Ein Gev

Ein Gev (Hebrew: עֵין גֵּב‎) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee near the ruins of the Greco-Roman settlement of Hippos, it falls under the jurisdiction of Emek HaYarden Regional Council. In 2019 its population was 676.[1]

Ein Gev

עֵין גֵּב‎
Ein Gev
Ein Gev
Coordinates: 32°46′57.95″N 35°38′22.73″E
Country Israel
DistrictNorthern
CouncilEmek HaYarden
AffiliationKibbutz Movement
Founded6 July 1937
Population
 (2019)[1]
676
Websitewww.eingev.co.il

History

Kibbutz Ein Gev, named after the nearby Arab village Al-Nuqayb,[2] came into being on 6 July 1937 during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine as a "tower and stockade" settlement, a common debut for many kibbutzim during that era, and quickly established itself as a viable community. The original settlers were immigrants from Czechoslovakia, Germany, Austria, and the Baltic countries.[3] Using intensive cultivation methods, they developed banana plantations. They also fished the nearby Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). By 1947 it had a population of 450.[3]

  • Ein Gev first attempt at settlement 1920
  • Ein Gev erecting tower 1937
  • Ein Gev 1937
  • Ein Gev guards 1937
  • Ein Gev visit by Joseph Weitz 1942
  • Ein-Gev from Sea of Galilee, 1947
  • View of Ein-Gev from the East, 1947
  • Ein Gev pier, c 1947
  • Palmach members working at Ein Gev, before the 1948 war
  • Women from Yiftach Brigade working at Ein Gev. 1948

Situated along a border shared with Syria, Ein Gev was shelled during the Battles of the Kinarot Valley and in other engagements during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Shooting incidents remained common for the next nineteen years. These dangers were only eliminated when Israel occupied the neighbouring Golan Heights in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Archaeology

Near the present-day village an important archaeological site from the Mesolithic Kebaran culture has been excavated.[4]

The Greco-Roman Decapolis city of Sussita/Hippos stood on the hill overlooking the kibbutz. The archaeological site is currently being excavated.

Economy

The kibbutz operates a holiday resort and a fish restaurant. Agricultural branches include banana plantations and dairy farming. The kibbutz built a 2,500-seat concert hall to accommodate the Ein Gev Music Festival, held annually during Passover.[5]

Notable residents
Teddy Kollek (second from right), with Ein Gev pioneers (1934–39)
  • Teddy Kollek, a founding member of Kibbutz Ein Gev who became mayor of Jerusalem
  • Effi Eitam, retired brigadier general
  • Mendel Nun, expert on the history of the Sea of Galilee, initiator of the House of Anchors Fishing Museum, which he established in 1995. See one biography here.

References
  1. "Population in the Localities 2019" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ein-gev
  3. Jewish National Fund (1949). Jewish Villages in Israel. Jerusalem: Hamadpis Liphshitz Press. pp. 34–35.
  4. Prehistoric Ein Gev
  5. Ein Gev Jewish Virtual Library
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