Dan ( he, דָּן) 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 northern Israel. Located in the north of 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, ...
, at the foot of
Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon ( ar, جبل الشيخ or جبل حرمون / ALA-LC: ''Jabal al-Shaykh'' ("Mountain of the Sheikh") or ''Jabal Haramun''; he, הַר חֶרְמוֹן, ''Har Hermon'') is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of th ...
, 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 ...
. As of it had a population of .
History
Kibbutz Dan was founded in 1939 by Jewish farmers from
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...
as part of the
Wall and tower campaign. It is affiliated with the
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair ( he, הַשׁוֹמֵר הַצָעִיר, , ''The Young Guard'') is a Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary, and it was also the name of the gro ...
movement. In 1947, the population was 340.
Dan was one of two villages established in honour of
Menachem Ussishkin
Menachem Ussishkin (russian: Авраам Менахем Мендл Усышкин ''Avraham Menachem Mendel Ussishkin'', he, מנחם אוסישקין) (August 14, 1863 – October 2, 1941) was a Russian-born Zionist leader and head of the J ...
. It was named after the Israelite town of "
Dan" mentioned in 1 Kings 12:29, 1 Samuel 3:20 and Genesis 14:14, and which has been identified with the nearby Tel Dan. Kibbutz Dan is located in the territory of the Israelite
tribe of Dan
The Tribe of Dan (, "Judge") was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, according to the Torah. They were allocated a coastal portion of land when the people of Israel entered the Promised Land, later moving northwards.
Biblical narrative
In ...
(Joshua 19:47). It suffered heavy losses during the
1948 Arab–Israeli War, bearing the brunt of the
Syrian invasion.
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 ...
mortar training at Kibbutz Dan. 1948
File:Kibbutz Dan 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 ...
stationed at Kibbutz Dan, 1948
File:PikiWiki Israel 4454 Agriculture in Israel.jpg, Plowing in the field, 1948–49
File:PikiWiki Israel 47202 Kibbutz Dan.jpg, Kibbutz Dan during early 1950s
Economy
One of the first economic branches in the kibbutz was a cooperative trout-breeding venture with neighbouring 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 ...
.
The Caviar Galilee Company, which exports
caviar
Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the t ...
under the brand name "Karat Caviar," is based on the kibbutz. According to
Eric Ripert, chef and proprietor of
Le Bernadin
Le Bernardin is a French seafood restaurant in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Gilbert Le Coze and his sister Maguy Le Coze started the restaurant in Paris in 1972, where it was called Les Moines de St. Bernardin. They restarted the restaur ...
, considered the leading seafood restaurant in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, and Jean Francois Bruel, chef of
Daniel
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
, a Michelin 3-star rated restaurant in Manhattan's Upper East Side, the best caviar on the market today is produced by Kibbutz Dan.
The kibbutz exports caviar to the United States, Europe, Russia, Japan, Singapore and Canada. In 2011, the company produced 3,000 kilograms. It has plans to increase production gradually to 8,000 kilograms a year.
[
]
Landmarks
Kibbutz Dan is the starting point of the Israel National Trail
The Israel National Trail ( he, שביל ישראל, ''Shvil Yisra'el'') is a hiking path that was inaugurated in 1995. The trail crosses the entire country of Israel. Its northern end is at Dan, near the Lebanese border in the far north of the c ...
.
References
{{Authority control
Kibbutzim
Kibbutz Movement
Populated places established in 1939
Jewish villages in Mandatory Palestine
1939 establishments in Mandatory Palestine
Populated places in Northern District (Israel)
Romanian-Jewish culture in Israel