late 1870s ...

in the area. In 1898 a number of families from Galicia settled in the area, naming it Mahanayim after the biblical city in

Gilead Gilead or Gilad (, ; ''Gilʿāḏ'', , ''Jalʻād'') is the ancient, historic, biblical name of the mountainous northern part of the region of Transjordan.''Easton's Bible Dictionary'Galeed''/ref> The region is bounded in the west by the J ...

, where Jacob stayed before he met again with his brother

Esau Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the minor prophet, prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The story of Jacob and Esau reflects the historical relationship between Israel and Edom, aiming ...

and saw angels, therefore calling it Mahanayim (camps) of God (

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

32:2). However, it was not a success, largely due to the settlers' lack of familiarity with the region, a shortage of money, and a lack of professionalism, resulting in the community disintegrating. The

Jewish Colonization Association The Jewish Colonisation Association (JCA or ICA; ) was an organisation created on September 11, 1891, by Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigration of Jews from Russia and other Eastern European countries, by settling ...

ran a trial of growing tobacco in the area, but it too was a failure, and the village was abandoned in 1912. In 1916 a

kvutza A kvutza, kvutzah, kevutza or kevutzah ( "group") is a form of cooperative settlement that was founded in the Second Aliyah and developed in the Third Aliyah, its principles are based on the existence of a cooperative, communal, small and intima ...

Poale Zion Poale Zion (, also romanized ''Poalei Tziyon'' or ''Poaley Syjon'', meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire at about the turn of the 20th c ...

members arrived in the area, establishing the first working settlement in 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 ...

. According to the

1922 census of Palestine The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922. The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The divis ...

by the British Mandate authorities, Mahanayim had a population of 30 Jews. In the same year it became 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 ...

, but was abandoned in 1928. The village was established for a third time in 1939 by members of kibbutz "Yodfat" from

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 ...

. Starting in 1979, the community's metalworks was used by

Meir Dagan Aluf Meir Dagan (; 30 January 1945 – 17 March 2016) was an Israel Defense Forces Major General (reserve) and Director of the Mossad. Personal life and education Meir Huberman (later Dagan) was born on a train on the outskirts of Kherson, b ...

(later head of the

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

) as a site to secretly assemble bombs to be used by proxies in the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

in nearby Lebanon. File:מחניים - מראה המושבה בחורבנה.-JNF028622.jpeg, Mahanayim abandoned buildings 1939 File:גליל - מחניים בגליל-JNF034072.jpeg, Mahanayim 1940 File:מחניים - סוסים-JNF036306.jpeg, Mahanayim 1947 File:Mahanayim i.jpg, Convoy from

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

in Mahanayim in 1948

Economy

Kibbutz Mahanayim operates a guesthouse offering alternative medical treatments. A sculpture studio and stained glass workshop on the grounds of the kibbutz are open to guests. Ben Ya'akov Airport is located to the south of the kibbutz.

Notable residents

Israel Tal Israel Tal (; 13 September 1924 – 8 September 2010), also known as Talik (Hebrew: טליק), was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) general known for his knowledge of tank warfare and for leading the development of Israel's Merkava tank. Biography ...

, IDF commander and pioneer in tank warfare. *

(later head of the

)

References

External links

Village websiteKibbutz Mahanayim Collection
on the Digital collections of

Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library is a central academic library of the University of Haifa, and one of the largest in Israel. It is also one of the most progressive Israeli libraries in terms of service, collection, physical space, and libra ...

, University of Haifa {{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Former moshavim Populated places established in 1898 Populated places established in 1916 Populated places established in 1939 1898 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1916 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1939 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Populated places in Northern District (Israel) Polish-Jewish culture in Israel