Ramat Yohanan () 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 near

Kiryat Ata Kiryat Ata () also spelled Qiryat Ata, is a city in the Haifa District of Israel. In it had a population of , 92% of whom were Jewish citizens. History The Early Bronze Age site at Kiryat Ata has been extensively excavated since 1990, reveal ...

and adjacent to the kibbutzim of Kfar HaMaccabi and Usha, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Zevulun Regional Council Zevulun Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Zvulun'') is a regional council in the Haifa District of Israel. Founded in 1950, it had a population of 10,900 in 2006. The council borders Mateh Asher Regional Council to the north, Jezreel Valley ...

. In it had a population of . In 2014, Forbes Israel ranked the Kibbutz as the 6th richest in Israel with an estimated value of 250 million Shekels.

History

The kibbutz was founded in 1931 on land bought by

Yehoshua Hankin Yehoshua Hankin (, 1864 – 11 November 1945) was a Zionism, Zionist activist who was responsible for most of the major land purchases of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization in Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Palestine (region), Palesti ...

from the Lebanese in 1925. The founders were a mix of native Jews and

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was named after the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n politician

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (baptismal name Jan Christiaan Smuts, 24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as P ...

, who was a prominent supporter of

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

and a personal friend of

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...

. Upon graduating high school in 1940,

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

joined the kibbutz's Noar Ha’oved (Working Youth) training program.Biography of Yitzhak Rabin
/ref> It was the location of the Battle of Ramat Yohanan during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine. 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 ...

regiment of the

Arab Liberation Army The Arab Liberation Army (ALA; , better translated as Arab Rescue Army (ARA) or Arab Salvation Army (ASA), was an army of volunteers from Arab countries led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji. It fought on the Arab side in the 1948 Palestine war. It was set ...

were confronted by the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

soldiers. During the battle the defenders ran out of ammunition and fought with knives before they were re-supplied. Subsequently, the Druze ran out of ammunition and withdrew to their base in

Shefa-'Amr Shefa-Amr or Shefar'am (; ) is an Arab city in the Northern District of Israel. In it had a population of with a Sunni Muslim majority and large Christian Arab and Druze minorities. Etymology Palmer writes that the name meant: "The margin ...

with many casualties.

Economy

The kibbutz grows produce including mainly avocado, lychee and citrus fruits. The kibbutz has large dairy farm of 600 milk cows, thousand acres of fields, and a large chicken breeding farm. The main economical power of the kibbutz comes from the company Palram, which mainly manufactures plastic sheets for the building industry . and Canopia which manufacturers garden and outdoor products. Beginning in the 1970s, Ramat Yohanan hosted an

ulpan An ulpan (), plural ''ulpanim'', is an institute or school for the intensive study of Hebrew. Ulpan is a Hebrew word meaning "studio", "teaching", or "instruction". The ulpan is designed to teach adult immigrants to Israel the basic language s ...

program. In recent years aimed primarily at American and Russian students, the program ceased operating in 2017 mostly due to Israeli government changes to immigration evaluations. File:רמת יוחנן - מגדל הצופים.-JNF045023.jpeg, Ramat Yohanan watchtower 1941 File:KIBBUTZ RAMAT YOHANAN. קיבוץ רמת יוחנן.D833-071.jpg, Ramat Yohanan 1944 File:Ramat Yohanan.jpg, Members of the Yiftach Brigade stationed at Ramat Yohanan in 1948 File:PikiWiki Israel 41274 Art of Israel.JPG, Kibbutz dining room with murals

References

{{Authority control American-Jewish culture in Israel Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1932 Populated places in Haifa District 1932 establishments in Mandatory Palestine