The Megiddo Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מגידו, ''Mo'atza Azorit Megido'') is a regional council 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 ...

encompassing land on the Menashe Plateau, and partly in the

Jezreel Valley The Jezreel Valley (from the he, עמק יזרעאל, translit. ''ʿĒmeq Yīzrəʿēʿl''), or Marj Ibn Amir ( ar, مرج ابن عامر), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern Distr ...

. The council is bounded by the city of

Yokneam Illit Yokneam Illit ( he, יָקְנְעָם עילית), also ''Yoqne'am Illit'' and ''Jokneam Illit'', is a city in northern Israel. It is located in a hilly region of the lower Galilee at the base of the Carmel Mountains, and overlooks the Jezreel Va ...

to the north, and the

Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...

mountain range to the east, and houses about 9600 people on nine

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 ...

im, and four

moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...

im located in its municipal territory. The council is named after the ancient city of Megiddo, with the remains of this ancient city being located in the proximity of kibbutz

Megiddo Megiddo may refer to: Places and sites in Israel * Tel Megiddo, site of an ancient city in Israel's Jezreel valley * Megiddo Airport, a domestic airport in Israel * Megiddo church (Israel) * Megiddo, Israel, a kibbutz in Israel * Megiddo Junction, ...

, in the territory of the council. The Head of the Regional Council is Hanan Erez, a member of kibbutz Hazorea who was elected to office in 2004.

History

Megiddo Regional Council is one of the oldest regional councils in Israel, being established in 1945, three years before the establishment of the State of Israel. Before 1945, the territory of the council was part of Gush Nahalal, a municipal entity of the British Mandate. The first Head of the Megiddo Regional Council was Avraham Fine from

Ein HaShofet Ein HaShofet ( he, עֵין הַשּׁוֹפֵט, ''lit.'' Spring of the Judge) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Menashe Heights region around 25 km southeast of the city of Haifa, close to Yokneam, it falls under the jurisdic ...

. At the time of its establishment, the council included only 3,000 inhabitants from five settlements. It was originally named "Harei Efrayim" (lit. Efrayim Hills), changing its name to "Megiddo" in 1952, although this change was only officially approved by the state in 1954. The oldest settlement in the council is

Mishmar HaEmek Mishmar HaEmek ( he, מִשְׁמַר הָעֵמֶק, . "Guard of the Valley") is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the western Jezreel Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Megiddo Regional Council. Mishmar HaEmek is one of the ...

, established in 1926, whilst the youngest settlement is

Midrakh Oz, established in 1952. The official

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

of the regional council was designed in 1952 by Leo Platau from Hazorea. It depicts the hills of the region, an ear of wheat, and a lion. The ear of wheat represents the rural and agricultural nature of the council territory. The image of the lion was inspired by a seal, discovered in the ancient city of Megiddo.

Culture and education

There is one high school located in the regional council, Megiddo Regional High School, located in kibbutz

. There are three primary schools: Hatikva in

Eliakim Eliakim ( he, אֶלְיָקִים) is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the Menashe Heights, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The village was established in 1949 as a mosha ...

, Omarim in Yad Labanim Regional Center, and Plagim in HaZorea. Some students from the settlements in the Megiddo Regional Council attend schools located outside of the council's territory. The Megiddo Community College is an institution for

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

and

extracurricular activities An extracurricular activity (ECA) or extra academic activity (EAA) or cultural activities is an activity, performed by students, that falls outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school, college or university education. Such activities a ...

, sponsored by the Israeli Ministry of Education. The college offers a variety of classes for both children and adults, including languages, computer skills, art, dance, music, history, Judaism, world religions, and martial arts. The college also organizes educational field trips for adults. The Megiddo Dance School works to nurture the art of dance in the settlements of the Megiddo Regional Council. The school offers dance classes in the schools of the area, and works to involve dance in the lives of

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

students. The Megiddo Music School offers practical and theoretical music classes to students in the schools of the regional council, including

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

, modern music, theory of music, and voice lessons.

Ramot Menashe Biosphere Reserve

84 million square meters of the 170 million of the Megiddo Regional Council constitute a nature reserve, including forested areas, various water sources, volcanic hills and archaeological sites. The park is currently in the process of becoming recognized by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

as a

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

Economy

In addition to the agricultural and other industries in the various communities in the Regional Council, the Regional Council has joined with Yokneam Illit, and the

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

villages of

Daliyat al-Karmel Daliyat el-Karmel ( ar, دَالِيَةِ ٱلْكَرْمِل, he, דַלְיַת אֶל-כַּרְמֶל, "vineyards ( دالية) of Carmel") is a Druze town located on Mount Carmel in the Haifa District of Israel, around 20 km southeast ...

and

Isfiya Isfiya ( ar, عسفيا, he, עִסְפִיָא), also known as Ussefiya or Usifiyeh, is a Druze-majority town and Local council (Israel), local council in northern Israel. Located on Mount Carmel, it is part of Haifa District. In its population ...

to develop a Jewish-Arab high-tech industrial park named Mevo Carmel that will become part of the larger Startup Village - Yokneam Ecosystem.

List of settlements

Kibbutzim

* Dalia *

Gal'ed Gal'ed ( he, גַּלְעֵד, ''lit.'' Monument) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Menashe Heights with an area of 14,500 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. In it had a population of . History ...

* Giv'at Oz * Hazorea *

Ramat HaShofet Ramat HaShofet ( he, רָמַת הַשּׁוֹפֵט, ''lit.'' The Judge Heights) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Menashe Heights, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. In it had a population of . Etymology ...

Ramot Menashe Ramot Menashe ( he, רָמוֹת מְנַשֶּׁה, ''lit.'' Menashe Heights) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the Menashe plateau between the Carmel mountain range and the Jezreel Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo ...

Other villages

Ein HaEmek Ein HaEmek ( he, עֵין הָעֵמֶק, ''lit.'' Eye of the Valley) is a community settlement in northern Israel. Located near Yokneam, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. As of it had a population of . History The vi ...

(community settlement) *

(moshav) * Midrakh Oz (moshav) *

Yokneam Moshava Yokneam ( he, יָקְנְעָם) is a moshava in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located on the outskirts of the city of Yokneam Illit on the border of the Jezreel Valley and the Menashe Heights, it falls under the j ...

(moshava)

References

External links

* {{Coord, 32, 35, N, 35, 11, E, type:landmark_region:IL_source:nlwiki, display=title Regional councils in Northern District (Israel)