The Megiddo Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Megido'') is a regional council 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 ...

encompassing land on the Menashe Plateau, and partly in the

Jezreel Valley The Jezreel Valley (from the ), or Marj Ibn Amir (), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. It is bordered to the north by the highlands o ...

. The council is bounded by the city of

Yokneam Illit Yokneam Illit (), also Yoqne'am Illit, is a city in the Northern District of Israel. It is located in a hilly region of the Lower Galilee at the base of the Carmel Mountains, and overlooks the Jezreel Valley. It is from Haifa and from Tel Av ...

to the north, and the

Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...

mountain range to the east, and houses about 9,600 people on nine

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 ...

im, and four

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 ...

im located in its municipal territory. The council is named after the ancient city of Megiddo, with the remains of this ancient city being located in the proximity of kibbutz

Megiddo Megiddo may refer to: Places and sites in Israel * Tel Megiddo, site of an ancient city in Israel's Jezreel valley * Megiddo Airport, a domestic airport in Israel * Megiddo church (Israel) * Megiddo, Israel, a kibbutz in Israel * Megiddo Juncti ...

, in the territory of the council. The Head of the Regional Council from 2024 is Gil Lin.

History

Megiddo Regional Council is one of the oldest regional councils in Israel, being established in 1945, three years before the establishment of the State of Israel. Before 1945, the territory of the council was part of Gush Nahalal, a municipal entity of the British Mandate. The first Head of the Megiddo Regional Council was Avraham Fine from

Ein HaShofet Ein HaShofet (, ''lit.'' Spring of the Judge) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Menashe Heights region around 25 km southeast of the city of Haifa, close to Yokneam, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council ...

. At the time of its establishment, the council included only 3,000 inhabitants from five settlements. It was originally named "Harei Efrayim" (lit. Efrayim Hills), changing its name to "Megiddo" in 1952, although this change was only officially approved by the state in 1954. The oldest settlement in the council is

Mishmar HaEmek Mishmar HaEmek () is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the western Jezreel Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Megiddo Regional Council. Mishmar HaEmek is one of the few kibbutzim that have not undergone privatization and stil ...

, established in 1926, whilst the youngest settlement is

Midrakh Oz Midrakh Oz () is an agricultural moshav in northern Israel. Located in the Jezreel Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. In it had a population of , both religious and secular Jews. Etymology "Midrakh Oz" inspired ...

, established in 1952. The official

emblem An emblem is an abstract art, abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a monarch or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' ...

of the regional council was designed in 1952 by Leo Platau from

Hazorea HaZore'a (, ''lit.'' The Sower, named after the neighbouring Tel Zariq, ) is a kibbutz in northern Israel established in 1936 by German Jews. It is the only kibbutz that was established by members of the movement. Located in the western rim of ...

. It depicts the hills of the region, an ear of wheat, and a lion. The ear of wheat represents the rural and agricultural nature of the council territory. The image of the lion was inspired by a seal, discovered in the ancient city of Megiddo.

Culture and education

There is one high school located in the regional council, Megiddo Regional High School, located in kibbutz

. There are three primary schools: Hatikva in Eliakim, Omarim in Yad Labanim Regional Center, and Plagim in

HaZorea HaZore'a (, ''lit.'' The Sower, named after the neighbouring Tel Zariq, ) is a kibbutz in northern Israel established in 1936 by German Jews. It is the only kibbutz that was established by members of the movement. Located in the western rim of ...

. Some students from the settlements in the Megiddo Regional Council attend schools located outside of the council's territory. The Megiddo Community College is an institution for

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...

and

extracurricular activities An extracurricular activity (ECA) or extra academic activity (EAA) or cultural activity is an activity, performed by students, that falls outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school, college or university education. Although approved ...

, sponsored by the Israeli Ministry of Education. The college offers a variety of classes for both children and adults, including languages, computer skills, art, dance, music, history, Judaism, world religions, and martial arts. The college also organizes educational field trips for adults. The Megiddo Dance School works to nurture the art of dance in the settlements of the Megiddo Regional Council. The school offers dance classes in the schools of the area, and works to involve dance in the lives of

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

students. The Megiddo Music School offers practical and theoretical music classes to students in the schools of the regional council, including

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

, modern music, theory of music, and voice lessons.

Ramot Menashe Biosphere Reserve

84 million square meters of the 170 million of the Megiddo Regional Council constitute a nature reserve, including forested areas, various water sources, volcanic hills and archaeological sites. The park is currently in the process of becoming recognized by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

as a

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

. The remains of seven depopulated Palestinian locations in Israel are within the boundaries of the reserve:

Abu Shusha Abu Shusha () was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine, located 8 km southeast of Ramle. It was ethnically cleansed in May 1948. Abu Shusha was located on the slope of Tell Jezer/Tell el-Jazari, whi ...

, al-Butaymat, Khubbayza, al-Rihaniyya, Daliyat al-Rawha’,

Abu Zurayq Abu Zurayq is a cluster of archaeological sites at a well-watered spot at the western edge of the Jezreel Valley and its transition to the Menashe Heights, next to Highway 66, between the modern kibbutzim of HaZore'a and Mishmar HaEmek. The si ...

, and

al-Kafrayn Al-Kafrayn () was a Palestinian village in the Haifa Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on 12 April 1948 as part of the Battle of Mishmar HaEmek. It was located 29.5 km southeast of Haifa. ...

Economy

In addition to the agricultural and other industries in the various communities in the Regional Council, the Regional Council has joined with Yokneam Illit, and the

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

villages of

Daliyat al-Karmel Daliyat al-Karmel (, , "vineyards () of Carmel") is a Druze local council (Israel), town located on Mount Carmel in the Haifa District of Israel, around 20 km southeast of Haifa. In its population was 18,001. History In 1283 both ''Daliyat a ...

and

Isfiya Isfiya (, ), also known as Usfiya, is a Druze-majority village in northern Israel, governed by a Local council (Israel), local council. It also includes Christians, Muslims and a few Jews, Jewish households. Located on Mount Carmel, it is part of ...

to develop a Jewish-Arab high-tech industrial park named Mevo Carmel that will become part of the larger Startup Village - Yokneam Ecosystem.

List of settlements

Kibbutzim

* Dalia *

Gal'ed Gal'ed () is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Menashe Heights with an area of 14,500 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Kibbutz Gal'ed was established in 1945 by ...

* Giv'at Oz *

* Ramat HaShofet * Ramot Menashe

Other villages

* Ein HaEmek (community settlement) * Eliakim (moshav) *

(moshav) *

Yokneam Moshava Yokneam () is a moshava in the Northern District of Israel. Located on the outskirts of the city of Yokneam Illit on the border of the Jezreel Valley and the Menashe Heights, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Megiddo Regional Council and i ...

(moshava)

References

External links

* {{Coord, 32, 35, N, 35, 11, E, type:landmark_region:IL_source:nlwiki, display=title Regional councils in Northern District (Israel)