Shavei Tzion (, ''lit.'' Returnees to Zion) is a moshav shitufi 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 between

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

and

Nahariya Nahariya () is the northernmost coastal city in Israel. As of , the city had a population of . The city was founded in 1935 by Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. Etymology Nahariya takes its name from the stream of Ga'aton River, Ga'aton (riv ...

and covering 2,000

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...

s, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council. In it had a population of .

History

The village was established on 13 April 1938 as part of the tower and stockade settlement scheme. Its founders,

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 Rexingen in

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 ...

, arrived during the Fifth Aliyah fleeing from Nazi persecution. The village's construction was financed by Arthur Loewengart, a former resident of Rexingen and wealthy leather manufacturer who immigrated to the United States in 1937. Shavei Tzion is considered one of the most beautiful towns in the Galilee due to its proximity to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. Seven of the

Acre Prison break The Acre Prison break was an operation undertaken by the Irgun on May 4, 1947, in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate of Palestine, in which its men broke through the walls of the Acre Prison, Central Prison in Acre, Israel, Acre and freed ...

fighters who were killed during the operation are buried in the local cemetery. A memorial was erected on the beach in 1999, commemorating the death of 12 IDF naval commandos who fell during an ill-fated mission into Lebanon on 5 September 1997. It is composed of a dozen sandstone slabs leaning on each another, and a separate block carrying the names of the casualties – including a young officer from Shavei Tzion. The wreck of an old ship of the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy (, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'', ; ) is the Israel Defense Forces#Arms, naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea theater as well as the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea th ...

, Kidon, which had been sunk just offshore as a tourist attraction for scuba divers, has also become a memorial site in recent years after a 2016 remembrance day ceremony organized by a local dive club, at which a memorial of Israeli flags and 12 chairs representing each of the 12 soldiers who died during the operation was set up on the wreck. File:שבי ציון - מראה שבי ציון,צילום אויר-JNF035094.jpeg, Shavei Tzion 1939 File:שבי ציון - המשתלה-JNF034600.jpeg, Shavei Tzion 1939 File:שבי ציון - מראה בחגיגת יובל החמישה-JNF021128.jpeg, Shavei Tzion 1943

Archaeology

2016 WLM - OVEDC - PEKIIN - ELEF MILIM 192

In 1955, remains of a Byzantine church were found along the beach path that leads from

to Tyre and was dated to the 4th century. The excavations were led by Moshe Prausnitz and the findings included

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

floors and walls as well as remains of an Artesian aquifer.

Twin towns

Shavei Tzion has a friendship relationship with: *

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, Germany

Gallery

File:Shavei_Tzion_cemetery.jpg, Tombstone of Acre Prison break fighters File:IDF Marine Commando Disaster Memorial-5.JPG, IDF Marine Commando Disaster Memorial File:Shaveziyyon1.jpg, Synagogue File:Loewengart Hall Shavei Tzion.jpg, Beit Loewengart Community Hall

Notable people

* Daliah Lavi

References

External links

Shave Zion Archive
Younes & Soraya Nasarian Library, University of Haifa.

Ynet

Ynet {{Authority control Moshavim Populated places established in 1938 Agricultural Union Populated places in Northern District (Israel) 1938 establishments in Mandatory Palestine German-Jewish culture in Israel