Masada ( he, מַסָּדָה) 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 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 northern

Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...

near the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Emek HaYarden Regional Council Emek HaYarden Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית עמק הירדן, ''Mo'atza Azorit 'Emeq HaYarden'', ''lit.'' Jordan Valley Regional Council) is a regional council comprising much of the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, the southe ...

. In it had a population of . Although still called a kibbutz, it privatized itself in 2006.

Etymology

The name of the kibbutz was taken from the epic poem "Masada" by

Yitzhak Lamdan Yitzhak Lamdan (Hebrew: יצחק למדן; ‎ 7 November 1899 – 17 November 1954) was an Israeli Hebrew-language poet, translator, editor and columnist. Biography Itzi-Yehuda Lubes or Lobes (later Yitzhak Lamdan) was born in 1899 inMlynov ...

, itself named after the fortress of

Masada Masada ( he, מְצָדָה ', "fortress") is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dea ...

by the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...

. It has nothing to do with the Hebrew word for base or foundation, "massad". The fortress of Masada is called in Hebrew "Metzadá" (מצדה), but Yitzhak Lamdan, although writing in Hebrew, used the name as it is known from the works of

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...

, "Masada" (מסדה). Lamdan's poem was extremely influential among

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

Jews at the time the kibbutz was established.

History

The kibbutz was founded in 1937 as part of the tower and stockade program by

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, and ...

from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and members of kibbutz Sha'ar HaGolan. As with Sha'ar HaGolan, the kibbutz's defenders retreated during the

Battles of the Kinarot Valley The Battles of the Kinarot Valley ( he, הַמַּעֲרָכָה בְּבִקְעַת כִּנָּרוֹת, ''HaMa'arakha BeBik'at Kinarot''), is a collective name for a series of military engagements between the Haganah and the Syrian army du ...

of the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

after holding out for four days of fighting. The two kibbutzim were captured and briefly held by the

Syrian Army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six ...

, during which time they were looted and burned down. Although the members made every reasonable effort to defend their kibbutz and returned soon after the events, a stigma was attached to them, and vindication in the form of released military records only arrived in recent years, decades too late. Masada, like dozens of the kibbutzim near the Sea of Galilee, existed under the threat from both the Syrian

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

towering from the east, and the Jordanians across the

Yarmouk River The Yarmuk River ( ar, نهر اليرموك, translit=Nahr al-Yarmūk, ; Greek: Ἱερομύκης, ; la, Hieromyces or ''Heromicas''; sometimes spelled Yarmouk), is the largest tributary of the Jordan River. It runs in Jordan, Syria and Israel ...

. On 29 March 1968 a tractor from Masada hit a landmine, killing the driver and three passengers. Israeli forces came to evacuate the casualties, and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian forces opened fire on them. In retaliation, the

Israel Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...

attacked Jordanian targets east of

Beit She'an Beit She'an ( he, בֵּית שְׁאָן '), also Beth-shean, formerly Beisan ( ar, بيسان ), is a town in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below se ...

. Several planes were damaged by anti-aircraft fire yet returned safely to base. Masada suffered greatly under the economic collapse of the 1980s which affected it more harshly than other kibbutzim. In 2006 the kibbutz was privatized. File:מסדה - הקמת חומת המגן (מרחוק עין הקורא)-JNF009776.jpeg, Masada under construction 1937,

Shaʽar HaGolan Shaʽar HaGolan ( he, שַׁעַר הַגּוֹלָן, ''lit.'' Gate of the Golan) is a kibbutz situated at the foot of the Golan Heights in the Jordan Valley area of north-eastern Israel. Located less than 1 km from the border with Jordan, ...

in distance File:מסדה - הקמת מגדלי הצופים --JNF044812.jpeg, Masada under construction 1937 File:מסדה - הקמת צריפים.-JNF044810.jpeg, Masada barracks under construction 1937 File:מסדה - מסדה על תלה.-JNF044813.jpeg, Masada tower under construction 1937 File:מסדה - מראה מסדה - צילום אויר-JNF035080.jpeg, Masada 1939

Notable people

* Lior Karmi (born 1975), sprint canoer *

Ofer Lifschitz Ofer Lifschitz, ( he, עפר ליפשיץ) (born in kibbutz Masada, Israel in 1958) is an Israeli politician and head of Brit Olam. Lifschitz left Israel to travel in 1984, before settling in the United States The United States of Ameri ...

(born 1958), politician

References

External links

Official website
{{Jewish villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine war Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Privatized kibbutzim Populated places established in 1937 Populated places in Northern District (Israel) 1937 establishments in Mandatory Palestine 1948 disestablishments in Israel 1940s establishments in Israel Romanian-Jewish culture in Israel