Afek () is a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

in northern

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 ...

. Located in the Zevulun Valley in the Western

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

, near the

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

site of Tel Afek and the HaKerayot agglomeration, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Asher Regional Council. In it had a population of .

History

The kibbutz was founded in 1935 as ''Plugat HaYam'' (, lit. ''Sea

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

'') on the

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s near present-day Kiryat Haim, with the goal of getting jobs in the Port of Haifa. In 1938 the kibbutz was moved to the coast in the area of

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

as a " tower and stockade" settlement, and was renamed ''Mishmar HaYam'' (, lit. ''Sea Guard''). In 1947 the village moved again to its current location, this time a short distance inland on the same agricultural lands, based on the decision to abandon fishing and concentrate exclusively on agriculture. Its current name is derived from the adjacent Tel Afek, a candidate for one of the biblical Apheks (Joshua 19:30).Hareuveni, Imanuel (2010).
Eretz Israel Lexicon
' (in Hebrew). Matach. p. 54. Afek has 200 members and over 450 residents. The kibbutz operates a

preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...

and

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

that are open to the public. The kibbutz economy is based on

crops A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same species a ...

orchards An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of lar ...

dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

ing,

poultry farming Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion c ...

, and

fish farming Fish farming or pisciculture involves commercial breeding of fish, most often for food, in fish tanks or artificial enclosures such as fish ponds. It is a particular type of aquaculture, which is the controlled cultivation and harvesting of ...

. It also has three factories: ''Asiv'' produces fabrics, ''Mego'' medical supplies, and ''Hinnanit'' dolls and clothing accessories. ''Hinnanit'' also exhibits and sells rugs made from the fabric produced on the kibbutz. File:אפק - המגדל והצריפים-JNF029025.jpeg, Kibbutz Afek, 2nd location, 1939 File:משמר הים בעמק זבולון - המגדל וחדר האוכל-JNF029033.jpeg, Afek 1939 File:אפק - מגדל הצופים על שפת ים עכו-JNF009941.jpeg, Afek, 1939

Notable people

* Avraham Givelber

References

{{Authority control Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1935 Populated places established in 1938 Populated places established in 1947 1935 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Populated places in Northern District (Israel)