Eilon () 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 a mile south of Lebanese border and six miles east of the Mediterranean coast, the kibbutz sits on a ridge between two streams,

Nahal Betzet Nahal Betzet ( he, נחל בצת, lit. "Betzet stream"), Arabic: Wadi Karkara, is a once-perennial and now intermittent stream in the Upper Galilee, Israel. Most of it is part of the nature reserve named for the stream. Geography The stream cros ...

and Nahal Kziv and falls under the jurisdiction of

Mateh Asher Regional Council The Mateh Asher Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מטה אשר, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Asher'') is a regional council in the western Galilee of northern Israel. It is named after the Tribe of Asher which had been allotted the region ...

. 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 and

Palestinian Jew Palestinian Jews or Jewish Palestinians were the Jewish inhabitants of the Palestine region (known in Hebrew as ''Eretz Yisrael'', ) prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The common term used to refer to the Jewish commun ...

s. The inhabitants found themselves under constant fire in the wake of the

1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine The 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, later known as The Great Revolt (''al-Thawra al- Kubra'') or The Great Palestinian Revolt (''Thawrat Filastin al-Kubra''), was a popular nationalist uprising by Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine a ...

. 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 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 group ...

. Calm was achieved after the

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

was cleared of Lebanese troops and Kaukji'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 Keshet Eilon (Hebrew: ''קשת אילון'') is a music center established in the year 1990, located in Kibbutz Eilon, Israel. Its mission is to be a source of strength and support for young gifted violinists. Every summer Keshet Eilon hol ...

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