Mahanayim ( he, מחניים, מַחֲנַיִם) 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 in the

Korazim Plateau The Korazim Plateau ( he, רמת כורזים, ''Ramat Korazim'', also spelled Corazim), is a volcanic plateau, located in northern Israel. The plateau is bounded between by the Hula Valley in the north, Sea of Galilee in the south, the mountai ...

, around three kilometres northeast of

Rosh Pinna Rosh Pina or Rosh Pinna ( he, רֹאשׁ פִּנָּה, lit. ''Cornerstone'') is a local council in the Korazim Plateau in the Upper Galilee on the eastern slopes of Mount Kna'an in the Northern District of Israel. It was established as Gei ...

, 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 HaH ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The land on which Mahanayim stands was purchased in 1892 by the Ahavat Zion (Love of Zion)

Hovevei Zion Hovevei Zion ( he, חובבי ציון, lit. '' hose who areLovers of Zion''), also known as Hibbat Zion ( he, חיבת ציון), refers to a variety of organizations which were founded in 1881 in response to the Anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russ ...

organization, with the aim of establishing a

moshava A moshava ( he, מושבה, plural: ''moshavot'' , lit. ''colony'') was a form of rural Jewish settlement in Ottoman Palestine, established by the members of the Old Yishuv since late 1870s and during the first two waves of Jewish Zionist im ...

in the area. In 1898 a number of families from Galicia settled in the area, naming it Mahanayim after the biblical city in

Gilead Gilead or Gilad (; he, גִּלְעָד ''Gīləʿāḏ'', ar, جلعاد, Ǧalʻād, Jalaad) is the ancient, historic, biblical name of the mountainous northern part of the region of Transjordan.''Easton's Bible Dictionary'Galeed''/ref> ...

, where Jacob stayed before he met again with his brother

Esau Esau ''Ēsaû''; la, Hesau, Esau; ar, عِيسَوْ ''‘Īsaw''; meaning "hairy"Easton, M. ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', (, , 2006, p. 236 or "rough".Mandel, D. ''The Ultimate Who's Who in the Bible'', (.), 2007, p. 175 is the elder son o ...

and saw angels, therefore calling it Mahanayim (camps) of God ( Genesis 32:2). However, it was not a success, largely due to the settlers' lack of familiarity with the region, a shortage of money, and a lack of professionalism, resulting in the community disintegrating. The

Jewish Colonization Association The Jewish Colonisation Association (JCA or ICA, Yiddish ייִק"אַ), in America spelled Jewish Colonization Association, is an organisation created on September 11, 1891, by Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigratio ...

ran a trial of growing tobacco in the area, but it too was a failure, and the village was abandoned in 1912. In 1916 a

kvutza Kvutza, kevutza or kevutzah ( "group") is a communal settlement among Jews, primarily in pre-state Israel, the word was used in reference to communal life. First there were ''kvutzot'' (plural of kvutza) in the sense of groups of young people with ...

Poale Zion Poale Zion (also spelled Poalei Tziyon or Poaley Syjon, meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire in about the turn of the 20th century after ...

members arrived in the area, establishing the first working settlement in the

Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee ( he, הגליל העליון, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; ar, الجليل الأعلى, ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period. It originally referred to a mounta ...

. According to the 1922 census of Palestine by the British Mandate authorities, Mahanayim had a population of 30 Jews. In the same year it became a moshav, but was abandoned in 1928. The village was established for a third time in 1939 by members of kibbutz "Yodfat" from Safed. Starting in 1979, the community's metalworks was used by Meir Dagan (later head of the Mossad) as a site to secretly assemble bombs to be used by proxies in the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

in nearby Lebanon. File:מחניים - מראה המושבה בחורבנה.-JNF028622.jpeg, Mahanayim abandoned buildings 1939 File:גליל - מחניים בגליל-JNF034072.jpeg, Mahanayim 1940 File:מחניים - סוסים-JNF036306.jpeg, Mahanayim 1947 File:Mahanayim i.jpg, Convoy from

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...

in Mahanayim in 1948

Economy

Kibbutz Mahanayim operates a guesthouse offering alternative medical treatments. A sculpture studio and stained glass workshop on the grounds of the kibbutz are open to guests.

Ben Ya'akov Airport Rosh Pina Airport ( he, שְׂדֵה הַתְּעוּפָה רֹאשׁ פִּינָּה, ar, مطار روش بينا) , sometimes called Mahanayim Airport due to its proximity to Mahanayim, is an Israeli airport located in Rosh Pinna, near the ...

is located to the south of the kibbutz.

Notable residents

Israel Tal Israel Tal ( he, ישראל טל, September 13, 1924, – September 8, 2010), also known as Talik (Hebrew: טליק), was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) general known for his knowledge of tank warfare and for leading the development of Israel's M ...

, IDF commander and pioneer in tank warfare. * In 2013, a member of Mahanayim, Penny Ur, was awarded an OBE by the Queen of the United Kingdom for her contribution to English language teaching. * Meir Dagan (later head of the Mossad) File:GeneralIsraelTal 1970 forWikipedia.jpg, Israel Tal file:Meir-Dagan.png, Meir Dagan

References

External links

Village websiteKibbutz Mahanayim Collection
on the Digital collections of

Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library is a central academic library of the University of Haifa, and one of the largest in Israel. It is also one of the most progressive Israeli libraries in terms of service, collection, physical space, and libr ...

, University of Haifa {{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Former moshavim Populated places established in 1898 Populated places established in 1916 Populated places established in 1939 1898 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1916 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1939 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Populated places in Northern District (Israel) Polish-Jewish culture in Israel