Beit HaEmek ( he, בֵּית הָעֵמֶק, ''lit.'' House of the Valley) is a
kibbutz 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 in the western
Galilee, it falls under the jurisdiction of
Mateh Asher Regional Council. As of it had a population of .
History
![Archeological garden in Beit Haemek](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Archeological_garden_in_Beit_Haemek.JPG)
Kibbutz Beit HaEmek was established in 1949, in part by members of the British
Habonim movement. Its name is derived from that of the nearby village of
Amqa
Amka (), also known in Arabic as Amqa ( ar, عمقا), is a moshav in the Matte Asher Regional Council of Israel's Northern District, near Acre. The location of the moshav roughly corresponds the former Palestinian village, depopulated during t ...
and the Biblical city of Beth-emek "included in Asher tribal allotment" mentioned in the
Book of Joshua 19:27, which was located 5 kilometres north-east of the kibbutz. The kibbutz was built on the land of the 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
Kuwaykat. In addition to agricultural activities, the kibbutz has scientific industry activities, such as Biological Industries, one of the world’s leading and trusted suppliers to the life sciences industry.
At around 2000, the kibbutz voted to privatize itself.
References
Bibliography
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{{Mateh Asher Regional Council
Kibbutzim
Kibbutz Movement
Populated places established in 1949
Populated places in Northern District (Israel)
1949 establishments in Israel
British-Jewish culture in Israel