Ma'ale Gilboa () is a religious

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 ...

located on the summit of

Mount Gilboa Mount Gilboa (; ''Jabal Jalbūʿ'' or ''Jabal Fuqqāʿa''), sometimes referred to as the Mountains of Gilboa, is the name for a mountain range in the West Bank. It overlooks the Harod Valley (the eastern part of the larger Jezreel Valley) to ...

, on the northeast end of the ridge of the

Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...

n hills in

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 about 5 km west of

Beit She'an Beit She'an ( '), also known as Beisan ( '), or Beth-shean, 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 sea level. Beit She'an is believed to ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of Beit She'an Valley Regional Council. In it had a population of .

History

The kibbutz was founded in 1962 as a

Nahal settlement Nahal settlements () were Israeli settlements established by Israeli soldiers of Nahal in both Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. Supporting the growth and expansion of Israeli Jews was once the main focus of Nahal troops of the Israe ...

, on the land of depopulated

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

village of

Khirbat al-Jawfa Khirbat al-Jawfa' was a Palestinian Arab village that was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli war. Location The village was situated west of Jenin, on the top of a small circular plateau that extended from the northern slope of a moun ...

and on land that formerly had belonged to Faqqu'a. In 1967 it was settled by members of the

Religious Kibbutz Movement The Religious Kibbutz Movement (, ''HaKibbutz HaDati'') is an organizational framework for Orthodox kibbutzim in Israel. Its membership includes 22 communities, 16 of them traditional kibbutzim, and 6 others in the category of Moshav shitufi, ...

. Ma'ale Gilboa is located just north of another religious kibbutz,

Meirav Meirav () is a religious kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the downward slopes of Mount Gilboa around ten kilometres southwest of Beit She'an and less than 500 metres from the Green Line, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs ...

. As they are both religious kibbutzim, it was decided that, although they are located in the Gilboa mountains (and would naturally fall under the jurisdiction of

Gilboa Regional Council Gilboa Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit (ha)Gilbo'a'') is a Regional council (Israel), regional council in northern Israel, located on the slopes of the Mount Gilboa, Gilboa mountain range. There are more than 22,000 residents in 38 settlements ...

) it would be better to include them in Beit She'an Valley Regional Council, where there is a group of religious kibbutzim, including

Ein HaNatziv Ein or EIN may refer to: Science and technology * Ein function, in mathematics * Endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia, a lesion of the uterine lining * Equivalent input noise, of a microphone * European Informatics Network, a 1970s computer netw ...

Sde Eliyahu Sde Eliyahu (, ''lit.'' Eliyahu Field) is a Orthodox Judaism, religious kibbutz in northern Israel. Located five kilometres south of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. In it had a population of . ...

Shluhot Shluhot (, lit. "Branches") is an Orthodox kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley in northern Israel. Located about three kilometres south of the city of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. In it had a ...

and

Tirat Zvi Tirat Zvi (, lit. ''Zvi Castle'') is a religious kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley, ten kilometers south of the city of Beit She'an, Israel, just west of the Jordan River and the Israel-Jordan border. It falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of ...

. In 1997, after economic and social hardships, the kibbutz faced a crisis and was almost dissolved. Today the economy of the kibbutz is thriving; the kibbutz has managed to repay its debts and has recorded a profit. As with most kibbutzim in Israel today, Ma'ale Gilboa is in the process of

privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

. Some aspects of the socialist kibbutz structure are disappearing, and individual services for members of the kibbutz are translated into their economic value. As a result, the kibbutz is not only enjoying economic prosperity but is growing demographically as well. In 2007-2008 the kibbutz began building additional housing units for families interested in joining the community. The main sources of livelihood are agricultural; growing carrots, dairy farming, and raising turkeys for meat. Most of the members and residents of the community work off the kibbutz.

Education

Notably, the kibbutz houses

Yeshivat Ma'ale Gilboa Yeshivat Ma'ale Gilboa () is a Shiluv Yeshiva located on Kibbutz Ma'ale Gilboa in Israel's Gilboa Mountains. The Shiluv Yeshiva is unique in that it combines two years of Torah study with the full three years of army service. This is in contrast t ...

, which, following the closure of Yeshivat Ein Tzurim is currently the only functioning yeshivat shiluv, which combine two years of

Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's Sifrei kodesh, religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mi ...

with three years of army service. This is in contrast to

Hesder Hesder ( "arrangement"; also Yeshivat Hesder ) is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework. The program allows Orthodox J ...

yeshivot, which combine a year and a half of army with three and a half years of Torah study.

References

External links

Yeshivat Ma'ale Gilboa
{{Authority control Kibbutzim Religious Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1962 Nahal settlements Populated places in Northern District (Israel) 1962 establishments in Israel