Eilon () 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 a mile south of Lebanese border and six miles east of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

coast, the kibbutz sits on a ridge between two streams, Nahal Betzet and

Nahal Kziv Nahal Kziv ( he, נחל כזיב) (lit. "Kziv stream") or the Horn Valley ( ar, وادي القرن, Wadi al Qarn) is a 39-kilometer long perennial stream in the Upper Galilee, Israel. During the winter, rainfall fills the channel, and springs al ...

and falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council. As of it had a population of .

Etymology

The name Eilon is derived from ''Elah'' (pistacia) and ''Allon'' (oak), two tree species abundant in this heavily forested area of northern Israel, though specifically referred to the "remnants of ancient trees in the vicinity." The Polish-Jewish immigrants cleared the forest and planted orchards to feed a small population on a rocky hillside.

History

The kibbutz, situated a short distance from the Lebanese border, was established in 1938 on 400 dunams of land in ''Khirbet Samak'', which had been purchased by the Jewish National Fund. It was settled that year by a group of Polish

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

and Palestinian Jews. The inhabitants found themselves under constant fire in the wake of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. Eilon was one of the early tower and stockade settlements. By 1947 the kibbutz had a population of 350, successfully reclaiming rocky land that had been designated by the British Mandatory government as uncultivable. The kibbutz was initially affiliated with Hashomer Hatzair. Calm was achieved after the Galilee was cleared of Lebanese troops and

Kaukji Fawzi al-Qawuqji ( ar, فوزي القاوقجي; 19 January 1890 – 5 June 1977) was a leading Arab nationalist military figure in the interwar period.The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives, by Gilbert Achcar, (NY: Hen ...

's bands in November 1948. When the Israeli forces, having just occupied the town of Tarshisha appeared coming up the path the inhabitants defending the kibbutz could hardly believe their good fortune.Gilbert, p237

Economy

Eilon derives its income from agriculture (bananas, avocado, exotic fruit, cotton); industry (Eshet Eilon manufactures agri-industrial systems to sort vegetables and fruit; Eilon Mosaic manufactures decorative mosaic); and tourism (Keshet Eilon Country Lodging is a guesthouse). A world-renowned violin master course called Keshet Eilon takes place annually in Eilon. Under the musical directorship of

Itzhak Rashkovsky Itzhak Rashkovsky ( he, יצחק רשקובסקי) (born 1955) is a Ukrainian-Israeli violinist and pedagogue who obtained master's degree from the Israeli Academy of Music where he was under guidance from Yair Kless. He is a music director and ...

, fifty young violinists from around the world spend each summer receiving extensive violin instruction and performing concerts.

Volunteers

Eilon accepts a number of International Volunteers that in return for lodgings, meals and laundry, work in a variety of locations on the kibbutz. One of the highlights of being a volunteer is the Vollies (Volunteers) Bar, which is situated close to the volunteers quarters.

References

{{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1938 Jewish villages in Mandatory Palestine Populated places in Northern District (Israel) Polish-Jewish culture in Israel 1938 establishments in Mandatory Palestine