Migdal HaEmek (, lit. ''Tower of the Valley'', also officially spelled Migdal HaEmeq, ) is a city in the Northern District of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. In it had a population of . Migdal HaEmek was established in 1953 as a

ma'abara Ma'abarot (, singular: Ma'abara ) were immigrant and refugee absorption camps established in Israel in the 1950s, constituting one of the largest public projects planned by the state to implement its sociospatial and housing policies. The ma' ...

for Jews from Arab countries, before becoming a

development town Development towns (, ''Ayarat Pitu'ah'') were new settlements built in Israel during the 1950s in order to provide permanent housing for a large influx of Jewish immigrants from Arab countries, Holocaust survivors from Europe and other new immig ...

. The original site of the ma'abara was west of the current site, at

Shimron Tel Shimron (Hebrew: תל שמרון) is an archaeological site and nature reserve in the Jezreel Valley. Shimron was a major city in the north of Israel mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In later times it was also known as Shim'on. It became a ...

hill. There is a tower to the north-east, above the town. Many Israeli and global high tech companies are located in three industrial parks. Among the companies:

Tower Semiconductor Tower Semiconductor Ltd. is an Israeli company that manufactures integrated circuits using specialty process technologies, including SiGe, BiCMOS, Silicon Photonics, SOI, mixed-signal and RFCMOS, CMOS image sensors, non-imaging sensors, power m ...

, RSL Electronics,

KLA-Tencor KLA Corporation is an American company based in Milpitas, California that makes wafer fab equipment. It supplies process control and yield management systems for the semiconductor industry and other related nanoelectronics industries. The compan ...

, CI Systems,

Nilit NILIT Ltd. (Hebrew: נילית בע"מ) is a privately owned, international manufacturer of Nylon 6-6, nylon 6.6 (polyamide) fibers headquartered in Migdal HaEmek, Israel. NILIT specializes in the polymerization, spinning (textiles), spinning and ...

Vishay Intertechnology Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. is an American manufacturer of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components founded by Polish-born businessman Felix Zandman. Vishay has manufacturing plants in Israel, Asia, Europe, and the America ...

, Enzymotec and Flex.

History

Pre-1948

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

ran nearby, with traces found close to the former village of

al-Mujaydil Al-Mujaydil ( (also: al-Mujeidil) was an Arab-Palestinian village located 6 km southwest of Nazareth. Al-Mujaydil was one of a few towns that achieved local council status by the Mandatory Palestine government. In 1945, the village had a popu ...

. This may indicate that the region was opened to intensive settlement during the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

period. Prior to 1953, in the area where Migdal HaEmek was to be established, stood the former Arab Palestinian village of al-Mujaydil. It had existed there since at least 1596 during the

Ottoman period The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...

. In July 1948 al-Mujaydil was completely destroyed due to aerial bombing during the operations conducted by the

Golani Brigade The 1st "Golani" Brigade (, ''Hativat Golani'') is an Israeli military infantry brigade. It is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigades of the regular Is ...

, when the villagers fled, resulting in its

depopulation Population decline, also known as depopulation, is a reduction in a human population size. Throughout history, Earth's total human population has continued to grow but projections suggest this long-term trend may be coming to an end. From ant ...

Migdal HaEmek (est. 1953)

Migdal HaEmek was established in 1953 as a

for Jews from Arab countries, before becoming a

. The original site of the ma'abara was west of the current site, at

hill. In 1959, during the

Wadi Salib riots The Wadi Salib riots were a series of Demonstration (people), street demonstrations and acts of vandalism in the Wadi Salib neighborhood of Haifa, Israel, in 1959. They were sparked by the shooting of a Moroccan Jewish immigrant by police officers. ...

, the "''Union des Nords-africains'' led by David Ben Haroush, organised a large-scale procession walking towards the nice suburbs of

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

creating little damages but a great fear within the population. This small incident was taken as an occasion to express the social malaise of the different Oriental communities in Israel and riots spread quickly to other parts of the country; mostly in towns with a high percentage of the population having North African extraction like in

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

, in

Beer-Sheva Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most po ...

, in Migdal HaEmek."Jeremy Allouche, ''The Oriental Communities in Israel, 1948-2003''

p.35 The chief rabbi of the city is

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, who won the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

in 2004 for his social service work and outreach youth programs. Every year volunteers from

Habonim Dror Habonim Dror (, "the builders–freedom") is a Jewish Labor Zionist youth movement formed in 1982 through the merger of two earlier movements: Habonim and Dror. Habonim (, "the builders") was established in 1929 in the United Kingdom and later e ...

come to Migdal HaEmek to volunteer in the community.

Demographics

According to

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was all

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish and "other" non-Arabs. There were 11,900 males and 12,200 females. More recently the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...

estimated Migdal HaEmek's population at 28,000, almost half foreign-born, from Russia, the Caucasus, Ethiopia, Morocco, Iraq and South America.

Education

According to CBS, there were 22 schools and 5,777 students in the city in 2001: 13 elementary schools (2,995 students), and 2 high schools (2,782 students). 47.8% of 12th grade students qualified for a matriculation certificate in 2001.

Economy

Many Israeli and global high tech companies are located in three industrial parks. Among the companies:

(foundry), RSL Electronics (Control and Diagnostic solutions for defence and commercial applications ),

(inspection tools), CI Systems (electro-optical test systems, non contact temperature sensors and wet chemistry analyzers),

(Nylon for textile industry and thermoplastics for industrial and commercial applications),

(discrete and passive semiconductors components), Enzymotec (functional lipids) and Flex (Electronics contract manufacturer).

Notable people

* Haim Dayan (born 1960), former politician *

Naama Lazimi Naama Lazimi (; born 11 January 1986) is a politician and Member of the Knesset for the Democrats and previously for the Labor Party. Previously, she was a member of the Haifa City Council and vice chairman of the Student Association at the Un ...

(born 1986), member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

*Rabbi

Nachman Bulman Nachman Bulman (also known as Nathan Bulman, ;1925-July 6, 2002) was an American rabbi associated with Orthodox Judaism. He was born to Rabbi Meir and Etil Bulman after a blessing from the Rebbe of Ger, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter. He grew ...

, who founded an Orthodox community there

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Development towns 1953 establishments in Israel Cities in Northern District (Israel) Populated places established in 1953