Misgav Am ( he, מִשְׂגַּב עָם, ''lit.'' Fortress of the People) is a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

in the

Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee ( he, הגליל העליון, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; ar, الجليل الأعلى, ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period. It originally referred to a mountai ...

in northern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Located close to the border with

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, facing the Lebanese town of

Odaisseh Odaisseh ( ar, العديسة / BGN: Aadaïssé / ISO 233: ; also ''Adaisseh'', , and other spellings) is a village in South Lebanon. It is located close to the Blue Line border with Israel, opposite the Israeli kibbutz of Misgav Am. Name Accor ...

, and near the Israeli town of

Kiryat Shmona Kiryat Shmona ( he, קִרְיַת שְׁמוֹנָה, ''lit.'' Town of the Eight) is a city in the Northern District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley near the Lebanese border. The city was named after the eight people, includin ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Upper Galilee Regional Council The Upper Galilee Regional Council ( he, מוֹעָצָה אֲזוֹרִית הַגָּלִיל הַעֶלְיוֹן, translit. ''Mo'atza Azorit HaGalil HaElyon'') is a regional council in Israel's Upper Galilee region, bordered by the Mevo'ot Ha ...

. In it had a population of . Misgav Am is 840 m (2,760 feet) above sea level and overlooks on one side the

Hula Valley The Hula Valley ( he, עמק החולה, Romanization of Hebrew, translit. ''Emek Ha-Ḥula''; also transliterated as Huleh Valley, ar, سهل الحولة) is an agriculture, agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water, ...

and on the other side the neighboring Lebanese village of

History

The kibbutz was founded on 2 November 1945, the anniversary of the

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

, by young

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmac ...

members.About Misgav Am
Misgav Am It was located at the northern part of the now depopulated

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

village of

Hunin Hunin ( ar, هونين) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Galilee Panhandle part of Mandatory Palestine close to the Lebanese border. It was the second largest village in the district of Safed, but was depopulated in 1948.Gelber, 2006, p. 22 ...

. New immigrants from Europe, the United States and South America began to settle there in the late 1970s. File:משגב עם (עודיסה) - קבוצת נוער מיון, שנמצאת בתל חי עולה למשגב עם-JNF027310.jpeg, First residents 1945 File:Misgav-Am.jpg, Kibbutz Misgave-Am (c. 1948) File:Misgav Am ii.jpg,

Yiftach Brigade The Yiftach Brigade (also known as the Yiftah Brigade, the 11th Brigade in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War) was an Israeli infantry brigade. It included two Palmach battalions (the 1st and 7th), and later also the 2nd, which was transferred from the ...

carrying out construction work at Misgav Am (1948) File:Mishgav Am.jpg, Winter 1948 File:Misgav Am iii.jpg, Laundry (1948) File:Misgav Am iv.jpg, Repairing dining hall roof after storm damage (1948) On 7 April 1980, five terrorists from the

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i-backed

Arab Liberation Front Arab Liberation Front ( ar, جبهة التحرير العربية ''Jabhet Al-Tahrir Al-'Arabiyah'') is a minor Palestinian political party, previously controlled by the Iraqi-led Ba'ath Party, formed in 1969 by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and then h ...

penetrated Misgav Am in the night and entered the nursery. They killed the kibbutz secretary and an infant boy and held the rest of the children hostage, demanding the release of about 50 terrorists held in Israeli prisons. The first raid of an IDF infantry unit was unsuccessful, but a second attempt, a few hours later, succeeded, and all the terrorists were killed. Two kibbutz members and one soldier were killed, four children and 11 soldiers were wounded. Immediately after the attack, Israeli troops entered southern Lebanon to wipe out terrorist nests and to intensify the pressure on the Palestinian terrorists in Lebanon. Israel withdrew after five days, because of heavy political pressure by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. In the years of Israeli presence in southern Lebanon (1982–2000), the kibbutz had cordial relations with the people on the other side of the border, despite the state of war between Lebanon and Israel since 1948. During the

Second Lebanon war The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

in 2006, several thousands of IDF troops were deployed around Misgav Am, which brought heavy logistical problems regarding food, water and sanitary facilities.

Education

The kibbutz offers an education system beginning age three and ending after high school. There is a daycare center for babies, another for infants and also a kindergarten. Elementary school is at kibbutz

Kfar Giladi Kfar Giladi ( he, כְּפַר גִּלְעָדִי, ''lit.'' Giladi Village, ar, كفار جلعادي) is a kibbutz in the Galilee Panhandle of northern Israel. Located south of Metula on the Naftali Mountains above the Hula Valley and alon ...

. Junior and senior high school is located at kibbutz

Dafna Dafna ( he, דַּפְנָה) is a kibbutz in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, 7 km east of Kiryat Shmona. It was founded on 3 May 1939 as a Tower and Stockade settlement, and was the first Tower and Stockade-type settlement in the ...

. With the new policy of a longer schooling day, children receive various enrichment classes in the region: dance and music at

Kfar Blum Kfar Blum ( he, כְּפַר בְּלוּם, ''lit.'' Blum Village) is a kibbutz in the Hula Valley part of the Upper Galilee in Israel. Located about southeast of the town of Kiryat Shmona, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regio ...

, ice-skating at Canada centre of Metula, and karate at

Ramot Naftali Ramot Naftali ( he, רָמוֹת נַפְתָּלִי) is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the Upper Galilee near the Lebanese border, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council. In it had a population of . T ...

Kibbutz life

Around 90 of the 300 people living in Misgav Am are members. Many residents study in the nearby Academic College of

Tel Hai Tel Hai ( he, תֵּל חַי [] "Hill of Life") is a name of the former Jewish settlement in northern Galilee, the site of an early battle between Jews and Arabs heralding the growing civil conflict, and of a monument, tourist attraction, and a c ...

. The kibbutz residents celebrate some of the Jewish and national holidays together, which is kind of a kibbutz tradition:

Lag Ba'omer Lag BaOmer ( he, , ''LaG Bāʿōmer''), also Lag B'Omer or Lag LaOmer, is a Jewish religious holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar. According to some Risho ...

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each nigh ...

, Tu Bishvat and

Shavuot (''Ḥag HaShavuot'' or ''Shavuos'') , nickname = English: "Feast of Weeks" , observedby = Jews and Samaritans , type = Jewish and Samaritan , begins = 6th day of Sivan (or the Sunday following the 6th day of Sivan i ...

. The kibbutz has a covered swimming pool, a library, a mini-market and sports courts. Besides a 24-hour

Magen David Adom The Magen David Adom ( he, מגן דוד אדום, abbr. MDA, pronounced ''MAH-dah'' per its Hebrew acronym, ) is Israel's national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service. The name means "Red Shield" or "Red Star of Davi ...

emergency station, there is also a health clinic which belongs to

Clalit Health Services Clalit, ( he, שירותי בריאות כללית, General Health Services; previously – , General Sick Fund), is the largest of Israel's four state-mandated health service organizations, charged with administering health care services and fund ...

Economy

The kibbutz factory, Sion Texo Medic Ltd., produces bandages and wound dressings.

References

External links

Official website

Educational tours and visitors center
(official website) {{Authority control Kibbutzim Populated places established in 1945 Populated places in Northern District (Israel) 1945 establishments in Mandatory Palestine